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

My wife and I made the trek to Chula Vista from Texas and came back with memories of our very first Phish gig.
I've been to hundreds of live shows in my time, dating back to KISS in 1979 when I was six years old! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for that one. I've seen them all... from Cheap Trick to U2 to Pavement to ZZ Top to Smashing Pumpkins to Wilco to Air Supply (true story). But I haven't seen Phish, and seeing them minutes away from Mexico was really special.
This would be a night to remember. There was a truly awesome backdrop. The sunset was brilliant and the warm air was just cool enough for a SoCal summer. Because this was our first live Phish experience, we didn't know what to expect, but we had a good idea. We have the entire Phish studio and live catalog and own the DVDs. So, in many ways, we have experienced Live Phish, but we knew that we had to witness it to tell this story. We appreciate this band and we know that seeing them live is something to experience... more than once. I've been a fan for years and I couldn't wait to see what the boys were going to do.
First things first. The parking lot at the Coors Amphitheater was more like hard dirt and hay. No biggie. The scene was alive with colorful folks who were ready for the summer tour that had begun the night before in Phoenix. We chilled with some dudes and scored a few slices of homemade pizza (made in the back of someone's truck). We washed it all down with good beer. Impressive. The Phish fans travel with solid beer choices. No weak beers allowed. Total score.
After an hour of witnessing this cultural phenomenon, we made our way to the amphitheater. By the way, its landscaped beautifully and I really dig the fact that it's an open-air facility. No covered pavilion. We had solid seats a few sections from the stage and we were stoked for the show. The “Guyute” opener was just what I needed. It happens to be one of my wife's favorite Phish originals. As the sun started to go down, the short but sweet “Horn” and “MSO” followed. It was on now.
“Tweezer” and “Limb By Limb” combined for a twenty five minute plus jamfest. Then things settled down. It's as if Phish felt the ambient atmosphere around them, because we were really in the middle of nowhere and the stars were slightly visible. I really do think that they read the laid back scene and mirrored it with the remaining songs. “Fast Enough For You” (breathtaking), “Frankie Says” (ethereal and majestic), and finally, “Taste” (gorgeous). I just witnessed my first Phish set. Huge.
Set II offered some real gems. “DWD” opened it all up like a freight train out of control. Twenty minutes (and two beers) later, we were treated with a stellar “Vultures” and then a new one, “Secret Smile”, which will rival the greatness of “Strange Design” and “Brian and Robert” very soon.
Okay, here we go... two of my favorite tunes were about to take over. As soon as I heard the opening notes of “Harry Hood”, I went nuts and grabbed my wife. I hugged and kissed her like it was St. Valentine's Day! I was all over the place and could not stand still. Then the arena rock buzz saw-like opening riff to “Carini” came blazing out like a cannonball to my gut. It was electric bliss, really. This song really jams out loud. It was totally sick and now, we were out of control. These guys really know how to go for the jugular! Just as I was catching my breath, another new tune debuted. “Discern” was cool, in a “Waves”/”Walls of the Cave” way. Ten minutes later, “Waste” crept in like a long-lost friend. It was moving and, in my opinion, an appropriate set closer. Trey really made that song his own on this night.
I knew that “Tweezer Reprise” had to be around the corner and I was right. The boys came back out and played a safe and efficient “Bouncing” which scored mixed reviews from the fans around us. I was cool with this choice, but I could have gone for a famous cover. Beatles anyone? Then “Tweeprise” saved the encore and minutes later, it was over.
They were mellow when they needed to be and jammed out when appropriate. They didn't do much talking. Their tunes did it for them. Like professional hitmen with a task to complete. This particular mission was a success. A truly magical night.
I know that was basically a tour opener, but it was my tour opener, my very own memory with my wife by my side. I know that certain people would have preferred a “Mike's Groove” or some Gamehendge love, but that will come with time. I'll see them again. And again! Come back to Texas, guys... I was dumb enough to miss you over the years. Texas needs you. I promise... see you soon.

