Fan-favourite for winter '03, and not just for the ballyhooed Destiny return: Gin and Walls rock, the Hood is a joy, you've got a high level Bowie, and the multipart Tweezer is probably the best post-hiatus version even without the cooldown Shakedown. Deeper than 2/26, less escapist(?!), and probably Greater on balance.

Oh, and:

Destiny. Unbound.

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

There has been lots of discussion about this show, but anyone who was there knows that they witnessed something very special, both for the fans and the band. Exceptional jams in “Bathtub Gin” and “Back on the Train” rounded out a flawless first set, which concluded with a powerful “Walls of the Cave”, a song that really started to take shape around this time.
Then...the “Tweezer”. Twenty seven minutes of near-ecstasy climaxes around the fifteen minute mark, when Fishman locks into a deliberately slow glide of a beat, Mike begins to walk on a low end cannon, and Page colors existence. Trey hits the ultra-note, using a pitch shifter to raise the peak higher and higher, again and again, allowing the energy to swell on a long plateau, washing out everything around you, making you see sunsets, the ocean, fireworks, the love of your life all at the same time....the very epitome of a 2003 Phish jam is found in these extended moments. If this isn't what the band is trying to do with the longer ambient jams, I have no clue as to what they're thinking.
Only get this show if you can afford to listen to it every week for the rest of your life...it's addicting.

I agree with all the reviews, on the points that this show is sick, the tweezer stands out, setlist, energy, etc. Its my favorite post-hiatus show no doubt.

What hasn't been said is that the Destiny in question, the unimagined bustout that gives this show most of its repute, is tight, perfect, and rocks in its own right.

I mean can you imagine not playing a tune for twelve years and then executing it soulfully and perfectly one night?

It's not just that they brought back Destiny - they SHREDDED Destiny. IMHO it's the best version they've played, and hasn't been topped since.

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

I have a problem with this show. I can't stop listening to “Soul Shakedown Party” into “David Bowie”, no matter what I'm doing. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night needing to hear that hi-hat. It haunts me. I feel bad neglecting the other songs from this show, but I can't help it. I've never heard anything like this before. I'm not saying either one is the best ever, although they are to me, but the two of them together are doing strange things to my brain.
Page hypnotizes me during “Soul Shakedown Party”. We were sitting about three rows behind and directly in between him and Fishman, and every time I listen to this song, I can still see his fingers pulsing out that reggae beat.
I think this is where the problem stems from. Once I feel that vibration, I get lost until the disc ends. I'm not getting any work done. Is there a support group for this?

The late Feb 03 shows are one of those special periods in phishtory where IT is firing on all cylinders. Not unlike Aug 93 or Dec 95. Everything is clicking. This show is my fav of 2.0 and in my top 10 of all time. Bathtub, Walls, Tweezer and Bowie are all epic jams. Throw in the most anticipated bust out to date in Destiny (and what a Destiny - best version played IMO) an incredible type 1 BOTT and a rocking Hood closer and you have a show for the ages. Their are a lot of gems in 2.0. This is the cream of the crop.

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

This is for all you skeptics out there who think Phish has been over and done with since at least 1997. I was, until very recently, one of you. This show at Nassau was very simply as good, musically speaking, as any you'll find in any top ten all-time list. I remember telling someone at the Philly show (who had obviously had a fabulous time that night) that they had put on a fun show, but had a long, long way to go before it was like the old days again. Little did I know that that long journey was going to happen very quickly over the course of the two next shows (because, yes, Worcester was also phenomenal).
Setbreak saw me searching the halls for others who were aware of what had just gone down. I'm not one to scream things out in the lots, or whatever ... but I found myself yelling "Who has a ‘Destiny’? You all have a ‘Destiny’!" And, like inside, not everyone caught on. But what was special were the handfuls that did ... the hugs that were thrown around, the knowing looks ... the quiet "Dude, they PLAYED DESTINY" between strangers.
Forget for a moment that they played “Destiny Unbound”. Consider this: the twenty seven minute “Tweezer” rivals any jam Phish has ever put together. After a good five or six listens, I see it standing next to the 12/6/97 “Tweezer” and the 11/17/97 “Ghost” as one of my top two or three of all time.
Sure I would have loved to hear a “Piper”, a “2001”, a “Fluffhead”. But by the end of the second set, it just didn't matter. A shorter but beautifully executed “Hood” (a la Jersey) is fine with me. In all honesty, repeats didn't make me groan once on this tour. A flawless set. And a legendary show. Maybe everyone there didn't get it. But I did. And I know I wasn't the only one. I can't believe this is all happening again.

I could use one word to describe this show...

[Spoiler]

We all see Phish for a variety of reasons ranging from the interconnected community/band experience, to the interwoven spiritual consciousness a live show produces, to see what Mike's going to wear, and because they are just plain fun. Throughout all of these though, I think a common thread would be, all of us, searching, hoping to see, The Show. That Show, start-to-finish, that delivers everything you could ever want. That Show, that musically, psychologically, spiritually, psychedelically, you-name--it-ly, delivers everything, simultaneously. This show, is that Show.

As I have become immersed in this tour, I have begun to get an ear for the crowd as the band is taking the stage. This show, the crowd was as hot as I have ever heard. No wonder, with the masterpiece from two nights prior, expectations were high, and the level of anticipation of "How can they top that?!?" was even higher. Phish has a knack for delivering in the clutch, which I why I commonly refer to Phish shows as "Magic Johnson." "Hey Funky, what are you doing this summer?" "Oh you know, gonna go follow Magic around the country." ::blank stare:: Well, maybe I don't say that, but maybe I do... anyways, Magic was in the house tonight.

