7-17-99 -- Oswego Cty Airport, Volney, NY

review submisions dws@www.phish.net or dws@gadiel.com

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 01:13:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Erin McKenna Erin357@webtv.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Oswego 7/17/99

        Just a little reminder to those whom shoot down Phish whenever
any specific venue  doesn't turn into their haven of memories. What
other band is going to offer you the best music ever created? Most
likely none, so now is probably a good time to stop bitching! We also
had shit stolen from us (as there does tend to be a couple of gutless
theives at an amazing event, however, when in distress: SEE Phish!!!!

       My girlfriend, my two freinds, my brothers and I reached Oswego
Airport a little latr than 1:30 on Friday. Traffic was non-existant, and
the vibes were cool the moment w entered the place. After partying the
night away, and waking up in the dead heat of noon, (It was pretty
fucking hot out there, wasn't it?) I had almost forgotten about PHISH.
Then, when 4:30 rolled around, someone at the campsite had mentioned the
idea of heading to the stage to see the phab phour. We, the headed
stageward, and were not dissaponted when they appeared two hours later.
.     .

       SET I:

Tube:   Alright, now this is the way to open a set! One of my personal
favorites! Nice funk-factor, too!

Boogie on Reggae Woman:    Yes! Beautiful cover that would make Stevie
proud. I have loved this song ever since 12/29/98.

BOAF:     Alot of pholks think that this tune is being overplayed, and
they might be right, but I feel that it becomes more experimental and
intense with every performance.

Guelah Papyrus:    Holy Shitballs! Nice placement. My first, and from
what I understand, the first in quite a while. The loopy- dance is a
classic!

MSO:      Pretty tight along with that bluegrass feeling that makes you
feel all nice inside!

Roggae:    My first live one, but let me tell you: if there was ever a
song that made you feel like you were going to float right from the
ground into the clouds, this would probably be it!

Tweezer: WOW, I wasn't expecting this so early, and once Uncle Ebeneezer
took charge, I thought I might lose it. I definately dig the new ambient
style of improvisation!

>Have Mercy: Didn't even know what was going on from when they started
playing it, but it was AWESOME! The first in a long time and quite a
nice segue.
Taste: I love this song! It was a pretty wild version, too, if I
remember correctly.

Character Zero: Thought they were going to end it with taste, but they
never fail to pull this one out of the hat. Nice, rocking version that
pretty much belonged to Trey!

      Setbreak was the bringer of those nice people who cooled everyone
down with their water guns. I was definately ready for some more tunes!

     SET  II

Funky Bitch: Now I love this song when Phish plays it, BUT MAN, Son
Seals knocked the pants off of it!

On My Knees: Never heard of it, but I was just blown away by the badass
bluesman!

Blues Outro: I had definately gained respect for Son Seals. A nice way
to end a mind blowing blues mini-set!

Down with Disease: I knew it was coming sometime, but I didn't know it
would kick me in the ass! Quite the long, typical, mach 10 version that
did everything but dissapoint!

Wolfman's Brother: I think I have seen this at every show I have been
to, but it never fails to amaze me just how nailed they have this song.

>Sneakin' Sally: I love this song, and every time they segue into it,
it's just pure bliss!!!

>Timber Ho!:  Another first for me and another rare one. I have,
honestly, never heard it before, but now I understand! Nice Fuckin'
Tune!

YEM:  This one follows me around too, however I love every minute of it!
The ensemble made me tink I was leaving my body. SPOOOOKY! (Nice job Mr.
Kuroda!)

       ENCORE:

The Squirming Coil: Nice Chill version, however, no Page solo so I was a
tad dissapointed.

Tweezer Reprise: Man! This tune is fuckin' Crazy! Whener they play it I
feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of psychotics, only to discover that
I am one myself!

      All in all- a splendid night of music that made me, constantly
speculate what was to become of the remaining 3 sets. Good Job Guys!
                                            Later,
                                               Erin