This is a weird looking show. And kind of a weird sounding one. I make a point to not look at any setlists before embarking on my musical journey through each 2003 show (more beneficial for Summer 03 because I am not nearly as well-versed as I am with Winter 03) so this one was a Jackson Pollock painting if there ever was one. Let's begin. Guyute opened the show in surprising fashion. Caught me off guard, and I think it caught the crowd, initially at least, off guard. Now, I will try to not let my personal agenda get too much in the way of this song, as I am not a big Guyute fan, but after the "caught-off-guard-ness" wore off (roughly 6 seconds into the show) I eased into the song as a pretty solid show opener. A very solid one, actually; one that delivers an unexpected jolt of enthusiasm, energy, and "Holy crap they just opened with Guyute!" Good form, Phish. You just may make me a Guyute fan yet. Horn trickles in next and I found this to be a very good selection for the #2 slot to follow up Guyute. Well played, with just a slight off-tone from Trey, it fit the bill nicely. My Sweet One caught me offguard again. (what kind of pot is this anyways??). Well, whatever it is, uhm... hmmm... Cooler Ranch Doritos sound pretty good right now. Snack tangents aside, My Sweet One was a weird, off-kilter choice. And the WHAMO! Tweezer?!? Are you kidding me?! The HELL is going on tonight?! ::puts the bong down, picks up the Doritos, fastens couch belt:: Tweezer wastes very little time setting a tone in its composed section of a furious, straight-forward version. Fish really thumps his kit and Trey adds some hot sauce to his lick. Tweezer takes off into a high-octane car chase of a jam, setting a frantic pace of hard-edged rock rounded off with some crescendo-ing peaks. It is not a "must-hear" version by any measure, but in the moment at the show this certainly was a heater!! I bet the atmosphere in the venue was wild given the unpredictable nature of the first four songs! Cool stuff even if the flow was odd. Did I say the flow was off? Not any more. A perfectly placed Limb by Limb spirals in out of that speeding-ticket Tweezer and amplifies the feel and sound of Tweezer to a T. A really well-executed LXL notched the energy levels up and it hits a really blissful, inspired peak. Fantastic combo of songs, these two. Fast Enough For You, despite how it may look on paper, settles nicely into a resolved set placement behind the still-smoldering wreckage of Tweezer > LXL. The band really liked playing FEFY in 2003, and with good reason. They always nailed it. Dreamy, drippy soundscapes permeate this version. A perfect yin to the fiery yang of the set so far, this misty version sails away into peaceful oblivion. Three songs in a row that really delivered. Make it four. Frankie Says is another favorite of 2003 that, I for one, certainly wish would come back into semi-regular rotation (same with FEFY). Polarized against the volcanic Tweezer > LXL combo, the FEFY, Frankie combo is a calm, autumn breeze. The outro jam has legs, reminiscent albeit briefly, of 2.14.03 Fee, but eventually fades much too soon into Taste. Nonetheless, a great stretch of four songs, paired into two different styles, each meshing perfectly. Taste wanks around for 4 or 5 minutes before settling into a groove and hitting a nice Trey driven peak. Not on par with 2.14.03's version, this one is good... but not that good. Still, in terms of a whole set, I can't really complain, as they really nailed the peak of Taste, sending the audience into setbreak wondering, really wondering, what could be in store for set 2?

Oh boy. Do I ever love that opening growwwwwwllllll of Down with Disease to open Set 2. Before I break this jam down, let me tell you something... after I listened to this song FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER 2 nights ago (no idea how that is possible, as this jam is AMAZING) I thought it must have been somewhere in the mid-20 minutes in length. There is SO MUCH music in this jam... a jam of ONLY 18 minutes. WOW! Ok here we go. It breaks into typical DWD shredding and then returns to the DWD theme about 6 minutes into the jam. At this point I was like, "Hmm, okay, just a straight up rocker to open the set and fade into something else..." How wrong I was. Trey takes them out of the DWD return and steers them into a swankkkkyyyyy groove. Oh man do I love this groove. It really swings. A full band dance, the jam has some serious attitude. Then it morphs into some syncopated, Mike-driven weirdness! THEN, it morphs back into that initial swanky groove, albeit with a more minimalist attitude. THEN it drops into this groove that is entirely reminiscent of 9.22.99 Ghost... you know the one, that 29-minute outer space monster from Portland MFING OREGON! What a jam! I mean, 4 distinct, highly stylized sections. Great stuff!!! Vultures comes in next. A cool choice. Unfortunately it was a sloppy version. Kind of diluted the energy that DWD created. Secret Smile did nothing to help the cause. A poor choice for that part of the set. Hood comes in next and really saves face. Another stretched-out, "where the heck did this come from?" version, this Hood builds towards a false summit before returning into an extended groove-based/Hood-based jam. Hood was exceptional in 2003, and it needs to be discussed more. These 2003 Hoods, specifically this one, play around with a typical build, then venture out into a second jam, then return to a triumphant peak. It saved the set, perhaps the show. An evil, dark Carini finds a perfect home behind this Hood. A very well dropped song. Keep in mind, 2003 Carinis were not thought of as 2012-2015 Carinis. That is to say, in 2003 Carini was not expected to take on a major key happy jam - no way - they were expected to be dissonant and dark, gritty and gnarly. This one is all those. A perfect juxtaposition to what Hood created. Discern... meh... I dunno. I kind of like the song proper, but also kind of don't. I wasn't too fond of its placement here, and the jam it gets into is, in a word, directionless. It seems like Discern could get into Waves jam territory, but it just doesn't... in fact it gets no where close. It just sputters along. Waste, even with a great solo from Trey, was an odd way to end the show. Bouncing, Tweezer Reprise encore was perfunctory and welcomed, even if not mindblowing. A disjointed second set highlighted by two AMAZING jams. A hard show to get a grasp on, especially not being there in person. Moments of brilliance met with moments of "huh?" Which direction would the rest of summer go? Read on respected listener!