Birds of a Feather attacks! Like an A-10 Thunderbolt, it blitzes the crowd like it would a Russian tank - with ferocity and tempo equals parts unexpected and devastating.
[Spoiler]
Holy moly what a smokin hot Birds. If one song wasn't enough to convince you how hot this show was going to be, surely the 12-year bustout of Destiny Unbound sealed the deal. It did. Damn. Wow. 2 songs into the set and we have the makings of The Show. A spunky funky little jam in Destiny unleashes, I am certain, the most controversial dance moves of the entire tour. What a start! An impeccably placed and played Horn follows up and we know, when Trey hits note after note, that Phish was locked in. For real. This was IT. Now here is when things gets real fun. 2.14 and 2.22 and 2.28. THE Bathtub Gins. 2.28 is masterpiece. A piece of music so interwoven, so fluid, so bouncy, so peppy, so focused, so Magical. Swish. I could write about each second of this song, from its immediate break from Gin proper into a peppy groove, to its sashaying into this swanky groove, to its build into some amazing Trey trilling, to its breakdown into some deep Mike grooves... it just has it all. It really does. And that breakdown at the very end where Trey goes up the scales, Fish is riding the cymbal, and Mike goes down the scale, THAT is what dreams are made of. Oh and hey, we aren't even half way through set 1. A perfectly placed Sleep comes next, and is just that, perfect. Back on the Train. Not just any Train. This is a locomotive made of volcanoes and hurricanes. This is a freighliner made of thunder and TNT. This Back on the Train features the most consistent, mind blowing, jaw dropping, tension-and-release, build after build after build. Good GOD, Lemon! Let's take a break to change our pants ok? Ok. Ok pants changed. Thanks Bouncing. Oh... oh you just changed your pants, well, this Walls of the Cave has something to say about that. My favorite Walls of the Tour (with 12.31.02 being a close second and 2.14.03 being a suuuuper close third), this one doesn't venture into deep space, no, it just slays us right where we are standing. Seismic, incendiary, crushing. This Walls blows the roof off, no wait, the roofs has already been blown off... hmmm... leaves an impact crater the likes of which most certainly made Chicxulub jealous. What a set!!!

So, after that set, I mean... they can't do much else to top it, right? Right. If you are nodding along, "Yeah Funky, you're right" I would slap you across your face. Then apologize, but would add that you deserved it. There is music that is played in whatever you want Heaven to be. This is the music, specifically from the 10-minute mark onward. The tone, the feel, the passion, the soul... this is uncharted territory for Phish, at least to my ears. Through all of the eras, not limited to Tweezer, I have never heard a jam reach the peaks and spirituality of this Tweezer. It is truly divine. It speaks to other levels of being. Other levels of living. Of feeling. It is remarkable. It is beautiful. It is inspiring. Wow. Just... wow. Oh hey, let's dust off another decade (ish) worth of material and have a -> Soul Shakedown. My god Phish (specifically Mike)! I mean, all you had to do was ASK us to bring a box of condoms. Sheesh. Soooo filthy. Mike lays the wood in this Bob Marley cover, and man, does he ever bring it. If you had a child born in November/December 2003, there is a 100% likelihood Mike "Gacktoilder" Gordon is the father. Just saying, kid's gonna have great musical genes. So dirty this 8_ minute groove train is, and then you add the Sagan-esq space -> to Bowie, and man, sign me up for the next Voyager mission. This Bowie, like all the Bowies this tour, features a crazy spiraling intro. A lockstep burst into the song proper gives way to a pulsing, swirling, bobbing jam that gnarls and bares its teeth. Strong, fierce playing encapsulate this 18 minutes masterpiece. Like a yard dog protecting his territory, this Bowie circles and eyes you down, mano y mano, and comes out on top. Man, what a beast of a Bowie. A dreamy Round Room settles our nerves and, again, following the pattern of brilliance, finds a PERFECT placement late in what is already an all-time show. Swimming the melodies, this Round Room, for me at least, tops the Vegas one despite being 5 minutes shorter. Time isn't always the best indicator of quality, remember that. Next up. Harry Hood. Let me say this, or rather picture it:
[Spoiler]
That is this Hood. Pure explosion. Pure fire. From the depths of Phish's souls, this version erupts through their instruments. Peak after peak after peak of red hot, soul scorching music. I have no problem saying this is my favorite Hood to listen to. Yup. My favorite. Does it mean it's the best? Who knows. But it is, without a doubt, my favorite. What a way to end the show. Oh did I say end? I mean a THREE SONG ENCORE. Contact, Mexican Cousin, and Tweezer Mother Funking Reprise!!!

:: passes out ::

Must-hear jams: My advice to you, each and every one of you, listen to this show start-to-finish and behold Phish playing at their highest level imaginable. It's really incredible. What a show.

"This just makes me think that this was someone's first show"

Wait, that was me.

2/28/2003.

People talk about the Tweezer being one of the best ever (which it is) and how special it was to hear Destiny Unbound and Soul Shakedown Party (which they were)... But out of all of them I've listened to the Bathtub Gin the most.

#HOSED.

This show really packs in everything I love about Phish shows: random "bust outs", exploratory jams, and solid setlist construction. Phish shows can still work if they have two of those three elements, but when they're all in place, you know it's a night to remember. This was only my second Phish show, but I'd been listening to the band casually since 1994 (I was only 9 years old then!) and intently since 1999. After the rather dismal show with B.B. King a few nights before, I was completely blown away by this powerhouse performance. I'm not going to attempt to add anything on top of what's already been said about the music this night, but I can say that anyone who was there knows it was a very special evening.

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

The Nassau vibe was extremely jangled at first. It felt like a sports crowd in that cold, cold, cold, cold, cold hockey arena. Lots of really young guys looking to get really spun and lots of beer beer beer.
There was also a downright rude lack of attention to the music by many. People screamed and talked loudly during Page's delicate solo piano intro to “WOTC”, for example. It threw me off a bit for the first set, despite the stunning exploratory “Gin”, surprise return of “Destiny Unbound”, and hands-down best “GBOTT” ever.
But they came back after break and took charge with that “Tweezer”. Trey in particular brought the unfocused testosterone wildness down to a whisper, then re-channeled the energy into a phat group groove. Pure magic. How do they do it?
Then a major dubwise skanking “Soul Shakedown Party” to chill everyone a bit more and lock in the boogie. YES I!!! Can't get enough of that Burlington reggae. Ras Gordo lays it down phat with the bass synth pedal.
“Round Room”: And now it's finally fully round. Phish dancing effortlessly around the quantum "one," the downbeat described rather than nailed down. As Kesey put it, "everyone's in their own movie." The "one" is not a precise location in time, not to be hit on the head like a game of Whackamole, it's wherever it makes you happiest to hear it. This version just spot on, full of emotion, all about our journeys with the band in similar rooms around the country over the years. We want a round room just to be with you all too!
Then my dear old claymation neighbor “Hood”. Our fifth visit post-hiatus, but he can show up every night and still make me grin ear to ear. If 12/31/98 was "Harry in Space" and the end of 2/16/03 was "Harry Hears The Who," this was "Harry in a Round Room." Always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom. You can feel extremely good about this “Hood”.
The round room is now officially open for business.

