First of all, I love that Phish played in such an out of the way venue; sure, they didn't sell it out (or even come close, according to the other reviews), but I like that they'll a) head to venues like this or Chula Vista or West Valley City, Utah and b) reward those that do show up with kickass shows. You Snooze, You Lose, indeed.

Set 1 immediately gets on my good side with a sweet 2001; Trey cranks out some nastiness in the first half, and lays back in the 2nd half so Mike can play some burbling notes. The band then knocks out a few "song" songs, all well-played to be sure, before we get to the next big highlight - a Gin that carefully makes its way into a "Classic Gin" upbeat jam that doesn't quite reach the hallowed heights of 7/29/98 or the Went but still features some joyfully sweet Trey soloing and is worth the listen for those that enjoy "bliss" jamming. I also like the Sand in this set; the band hadn't quite developed the lockstep groove of even three months later, so the jam is a bit looser and therefore more interesting to my ears, kind of like what they did with Antelope in the late 90s. So that's a thumbs-up first set right there.

Set 2 starts with Jibboo, and I'm tempted to give away the points earned by the 2001, but this version at least has some spaciness to it that helps me like it a little more than usual. But then in comes Ghost to redeem things, and halfway through the jam starts heading towards slightly darker waters, Trey really making his guitar walk and talk, the groove sharp and muscular (Mike really makes his presence felt as well), until things slow down and things get ambient and spooky. Such a delicate coda makes for a natural lead-in for Taste, and this Taste is not spectacular but features some nice band interplay. Brian and Robert serves as a breather, then comes Mike's Song, and it brings some funky guitar licks (with loops fluttering around in the background) and Page's added color on the organ as the groove stays more mellow than angry (see: 7/17/98). You will want to dance to this Mike's, believe me. Mike's leads into Simple (kinda odd it's not a ->, as it sounds a lot like every other Mike's/Simple transition ever), which is standard but leads to a pretty ending as it so often does. Train Song is next, then Weekapaug, which teases *something* early on (Trey does, I'm sure of it, but I can't tell) and is perfectly fine (the jamming chart's analysis seems a bit harsh), maybe not as massive as one would like but still full of nifty guitar playing. It's a fine way to close a pretty strong set, and La Grange is one encore song I have yet to tire of hearing (probably because it's so relatively rare).

Shows like this are why I think Fall '99 is better than December '99 - there's spaciness and thick grooves and moments of hushed beauty like the December shows, but greater consistency (at least in terms of sets, if not full shows) all around. Along with 9/14 and 9/18, this is the third part of Fall '99's Holy Trinity. Big thumbs up.

I lost my shit right off the bat! 2001>Chalkdust. We went early & got the rail in front of Trey. I head banged so hard during Chalkdust I blew my neck out & Trey gave me a thumbs up. Sick show all the way.

After seeing the 2 Gorge and Boise shows earlier this tour, I was hoping to finish out 1999 with one more epic Phish show (FYI, this is still the goal and it will never change). I'll never tire of re-listening to the 1999 tour and this show is right up there with the best of the year IMHO. The talk on the tiny lot scene pre-show was mostly about some terrible tour-rat fight that happened the previous evening in Tucson. Not sure what went down, but people were definitely on edge and eager to get back to what's most important, Phish!!!! Standing in line at will-call, several people asked me if I had seen Mike earlier in a golf cart. I thought they were full of shit, but after the 3rd person brought up this story, I couldn't help but inquire further. Apparently, Gordo was driving around asking phans if they thought a weather/military blimp floating over the venue was an alien UFO?

Sure, go ahead and don't believe me. But this story was being repeated all around me up until the lights went out for the 1st set!!!! Then BOOOM, we get a 2001 to open up!!!!!! Can't make this stuff up. The 2001 comes complete with the obligatory Crosseyed and Painless tease from Trey early on in the intro and, needless to say, rocked the house. Other big Set 1 highlights included the Bathtub and Sand. Both were extended and well played. The Gin is one of my all-time personal favorites and has hints of the explosive Trey licks prominently featured in the 9/12/99 version from two weeks earlier.