Must-hear jams: Down with Disease, Harry Hood
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Tweezer, Limb by Limb, Fast Enough for You

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

Following my explosive first show at the Forum, I was psyched to see the boys down in So Cal again. Unfortunately this meant a three hour ride from Hollywood to San Diego, but fully loaded with snacks and supplies it wasn't a bad trip at all. Arriving at 6 50 p.m., with the band to go on stage at 7 p.m., I had more than enough time to peruse the great parking lot scene. Security is a complete joke here which made for some fun. This is a great venue; it reminds me of Jones Beach with a lawn and no security.
After what some people called a lackluster opening set in Phoenix, this was certainly not the case as the vibe continued to escalate by the second set. I was preparing for something big. Would it be “YEM”? “Divided Sky”? Nah, how about a version of “Harry Hood” which pretty much tore down the house. Glowsticks were out, and it seemed as if everyone, even the Phishy-virgins (and there were lots) wanted to know where he went when the lights went out.
The band didn't even go off the stage or take any time before going right into the pretty short but electrifying encore. “Bouncing Around the Room” was great and well, bouncy, and of course “Tweezer Reprise” is the best two minutes in rock n’ roll.
Three and a half hours after getting in, I was completely floored by the band and the set. Somehow I crawled into bed around 2 30 Am. and made it to work the next morning.

Weird setlist construction and sub par playing make for a below average show.

Guyute is a very weird opener, but this should not surprise anyone well versed in 2.0 shows. Tweezer makes it's rare appearance in the first set. It quickly goes into a strong groove, and ramps up to a nice thunderous peak. Frankie says is well played. The rest of the set has nothing interesting to me.

DWD has a really great solo and a very 2.0 sounding jam that is nothing too new or interesting. Secret smile slows things down and isn't very good placement for the song. Hood luckily pulls things back to a steady pace. It's a stretched out dark and beautiful version. Discern is great but mixed with Waste to end the set, it leaves a lot to be desired. Very slow 2nd set I don't care much for.

Average encore.

Likely not a show I'd revisit except for maybe Tweezer.

In an attempt to revisit all of 2.0, I've been working through summer 2003. A lot of this show seems disjointed and there are definite moments where the mistakes take away from the performance, but the second set Disease is where this show gets my vote of 4 stars.

The FEFY, Frankie Says, Taste ending to the first set is a bit unusual to me. It seems like in a lot of these summer shows they are working to find something that grooves again like it did pre-hiatus. They grasp at it a lot and sometimes miss, but when they do lock in they produce some sweet magic.

Second set Disease, Hood and Carini are highlights for me, especially the Disease..Secret Smile, Discern, and Waste are all kind of slow and disrupt some flow..but as we all know, Summer 2003 really picks up throughout July

So the four of us made our way into the lot shortly after it opened. As I saw in 2000 here, it's an extremely laid-back lot, Southern California style. Lots of really cool folks out there. Ran into some buddies of mine from Denver (two of which would do Deer Creek > Burgettstown w/ us). Like Phoenix, I was sitting 8th row again, but Page side on this night. When I got into the venue, I saw Bill Walton stride into the 200 section with his better half. I'm thinking to myself, I have better seats than Grateful Red? Hell, this is going to be a fine night for sure! Well sort of - onto the show...