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

I've been seeing them for almost ten years, and I swear, I felt the same exhilaration this night as I did at my first show in 1993. The jamming was just top notch. Incredible. The energy apparent was so thick you could cut it. Every song seemed to fit in perfectly. Although the “Birds” opener threw me off, I was quickly put at ease with the positivity oozing from the stage.

And of course the “Destiny Unbound” breakout...

Everything about this show was just right. Seriously. After seeing more than seventy shows, I think this is easily in my top ten (including 10/31/94, 7/16/94, 12/31/95, Big Cypress and Clifford Ball). This is one to remember. Looking at the setlist may be misleading. It has none of the crazy stuff (albeit the “Soul Shakedown Party” and “Destiny Unbound” are crazy rare) such as “Fluffhead”, “Mike's Groove”, “Harpua”, “Col. Forbin's”, “Icculus”, etc.. which for me comprise a dream setlist, yet this show itself turned into a dream setlist. They were jamming tunes voraciously which up till then were more standard. (Listen to the “Get Back on the Train”!)

For those that weren't at this show, but were at 4/3/98, remember the insane energy during the “Tweeprise”? Well, this “Tweeprise” has that same energy, only the whole night was full of that energy.

This was THE show for me. Its been years since I was that pumped all about one show.

What is it with Nassau? They must love it there.

-Adam Schneider

Of all the shows I've been to, this was my favorite. Crazy energy the entire night. There's a point during the tweezer jam where the build is intricate and almost cautious, and Trey then let's the reverb soar. A wild and perhaps, at times, dark setlist that really showcases Phish's ability to explore the music. Get your hands on this one- as mentioned by others, parts are strangely addicting.

This was my first phish show. Went with a few friends and at the time we did not know much about Phish or their music. My friends and I from the first minute became completely hooked and lifelong die hard fans of the band. Saw my 250th show last night (baker's dozen #8). While every show I've been to has been incredible (some more so than others), 2/28/03 was a night I will never forget and stands out as being the best show I've ever seen of any band. There are some shows in the last few years that have received voting on phish.net which has them ranked amongst the best shows phish played throughout the 90s. It took over 14 years for this show to get 397 votes on this site, while it took a show like 7/25/17 less than a week to get close to 850 votes. The standard was different for phish 20 years ago. Average shows played by them in 1997 would be must hear shows in 2017. They are playing some of their best music now. They are locked in and we have seen the magic many times this tour. When phish play a show like bakers dozen #4, we automatically want to say this show is the greatest or among the greatest shows of all time - it's human nature. However, shows like 2/28/03 (or big cypress, 12/6/97, etc) have been listened to over and over again by phish fans and it's these shows that stand out as being the best shows played by Phish during the time they were transforming music. For a show to have over 800 votes on phish.net less than a week after it occurred means that people are casting votes before having time to really dissect the music and take the time needed to compare it to some of the best shows in the past. 7/25/17 was an incredible night and I am not trying to take away from the incredible music they gave us that night. It was the best show that many fans have been to and some of the best jamming that phish have thrown down in many years. But the truth is, many fans are comparing that show to shows that phish have played since their return from hiatus. The magical shows with fewer votes on phish.net (such as 2/28/03) were shows that were compared to phish at their greatest. The standard was different back then. If you listen to Big Cypress and hear the hours and hours (and more hours) of the best music phish has ever played, it would be hard to imagine that show ever being rated on par with 7/25/17. Shows need to be rated with more thought and be legitimately compared to shows phish played over the last three decades. To just give a show a 5/5 rating because it was "great" does a disservice to shows like Big Cypress or 2/28/03. I love this band more than anything and can honestly say that they have changed my life. Just wanted to give my opinion on the whole rating system on this site.

This was a perfect show. I am not a huge 2.0 fan but this show was one of the best concerts I've ever been to, easily as good as any phish show I've ever seen or heard from 1.0 or 3.0. Hearing destiny inbound and dancing to these incredible jams makes up one of t most memorable phish experiences I've ever had. I can't say enough good things about this show. I couldn't believe my ears when the first notes of destiny rang out. I don't think I could smile wider than I did at that moment. The destiny unbound moment created a powder keg of high energy and the band expertly detonated it over the next three hours. An incendiary and spiritual musical experience where all the music gods smiled upon all who were in Nassau coliseum

I think it's worth noting the weight this show carries considering the context. The date was 2/28/2003, many of us sensed the growing wears the band was dealing with both on and off stage and it was believed by many that the best was behind us. We couldn't have been more wrong. On this night they put it all together and gave us a (dare I say) top 3 worthy show and a great tour to follow.

Case and point why I never doubt this band and their ability to deliver a good show on most nights and a religious experience when the moment is right.

Cheers!

I was fortunate enough to get stubbed down to the floor for 2/28/2003 at Nassau Coliseum. This was my third and final show of the northeast run, hitting up NJ and Philly also. Birds got the show off in a great way, being played right on the mark and sprinting with energy.

When I think of what came next, I am reminded of Holmdel, NJ on 6/29/2000. The chant for Destiny Unbound fell on deaf ears that night and instead we were blasted with an angry Birds of a Feather instead. Well, this night, the Birds came first and then BAM!!! Destiny Unbound. Flawless, awesome, will never forget.

I love Horn, they can play that for five minutes of any show I'm at.

Bathtub Gin delivered and then some.

Some people consider the Back on the Train from this show the best version ever, and they are correct.

Bouncing was a fun but necessary breather for the band considering all of the shredding bliss they had just laid down on us for most of the the set.

Walls of the Cave was a welcomed repeat for me. It was jammed to incredible peaks and differently then three nights before at the Spectrum. The first set was Dyn-O-Mite!!!

I will always associate the second set opening Tweezer with an unfortunate event that occurred to me during the first minute of the song. A friend of a friend passed along a nice piece of glass with something good inside. Upon lighting, I fried my thumb with a powerful blue flame, not from an ordinary lighter but a butane torch instead. I had a nice blister on my thumb for a week, but I consider that a necessary sacrifice to the gods in order to witness the relentless Tweezer that unfolded before my eyes.