Set 2 continued great vibe inside this 3/4 empty indoor basketball arena. I can remember having my own row of seats to dance in at one point this set and I was only a few rows up from the floor!!!!! Similar to the Boise show, the crowd had become so entranced by the band that between songs the venue would become eerily quiet. It took great restraint not to yell something obnoxious at Trey in between tunes. I remember thinking the stage was going to levitate through the roof during the Ghost jam. My favorite musical moment of the was early on during the Mike's Song jam where we finally got our first funk session of the night. Back in 1999, you weren't always guaranteed any cow-funk but this Mike's delivered a wonderful (though short) funkathon. Just to add some sprinkles to the sundae, Trey break out his machine gun during a RIPPING La Grange encore. Pretty sick encore choice if you ask me.

Awesome show. It was like it was my own private show because there were not very many people there. I had front row without a problem.

This show has a fantastic Gin that starts out in the same vein as Riverport but takes a left turn into some arena rock madness, such a fantastic version. Sand is also no slouch. The whole first set is just so high energy the setlist is perfect for that.

Also Ghost absolutely slays as it pulses along, yet another killer 99' Ghost.

I won't repeat all that has been said above, but this show is really good.

This was my first show in my home state. My brother's dorm room was a nine-iron shot from the arena. Can't beat that. My buddy Dave and I drove from Tucson the night before. Weird scene in Arizona and the rest area halfway between Pima and Cruces was full of wooks. But the Cruces show was smokin'. Anytime you got a 2001 and a Mike's Groove in the same show during this era, was epic in the truest sense of the word. The Gin was great too, and Mozambique...what the heck ever happened to that one? I was also at the Nassau show in '98 where this jam originated.

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Can you come out of the gate any better? Big, spooky loops to get underway. Wicked effects at 3:44 from Trey. Trey’s mini keyboard actually adds to the greatness of this jam instead of taking away as so often happened when he jumped on it. This 2001 out of the gate is a home run, they crushed it! >

Chalk Dust Torture: While this is ‘standard’, would encourage everyone to listen to this. Trey is just at the tippy top of his game. He smokes this one big time.

Guelah Papyrus: Nice placement, perfect for this tune and what came before. Allows folks the opportunity to unscramble their eggs.

Axilla: Standard

My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own: Standard:

Beauty of My Dreams: Standard

Bathtub Gin: Hose city, definitely another all-time Gin. Like 9.12.99, it has some of the highest highs.

Mozambique: Energy stays very high with this one, great placement.

Sand: Surprised that they went for another jam, but this is September 99 Phish and they are tough to predict. This one like the past two stays fairly structured but smokes just the same.

First set summary: This set just never gave an inch, full steam ahead. For my money, it has two premier jams in 2001 and Gin and then one good jam in Sand. Energy was unrelenting. Great set!

Gotta Jibboo: Fan of this one. There is a repeating groove that they very gradually take higher and higher from 5:15 to 8:15. This is abandoned for face melting rock through the end.

Ghost: This Ghost is extremely solid and for it not to be a jamcharts version is interesting and is an indication of just how many truly great versions of this song there are. The tempo is very fast, a blistering pace. Big peak right around 12 minutes and then this one settles into an ambient space >

Taste: This version is crushed and certainly worthy of its placement on jamcharts.

Brian and Robert: Perfect placement.

Mikes: First jam is slow and brooding out of the gates, loops of course. Eventually this bows out to some intense and evil stuff. They never really climb that mountain and bust a big peak, this version is very steady though. No sure how .net shows > and not ->

Simple: Standard.

Train Song: Interesting placement, has to be a nod to how sparsely attended this show was leading to an intimate environment.

Weekapaug Groove: Standard/solid 9-minute version.

Encore: La Grange: Another snooze, you loose aspect of this show. The band shows love by throwing this down in the encore slot. Great way to send the fans down the road. Two days and 600 miles to get to the next show in Austin. This tour covered some serious miles!

Second set summary: IMHO, first set > second set yet again on this tour. Second set is no slouch though, it just doesn’t have any major standouts other than maybe Taste to revisit. All told, this is a great phish and one I would easily rate in that 4.2/5 type territory. Have revisited this show many times over the years and imagine it will continue to do so. Thanks for reading!

This is one of my favorite shows. I did this whole tour and this along with Boisse were special unheralded shows. Trey's Brian Eno influence heightened at this stage in his career. I love ambient phish. Great show! Check it out!