SET 1: Guyute: This is one of the songs I was really happy to see back in 97 when it was being dusted off the shelf. Now I see it way too much. But it's good as an opener. A few minor Trey flubs throughout and the ending is sloppy for sure.

Horn: Nice placement. This song can always be a bit hit and miss but it was a hit for me tonight. Sloppy in spots (Trey) >

My Sweet One: Standard. >

Tweezer: Here we go! I love me some first set Tweezer. This one was 13 + minutes. This is a straight ahead, balls to the wall, head banging, RAGER. Very good Tweezer had a little bit of everything even an old school, tempo wind down at the end. >

Limb By Limb: Very clean version. The Dave’s Energy Guide jam is utterly sick. Wish they would have kept that going and explored that them a good, bit more!

Fast Enough for You: God I love this song. Fantastic version, just as good as Rosemont 2/22/03.

Frankie Says: This song is so trancey for me for some reason. It makes me feel like I need to sit down and smoke a cigarette and I don't smoke cigarettes!! >

Taste: Wow! This Taste just rips. If you are a fan of this song you will want to seek out this show. I remember at the time not being very happy about the set being closed by Taste but in retrospect it definitely works.

SET 2: Down with Disease: Hard driving version! At 12:00 it gets downright funky as hell and I'm thinking of a segue into Sneakin' Sally. Three minutes later they were done with the funk theme and by 16:45 they were jamming much like the Wolfman's the night before: very dark and heavy. Pretty sweet DWD, by 19:40 it is done.

Vultures: Nice! I've really liked seeing this song since seeing it at Deer Creek in 97. Very tight version especially w/ all the tough lyrical parts and being so early in the tour and all.

Secret Smile: Another TAB > Phish debut. Attention Phish - Please stop playing this song. It's not good. Leave it for Trey's band or not at all.

Harry Hood: Holy Toledo! It's so refreshing to see the boys take a song like Hood that's never had any serious improvisation before (not along the lines of say a Tweezer or DWD etc.). This one definitely goes Type II and in 2003 they really push the envelope with Hood many times. They played Hood this night with absolutely no fear, just four guys playing the hell out of their respective instruments. >

Carini: Standard.

Discern: Yet another Trey > Phish debut. At the time I was really unhappy about it. The placement is just no good! But in hearing the tapes, it does in fact have a lot of potential. Potential or not why mess w/ a set that is seriously going somewhere?

Waste: Ummmm, ugh!

ENCORE: Bouncing Around the Room: Christ!!! As the opening notes rang out, I headed for the gate. Trey was flubbing all over the place. >

Tweezer Reprise: Standard.

Replay Value/Summary: Limb by Limb, Taste, Down with Disease, Harry Hood. Wouldn’t necessarily seek them back out but I liked the jam in Tweezer and Discern too. But this show was so choppy, horrible flow.

Score: 3 out of 5.

In an attempt to revisit all of 2.0, I've been working through summer 2003. A lot of this show seems disjointed and there are definite moments where the mistakes take away from the performance, but the second set Disease is where this show gets my vote of 4 stars.

The FEFY, Frankie Says, Taste ending to the first set is a bit unusual to me. It seems like in a lot of these summer shows they are working to find something that grooves again like it did pre-hiatus. They grasp at it a lot and sometimes miss, but when they do lock in they produce some sweet magic.

Second set Disease, Hood and Carini are highlights for me, especially the Disease..Secret Smile, Discern, and Waste are all kind of slow and disrupt some flow..but as we all know, Summer 2003 really picks up throughout July

I have zero memory of this show. Spent the whole day in Tijuana drinking, eating, and getting some sundries at la pharmacia. We were all wasted before we even hit the lot.

I was living in Mountain View at the time, about a mile from Shoreline. I had a lot of friends come out from WY and CO to do the 3 CA shows with me. They continued on and did the Gorge and Salt Lake(lucky bastards!) It was one big blurry party. I remember after this show all of us packing into a Holiday Inn, being all fucked up and throwing Xanax bars around the room like they were popcorn. Playing "open your mouth" from across the room. I don't rememer falling asleep haha. That maid most likely hit the jack-pot.

Upon relisten this show is sub-par Phish. Between a 2 and 3 star show.

2 stars