After a half-an-hour of AMAZING Tweezer, the band dropped gears into a wonderful version of Soul Shakedown Party. Bowie emerged from the reggae and lit us up for twenty minutes of excellence. Round Room is such a bizarre song, in a really good way, and I was very happy to hear this show up in the second set. Harry Hood was beautiful and amazing.

I was surprised with the Contact encore, I figured they would have saved it for sometime in the second set of North Carolina. They played it perfectly. Being a tequila guy, I was really glad to hear Mexican Cousin. At that point in my life, I was waiting tables at a really cool restaurant in Atlantic Highlands, NJ called Copper Canyon, which had 112 different kinds of tequila to offer. This was definitely my jam. Tweezer Reprise brought the house down. GREAT SHOW.

A damn near-perfect show from Nassau Coliseum. I love to nitpick set lists, find flaws in jams, talk about lack of energy, and all of that other annoying stuff that proves I'm actually listening. But this one... this one is really special! I don't know why (actually, I do know why... I just don't understand) so many people rag so fucking hard on 2003-2004 shows, but I really, really dig them. And this one, along with IT, are probably the absolute peak.

Bottom line, desert island!

I was never a huge fan of 2.0 and at the very time this show was happening I was very likely buried deep in the Thrill Jockey Records catalog.

Wow...what a show. Honestly, the perfect Phish show. It has everything you could ask for….great flow, bustouts, HIGH ENERGY, super tight shredfest type 1 jams and crazy type 2 jams, balls out party crowd and a band gelling together perfectly.

Page’s playing throughout the night is incredible. He’s always doing exactly what he should be doing at all the right times.

The interplay between Trey and Fish is perfect. There a more than a couple times that they make you say “whoa”.

I know that some people don’t realise this but Phish is unique in that the drummer follows the guitar. Most bands have the vocals, guitar and keys taking up the lead with the bass and drums holding down the back end. The bass and drums, and sometimes the keys provide the foundation. With Phish, you have a drummer that is doing that, but is also TOTALLY locked into the lead guitar. This is not normal. You can sometimes imagine Fish and Trey as one person, with Page floating somewhere in between and Mike doing whatever the fuck he wants. This of course is not always true and just as Phish’s sound has changed over the years this dynamic also changes. BUT this at the core is what I believe is what makes Phish so unique to so many other bands and why they can sound so different from anything else you’ve heard.

When their rhythm, symmetry and telepathy are at their peak….you get a show like this. Everything is so well played, so tight, top of their game.

Every song has extra mustard.

I listened to this show about 5 times to prep and I’m still hearing new things.

I dislike reading song-by-song breakdowns but it's hard to do this any other way.

Highlights:

DESTINY: The biggest bust out of all bustouts, not played in 796 shows. People had been BEGGING for this song for years (see 11/22/97, review coming in a few weeks!). It’s not even because it’s such an awesome song, its just because Phish stopped playing it and Phish fans are crazy and they want rare treats. Whelp, for no reason, here it is. Judging by the crowd response, it seems like people knew what they were hearing.

GIN: I love a slow burn and this has such a slow burn jam to it. Nice swing tempo throughout that keeps it light and makes for some great Mike work.

BOTT: Great fucking version. Trey is on fire, everyone is on fire.

Love SLEEP and TRAIN SONG

WALLS: I only started liking this song a few years ago and this is the best version I’ve ever heard of this song. Today's versions don’t variate much but this one has extra spicey mustard all over it.

TWEEZER: Who likes a 27m Tweezer? Me!!! Quite possibly the BEST song to open a second set, actually, I’m positive this is the best. Man...what to say? The first half is good but it doesn't REALLY start cooking until about 14m in. 19min mark, Trey and Fish...WOW, 22min, let's wrap this thing up by shredding the fuck out of everything! HIGH FIVES!!!! WE DID IT!!!!

SOUL SHAKEDOWN: Bustout #2, Not seen in 270 shows. Great way to cool down. Everybody loves Marley, everyone is having a blast.

BOWIE:. I remember saying to a rando at a show a few years back that I will NEVER get tired of hearing Bowie. Never. It’s the perfect Phish song. Dark, weird lyrics, progy, long arranged beginning, jammed out middle and an ending. My favorite Phish songs have endings. I want them to go WAAAAYYYY out and then try to bring it back and wrap it into a neat little bow. Bowie is the definition of a Phish song.

I love everything about this Bowie. The long intro, the perfectly played middle and the “wrap up” part at the end is everything I always wanted in every Bowie, ever. The hard and heavy they stumbled upon will make you want to punch babies holding puppies. They fade into different times and themes and always land back on their feet. The tension and release is...orgasmic. THIS IS PHISH TENSION AND RELEASE!!!!!! Good lord….fucking monster.

Round Room: Thanks god they didn’t place Horse->Silent….because that’s what Trey wanted to play and Mike Said FUCK NO so they played Round Room. FUCK yeah Mike, you tell Trey to cram it up his stupid butt.

HOOD: It’s a great hood. You can hear the glowsticks ruining things after the drop but once people settle down it's a great version. Trey plays his guitar so hard that I’m surprised the thing didn’t explode into a cloud of sawdust. Ha ha….that would be awesome

MEXICAN COUSIN is an awesome encore song and a total party anthem. Perfect end of the night song to send everyone home with. Best way to end a show? Tweezer Reprise of course. It’s actually the only reason I go to Phish shows. Just to hear Tweezer reprise.

BONUS: Make sure you listen to the Poor Heart soundcheck. It’s hilarious.

So there you have it. Every song is played like it’s the last time they’ll ever play it. Awesome fucking show, definitely one of their best, if not THE best. No complaints!!!

This show is the real McCoy. This show is what we are always looking for when we go to so many shows, and why we try to listen to every show out there. Always searching for this kind of night. This show is why we love Phish. I am not saying this is the best show ever or anything like that, but this show is my favorite for sure. Highlights of the first set are obviously, Gin, BOTT, and WoTC. But it doesn't seem quite fair to call these highlights, here are three songs played regularly that get the full treatment. Something special happened in this first set with these three. Maybe the band felt free from all the Destiny Unbound hype that plagued the scene for years. They busted it out, and after that it was like, okay that's over now, can we just do OUR thing. And that they did. This Gin is superb the last five minutes or so is brilliance. The BOTT just rocks. Type I for sure, but it gets the raw, dirty, bluesy treatment it deserves. I love this rendition. Its not just my favorite BOTT, but it is easily my favorite Type I jam ever. Everything about this BOTT is awesome. Then the WoTC is a great way to cap off an all-timer of a first set. Leaving us salivating for more. And holy smoke, did they deliver. This Tweezer is great. Fantastic. Unique. I won't say too much about the second set, but just know that it is awesome. This was a very special night. Enjoy.

I was lucky enough to be front row, in front of Mike, for this COLOSSAL show! (and on some great boomers!) Destiny Unbound coming out again was BLISS! Still the best Back on the Train I've ever heard, live or taped. Shakedown was silly and fun. Finalized with one of the best live Mexican Cousins I've also ever heard. A near perfect show, and a top three for me. Get this one if you don't have it!

2.28.03
SET 1: Birds of a Feather: Very solid, Trey is aggressive throughout.
Destiny Unbound: Absolutely could not believe what was happening when the opening notes rang out. Even more unbelievable was the lack of reaction from so many. I mean, there was a concerted effort just 6 years ago at Hampton to get the band to play this, you would think more people would know it? This was exceptionally cool to see live! Not only this a bustout of all bustouts but they shredded the hell out of this!
Horn: Loudest cheer I have ever heard for this tune before, lol. Well played. >
Bathtub Gin: Love the Theme that Trey starts developing early in the ten-minute range and Page hops on that bus quickly. This doesn’t last that long but is enjoyable, nonetheless. Things truck along at an expedited pace and really don’t slow down much at all save for the last couple of minutes when things get intro a brief introspective space and then to the traditional wind down. Exceptional version and another all timer. The third all time Gin just from this tour alone. For the record I prefer 2.22, then 2.14 and then 2.28.
Sleep: Such a great tune with wonderful imagery.
Back on the Train: Bursting at the seams with precise playing and full steam ahead energy. This version never stops to take a breath. Awesome rager!
Bouncing Around the Room: Standard. Pretty well played.
Walls of the Cave: Completely shredded. Balls to the wall the entire time. Perfect as a set closer. Prefer the 2.14 and 2.22 versions but again, as a closer – this was great.
SET 2: Tweezer: The intro seems to catch many off guard as Trey quietly opens it up. Love all the super heavy Trey effects around the 4 minute mark. 10:45 through 11:30 is one of the segments that will always stay with me – a very polarizing moment that defines what this band is capable of, creating incredible pieces of music ON THE FLY. From here, they go onto to just shower us in some of the most beautiful hose they have ever created. Not too proud to say this, makes me want to cry every time I hear it. Trey just crushing those echoing licks at the 15 minute mark to complement the underlying groove. Page creating a masterpiece on the baby grand to support it all. 21:51 sounds like they were gearing up for a segue into Sneakin’ Sally. Instead of opting for that they just blister everyone’s behinds. The last couple of minutes things get decidedly dodgy, definitely will torque on the ol’ reality helmet given the right circumstances and substances, am I right? What a tremendous way to close out one of the best jams of their career. >
Soul Shakedown Party: Could they have played anything cooler than this after what came before. My answer is a resounding no. Mike’s solo is otherworldly, the bombs he is laying down just rocked the Coliseum to its foundation. So very good. From here things get very ethereal, super heady stuff. Incredible. ->
David Bowie: Woooooow. Those last couple of minutes from Soul Shakedown Party fit hand in glove to what you would expect out of an eerie Bowie intro. Mike and Trey riffing off of one another is super cool. Things are very standard issue for this tun until the 13 minute mark when things get decidedly murky, Fishman is extremely aggressive crashing cymbals like a madman and a ton of tension is built up. Nasty, dirty, and dark. At the 16 minute mark we finally emerge from the depths of hell and we are back on familiar ground. This eventually leads into a thrilling climax that one can expect from any great version. This Bowie SMOKES.
Round Room: Great breather. Not jammed like the Vegas version. >
Harry Hood: This is a wild version, peaked with reckless abandon and while the climax is not technically perfect – the attitude and effort sure are. Absolutely love this version, just a perfect, perfect way to end an utterly incredible show.
ENCORE: Contact: Good stuff, had to figure this coming with a ridiculous drive to get to Greensboro for tomorrow night’s tour closer.
Mexican Cousin: Nice! Love this! >
Tweezer Reprise: Bone crushing version with Mike just dominating. Faces were melted.
Replay Value/Summary: Destiny Unbound huge bustout, Gin (all timer), Back on the Train (all timer), Walls of the Cave, Tweezer (all timer), Soul Shakedown Party (all timer), David Bowie, Harry Hood. This show is what Phish dreams are made of. Complete freight train that rocked the Coliseum. Couldn’t have asked for a better show. I had an amazing show and walking out of there was wondering how in the world I was going to make the solo drive to Greensboro.
Show rating: 4.7

i was at this show; page side, 10R deep and everyone I was with could tell from the getgo (those little drops of spicy mustard throughout BOAF) that this night was going to be a doozey. And..sure enough...we got easily a top 20 all time event. worth the cost of the time machine to go back to the Guyland (jersey for Long Island) to see this in person.

I listen to this show a lot. It was a blazing hot show. The Tweezer was the most trippy and dark version of all time. Gin, WOTC, Bowie, Destiny, and Soul Shakedown are all highlights. Just an amazing night with great friends at my home venue. Magical

I've only been at this Phish stuff for less than two years but out of the 150 or so shows I've acquired, this is the tops, easily. The impact of the Destiny Unbound/Soul Shakedown bust-outs is lost on me but I'd have to say that the Tweezer>Soul Shakedown>David Bowie is probably one of the finest hours in this band's entire improvisational legacy. Gives me deep chills every single time. Dec. '95 be damned!

any1 have any videos of this show? by the way, my favorite phish show ever.

Birds of a Feather smokes right out of the gate with some got type 1 action settling us in for what is soon to be an all-timer of a show. Destiny Unbound comes out of nowhere! The crowd is so confused at first; it takes a minute for them to realize what they're witnessing. I hear on the tape a girl saying "what?! Holy shit!!" Not a single ounce of rust on this Destiny. You'd think they'd been playing regularly all this time it sounds so natural. Horn is a damn near perfect selection to calm down a bit from the opener. Now we arrive at the third in a trilogy of historic Winter '03 Gins, this one being my favorite. The traditional type 1 jam is beautiful and would be noteworthy on it's own. Trey leads them into a slightly softer jam and plays a riff similar to Mr. Completely. Gradually they build back up to an explosive peak!! Everything after is just icing on the cake! Sleep is another damn near perfectly placed ballad. We need a nap after that Gin. Back on the Train is an entirely type 1 exploration and it is perfect. Not a single note out of place. This is the only time I will describe a Phish jam as perfect. Bouncing is yet another flawless choice to cool down a bit before leading into a great rendition of WOTC to close out the set. This set is damn good; not a single down moment. Song placement is top notch, song quality is top notch, and the jams are top f***ing notch!

Tweezer - Right from the get-go there is something special about this one. Trey is playing around a lot more than usually, goading Fish into spicing up the rhythm. The post Ebenezer breakdown is double its normal length much to delight of myself and the crowd judging by the roar on the tape. The jam launches straight into cowbell work from Fish and bubbly, bouncing grooves from Mike. The band effortlessly moves through several sections of soft textures and loud rocking. Page is absolutely sizzling on the keyboards, adding stabs of color in just the right spots. Like a bird they flap their wings to gain speed then spread out to glide along in the wind. Trey's pulsating vibrato syncs up exactly with Fish's raindrop like cymbal hits. All at once they stick their heads above the clouds and bring us up to bathe in the brilliant sunshine. We are soaring. High over the clouds now, Trey finds an emotive pattern knit in the sky and grabs hold. Tears stream down my face at the sight of such beauty. Trey pulls us higher and higher, so high he stretches the seams of reality, pushing into outer space. At the last possible moment he relents. We slowly make our way back down beneath the clouds into some jazzy funk-lite. From there we return to a rocking celebration jam gradually taking us all the way back down to earth.

Soul Shakedown Party reminds us where we are with some fun sing along reggae. The needed follow-up to what we just witnessed. Bowie slithers in with a little major key work from Trey in the intro. The jam explores some darkness, then pulls back, then goes dark again; this time really dark. Positively demented in the best Bowie way. They pull us back to the ending section of Bowie and then we are finally given a slight break in the form of Round Room. I say "slight" because you never want to skip Round Room. Hood is the only choice to end such a set. You couldn't ask for a better send off than a traditional peaky Hood. The finale screams, sending us into the encore break. Contact > Mexican Cousin > Tweezer Reprise is fitting. Honestly they could've played nothing and I would be satisfied. Phish can do no wrong. This is music for the ages.

Another 20th anniversary listen for me. This one's the 6th highest rated show of all time on the dotnet! So let's get down to the nitty gritty, let's get this show on the road!

Set I starts off with a short yet face-melting Birds of a Feather. I haven't heard much versions of Birds, but this one's gotta be one of my favorites so far. It packs so much intensity in just 8 minutes that I couldn't even imagine how the crowd must've felt hearing that as the first song of the whole show. And if that wasn't enough, next up is Destiny motherfuckin UNBOUND. While that song may just be an ever-so-often first set filler tune nowadays, back then it hadn't been played in over 12 years! Almost 800 shows! Not only a bust-out, but a bust-out in demand (most notably heard at the start of the Hampton Halley's in 1997.) Folks wanted this song and they got it, with the band playing it without any rusty gears left inactive since fall 1991.

This bust-out was then followed by a quick and nice rendition of "Horn", which isn't the biggest song of this set but that riff makes up for it anyways. After Horn the band goes all out early on a 21-minute Bathtub Gin that rocks into the cosmos. If you told me that Gin came from a fall 1997 show I wouldn't even notice the difference. The band takes a little breather afterwards with the calm little number Sleep, a favorite of mine. After taking a break from melting close to 15,000 brains, the band revs things up again with the bluesy rocker Back on the Train. Like most BOTTs, this one doesn't go too far in its 12 and a half minutes, but it keeps energy tight and folks focused. Well-performed crowd favorite Bouncing Around the Room keeps everyone up as well, and then the band goes into a final detour with new Round Room tune Walls of the Cave. I don't think I've heard this one before, but fucking WOW. I wasn't expecting this one to be so proggy and exciting, especially for this era of their songwriting. Easily my favorite part of this set.

Once Phish come back on stage and the crowd roars into excitement, they get hit with the TWEEEEEEEEZAAAA!!! Much like the surprise YEM show opener from the previous show, the band easily woos everyone by keeping these dope tunes at the start. But this isn't just any average Tweezer, I'm afraid; The band takes no time at all to exit the fan favorite, and slowly segues into a dark buildup that evolves into a beautiful peak around the 16-minute mark. Yet somehow, it just isn't over yet. Once Trey's done with that excellent riffing peak, the band falls into a sort of unpredictable mania that decays into a dark void. 27 minutes. WOAH.

A bust-out on a much smaller scale occurs shortly after this, the return of Bob Marley's "Soul Shakedown Party", a tune that was tried out twice in Europe six years beforehand in 1997 and then immediately shelved. I liken this strange change of tone to Jerry and the boys closing out an intense, absolutely historical 30-minute Dark Star with a segue into the goofy Marty Robbins cowboy tune "El Paso", 30 years prior on a farm in Oregon. When I first heard Amsterdam, a box set that starts with the debut of SSP, I had completely cringed with this tacky attempt at the song, much like people that hate Phish would whilst listening to one of their normal songs. On this Soul Shakedown Party, they happen to do some interesting reggae jamming for a bit, and that's where I learned to keep calm and sink into the white trash. At the end of this bust-out you can hear them get a little bored, which is when Fish suddenly transitions into the intro beat to "David Bowie". The rest of the band follows suit, and we are treated to what is possibly the last great Bowie the band ever did. This Bowie melds the straightforward rage that defines the 94-95 classics with some sweet 2.0 darkness.

Next up on the docket we're treated with the rather new Mike tune "Round Room", a song that was trialed twice before on this tour, and would be performed once again before being shelved for the remainder of 2.0, only returning twice after Phish's comeback in 2009 as of writing. Likewise, you can tell the band is struggling a little to make this song come to life. However, halfway through we're treated with a nice tiny ambient jam that has already made its way into my playlist. I would've wished for this one to go out a little longer, but oh well. After getting the hint that the audience may not enjoy "Round Room" as much as "David Bowie" or "Tweezer", the band makes amends by launching into the classic "Harry Hood". Like many good Hoods, this Hood isn't necessarily much of a jam more than it is extremely well played. Yet even after ten years since the glory days of Hoods and Slaves and YEMs, I'd still recommend having a fire extinguisher on stage.

After a minute or two, the band comes back for a finishing encore, starting with the goofy novelty tune "Contact", followed up with the just-as-dumb "Mexican Cousin", a somewhat triumphant tune that works really well in this encore slot (even if it is nothing but a terrible, stupid ode to Latin liquor.) And then out of nowhere, a SLICK -> to TWEEPRISE!! BADASS first set BADASS second set BADASS encore BADASS show. YEAHH!!!

9/10

Another 20th anniversary listen for me. This one's the 6th highest rated show of all time on the dotnet! So let's get down to the nitty gritty, let's get this show on the road!

Set I starts off with a short yet face-melting Birds of a Feather. I haven't heard much versions of Birds, but this one's gotta be one of my favorites so far. It packs so much intensity in just 8 minutes that I couldn't even imagine how the crowd must've felt hearing that as the first song of the whole show. And if that wasn't enough, next up is Destiny motherfuckin UNBOUND. While that song may just be an ever-so-often first set filler tune nowadays, back then it hadn't been played in over 12 years! Almost 800 shows! Not only a bust-out, but a bust-out in demand (most notably heard at the start of the Hampton Halley's in 1997.) Folks wanted this song and they got it, with the band playing it without any rusty gears left inactive since fall 1991.

This bust-out was then followed by a quick and nice rendition of "Horn", which isn't the biggest song of this set but that riff makes up for it anyways. After Horn the band goes all out early on a 21-minute Bathtub Gin that rocks into the cosmos. If you told me that Gin came from a fall 1997 show I wouldn't even notice the difference. The band takes a little breather afterwards with the calm little number Sleep, a favorite of mine. After taking a break from melting close to 15,000 brains, the band revs things up again with the bluesy rocker Back on the Train. Like most BOTTs, this one doesn't go too far in its 12 and a half minutes, but it keeps energy tight and folks focused. Well-performed crowd favorite Bouncing Around the Room keeps everyone up as well, and then the band goes into a final detour with new Round Room tune Walls of the Cave. I don't think I've heard this one before, but fucking WOW. I wasn't expecting this one to be so proggy and exciting, especially for this era of their songwriting. Easily my favorite part of this set.

Once Phish come back on stage and the crowd roars into excitement, they get hit with the TWEEEEEEEEZAAAA!!! Much like the surprise YEM show opener from the night before, the band easily woos everyone by keeping these dope tunes at the start. But this isn't just any average Tweezer, I'm afraid; The band takes no time at all to exit the fan favorite, and slowly segues into a dark buildup that evolves into a beautiful peak around the 16-minute mark. Yet somehow, it just isn't over yet. Once Trey's done with that excellent riffing peak, the band falls into a sort of unpredictable mania that decays into a dark void. 27 minutes. WOAH.

A bust-out on a much smaller scale occurs shortly after this, the return of Bob Marley's "Soul Shakedown Party", a tune that was tried out twice in Europe six years beforehand in 1997 and then immediately shelved. I liken this strange change of tone to Jerry and the boys closing out an intense, absolutely historical 30-minute Dark Star with a segue into the goofy Marty Robbins cowboy tune "El Paso", 30 years prior on a farm in Oregon. When I first heard Amsterdam, a box set that starts with the debut of SSP, I had completely cringed with this tacky attempt at the song, much like people that hate Phish would whilst listening to one of their normal songs. On this Soul Shakedown Party, they happen to do some interesting reggae jamming for a bit, and that's where I learned to keep calm and sink into the white trash. At the end of this bust-out you can hear them get a little bored, which is when Fish suddenly transitions into the intro beat to "David Bowie". The rest of the band follows suit, and we are treated to what is possibly the last great Bowie the band ever did. This Bowie melds the straightforward rage that defines the 94-95 classics with some sweet 2.0 darkness.

Next up on the docket we're treated with the rather new Mike tune "Round Room", a song that was trialed twice before on this tour, and would be performed once again before being shelved for the remainder of 2.0, only returning twice after Phish's comeback in 2009 as of writing. Likewise, you can tell the band is struggling a little to make this song come to life. However, halfway through we're treated with a nice tiny ambient jam that has already made its way into my playlist. I would've wished for this one to go out a little longer, but oh well. After getting the hint that the audience may not enjoy "Round Room" as much as "David Bowie" or "Tweezer", the band makes amends by launching into the classic "Harry Hood". Like many good Hoods, this Hood isn't necessarily much of a jam more than it is extremely well played. Yet even after ten years since the glory days of Hoods and Slaves and YEMs, I'd still recommend having a fire extinguisher on stage.

After a minute or two, the band comes back for a finishing encore, starting with the goofy novelty tune "Contact", followed up with the just-as-dumb "Mexican Cousin", a somewhat triumphant tune that works really well in this encore slot (even if it is nothing but a terrible, stupid ode to Latin liquor.) And then out of nowhere, a SLICK -> to TWEEPRISE!! BADASS first set BADASS second set BADASS encore BADASS show. YEAHH!!!

happy 20th birthday to the greatest phish show ever played, one for which i was NOT in attendance, thus rendering any sort of attendance bias retorts moot. five all-time versions of phish classics should do the trick, including the single best tweezer ever not named 11/17/97. a triumph. a masterpiece of a show.

LOVE this show. Play it all the time. 2003 was a truly underrated year in Phish tour. Winter and summer tours both. Great set, great jams and sound is tight. Bathtub Gin, WOTC, BOTT, bowie, birds, hood, tweezer (THE BEST on this album and must hear), bouncing around the room and destiny unbound (that was brought back after 12 years). This album IMO does a great job focusing on Trey and Page jam sections and how well they listen off eachother, and also less focus on the early stuff and more on the past 5 years, still a good amount of older tracks

I haven't spent nearly as much time listening to 2.0 as it deserves (working on it, though!). Obviously this night is a pretty distinct highlight of this short-lived era. There's plenty of exploration in the longer jams (Gin, Tweezer), which I think 3.0/4.0 Phish still does a great job of tbh. I think the main difference I noted here was the over-the-top crazy guitar soloing Trey demonstrated. Plenty here to revisit from both the jam charts and some of the more standard issues (I absolutely loved BOAF).

Setlist Thoughts
- Things get kicked off with an absolutely soaring BOAF. Remains entirely Type I, but this is one of the later displays of Trey's former machine gun glory. Electric all the way through
- Destiny Unbound is a bit unpolished, which is to be expected from a >12-year bustout. Page's organ establishes some nice harmonic movement that shakes up an otherwise monotonous jam. I can appreciate this as a big moment for the band's history, bringing back what has since become a highly sought-after tune.
- Horn>Bathtub Gin allows for more Trey highlights. A lot of great moments come out of the Gin jam as the band remains in C but explores a number of different energy levels and grooves.
- Sleep gives us a great mid-set breather before a slow burning BOTT that eventually grows into a blazing fire. Awesome peaks here.
- Set 1 ends with a visit to a classic Bouncing followed with the newer Walls of the Cave. Trey eats up the Cave jam, continuing to demonstrate his guitar prowess. This version ends with a lot of energy.
- Set 2 busts open with a damn stellar Tweezer. At 27 minutes, this performance covers plenty of ground. The last quarter of the tune picks up tempo and energy plenty, and the whole band is spraying hose. A looming outro allows for some pretty Page piano riffing with a bunch of tension and relief, complemented by Trey's controlled feedback. Hear it.
- Another sweet bustout, Soul Shakedown Party brings down the energy but not the jammy goodness. Mike's bass solo is sloppy, funky goodness. Love the lingering, soft outro here too (Fishman's drumming sells it).
- A spacy drone takes us -> David Bowie. The intro has a lot of beautiful fugue-like play from Page/Mike/Trey. Page works in some amazing piano soloing in the early jam section before Trey really takes off. Trey's solo quickly catches some high-powered winds and the band is sailing right along with him--Fishman in particular. Around 13 minutes in, we get a short exploration that deviates from traditional Bowie territory for added chaos. The re-entry back to Bowie is glorious. Fantastic version.
- Not a huge Round Room guy, but it's fine.
- Hood gets some fun play in the reggae intro, but as always the highlight is the solo. As with other great Hoods, this is an excellent demonstration of Trey/the band's ability to maintain a long crescendo, leaving plenty of room to grow until the very end.
- The Contact, Mexican Cousin, Tweeprise encore is an awesome way to end this historic 2.0 show. Great song choices, great performances.

This show is great! I was not there but the Spreadsheet recording is top-notch. The Type II Bathtub Gin in set I is amazing. Also the Destiny bustout is very well-played; and although I'm not a big fan of WOTC they really jam it out at the end of the silent trees section.

But set II is really where the insane magic is: viz. "Tweezer > SSP -> Bowie" is nearly a full hour of one-of-a-kind bliss.

Will be re-listening to these jams forever

Surprisingly, for all the relistens this phenomenal show must have received, no one seems to have picked up on the ~full band Mr. Completely tease~, smack in the middle of this completely grooving Gin! Certainly a show worthy of the LivePhish release, and worth coming back to for so many reasons. Thanks guys!

Great show. Had seats on the floor about 20 rows back. I remember A LOT of boozing and being in college we got hammered before, during and after the show. The show was unreal with me being more of a 2.0er myself with my first show having been Albany 09. I will be honest I had heard Destiny once before on a tape but had no idea they hadn't played it in 1,000 shows or whatever it was but it was awesome to see everyone hugging and high-giving. This whole show was great for me but I really did not care for the MC encore. BOTT, WOTC, Tweezer, Soul Shakedown were all awesome. I give this show 5 out 5 and listen to it quite often. Thanks to Wild Bill, my college buddy, for bringing me.

I loved this show! I had not scene Phish in about 2 years or so since shoreline and one of the Vegoose festivals where they played in 2000 or so.
I was so intrigued by destiny unbound and many people thought it was a new song..I had been at a few shows in '89 and '90 where it was played and loved it- then it was off the rotation, but what was odd, was, having scene about 80 shows from '89-'94 I was on my own hiatus ( for some stupid reason) from the San Jose show in December of '94 until Shoreline in august or September of '98. I was just starting to see some more shows then they took the hiatus. When this show came to town; I was jonesing for some live Phish. The selection of destiny unbound as the second song of the show was unreal! The last performance of it happened to have been my b-day on 11-15-91. The second set raged and what I recall more than anything is Trey holding up his guitar at the end of Tweezer reprise and offering it up as a gift to the Gods in some odd way...it was 'hendrix-esque'..I was truly blown away by the jams and the showmanship of the band having not really scene them consistently since the early-mid nineties. The jams seemed extended n a more regea esque way and to no surprise soul shakedown arrives. I happened to have been at the Eureka, CA show when they played lively up yourself in '92...this was sick! Trey and the entire band was enjoying this and doing it well.

From www.onlinephishtour.com />
While Phish 2.0 is usually not remembered for it's music, a lot of it being butchered by Trey (especially in 2004), one of a handful of 2.0 stand outs is February 28th 2003 from Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY.

Memorable for the epic bustout's of Destiny Unbound (rumored to have been played because of a sign some one was holding in front) and Soul Shakedown Party, along with a nearly 30 minute Tweezer that showcases some of Trey's drug induced creativity that was certainly present in 2003 shows more so than 2004 shows.

The Tweezer is dark and eerie. There are no boring parts, it starts out dark and odd, eventually building up off of a couple powerful licks from Trey and then starts soaring by the 23 minute mark. It eventually calms down and out of the lull comes Soul Shakedown Party, last played in 1997. When they lyrics are exclaimed the crowd is audibly excited. The Makisupa Policeman-esque outro of the song eventually sinks into a 20 minute David Bowie. The David Bowie is another impressive improvisational jaunt. It goes up, then down to almost silent a couple times before raging up and up at around the 13 minute mark only to go into a repetitive, choppy musical "chant" while Fish is rolling punctuated toms over it. It then sinks down again with Fish silently riding the ride, telling the band that the end is near before Trey's trilling finish.

From www.onlinephishtour.com