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 18:48:12 EDT From: Carini26@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Review of 7-17-99 What a scene. For 3 days, there was nothing like it in the world. I'm sure the readers have already read about the many attractions located on the airport, so I wont bother getting into it. A weekend to remember though. Had the time of my life and I wanted to thank Phish and the fans for making it a special one that I'll remember forever. I absolutely loved the creativeness involved this year, but maybe perhaps a few suggustions for upcoming airport weekends (hopefully) that seem rather obvious. First, more than one ice truck. 2.5 hour waits in 100 degree heat are no fun. More ice trucks and more ATM's. Though I was fortunate enough to never run out of money, I had friends who weren't as lucky. As for the fan base, of the 75,000 people that were there, I'd say only between 50,000 and 60,000 actaully attended the show. It's sad... granted I know it was the biggest party of the year, I can't understand why some choose to stay at the camp site and steal other people's stuff. It just ruins the entire experience. Please, all the "thugs" out there, stay home where you can sell your drugs and steal elsewhere. I don't encourage either, but if it's your lifestyle then keep it on your home ground. Another suggestion, NO DOGS! For Christ sakes man, I cant remember how many fucked up people approached my friends and I wondering if we had seen their dog. Man, either do drugs or bring your dog. Doing both is a disasterous combination. Honestly, I must have seen 50 dogs this weekend just wondering around. I also saw some dogs literally trying to kill each other. It took the owners what seemed like forever to restrain them. Absolutely ridiculous. Please leave them at home where they won't be a problem. I'm not trying to point fingers, Im just trying to get those people to use their heads and come to the realization that there are 75,000 people in an area of a few square miles. Other than that, the scene of pure ignorance seemed to be okay. Everyone was overall very friendly and I couldn't believe how generous people were about giving sips of water at the show, just a great gesture that makes us the most kind music fans of our generation, or in some cases, generations :-) Buuut.... on to Saturday night.... Wow wow wow... After hearing 39 shows over the past 3 years, I must say that no 3 days in my life have ever been as intense as this past weekend in Volney. Absolutely sensational. Walking towards the stage on Saturday, who would ever have thought the first 3 out of 4 songs would be Tube, Boogie, and Papyrus?? This lead to a smile on my face about the size of Montana that stuck all weekend long. The Tube was a good way to get the weekend started. Their new ambient style was evident during this version, and it got my groove on. I had never seen Boogie on a Reggae Woman live, but I started whaling when I heard the first chords being played. I fell in love with this tune ever since I first heard it on tape. Next was Birds. Not the same kind of Birds these days as we first heard on the island tour, but nevertheless, a long one that didn't disappoint. Oh, but then Papyrus! What a nice rarity at a perfect time. I feel sorry for the people who werent able to see Trey and Mike doing their wild loopy dance during this song. It was absurd. No way could I keep my balance, stay in sync with the other person, and play my guitar or bass at the same time. Just to show how much fun this band can be and give us a show to remember even if a few critiquers were pissed because Trey may have accidently played an E instead of a G on one chord. Then came My Sweet One. I love their blue grass tunes, especially Ginseng... nothing too special about this one though. Next came Roggae. I mellow tune that I enjoy. Nothing particularly stands out in this version, but good nevertheless. Then my favorite of the first set, Tweezer. I first predicted this as an opener, but man was I glad to just plain hear it. Some people didn't like this one as much because it may have been "too spacey" for them, but I absolutely love it when the band finds their niche and becomes as Fishman once put it, "a multi-layered instrument." It all adds up to a nice long spacey jam that let's us forget about what's going on around us and allows us to indulge in on one thing, the music. It's too bad that some people now lose that groove when it's just "too spacey" for them. I personally love the Bowie's, DWD's, and Tweezer's these days more than '94. I felt in '94 that many of these jams would fall out in the end and they ended up not really being sure as to what to do next. The new ambient style allows for so much more improvisation and so many new directions. I feel like the jams are just more fluid and each band member can get so much out of what they are doing without having to try so hard. I'm sure others disagree, but it's just a personal opinion and I'm happy with whatever style they choose to play. Moving on... to Have Mercy??? Jesus, I was like 2 years old the last time they played that. I couldn't believe this set at this point. Trey was dicking around on the keys, which added a little more spaciness to the jam. Very happy to hear it. Taste was next. Always a nice song to hear. Good jam with Page taking control. I thought they would end the set there, but then they played a raging Character Zero. I never really had a thing for this song just because I have heard it so much. I still dont mind it, especially when Trey really goes off and loses himself. It's fun to watch him love what he's doing. Overall, fun fun fun. Second set was my favorite of the weekend. Every song just tickled me all over. Funky Bitch w/ Son Seals... are you serious? I dont care if others say it was standard, it was damn fun to hear. Then came a song that i wasnt very familiar with called "On My Knees"... I wish I were because Son Seals can jam! Fun outro jam at the end too. Then the spacey beginning of DWD began and all the focus was on Mike. A groovin' DWD with Mike and Trey working together to give us a long-lasting intense jam. Next, Wolfman's. I can't complain because I like the song, but it's harder to find myself getting in the groove during the standard section of the song. It's real easy once the funk begins. This version was special for me. After hearing 4-2-98 in Nassau, I fell in love with the Wolfman's jam that had a perfect segue in Sneakin' Sally. I would listen to that show for weeks. So when I heard the Trey tease the first few chords of Sally, I just about lost it. I couldn't believe this was happening. I always dreamed of hearing a Wolfman jam into Sally. This, and the segue into Timber were my highlights of the entire show. First Timber of the tour, alright! A sick jam too. I thought that was about it, but no, they really had to make this a special occasion for everyone and play YEM. Not the best one I have ever heard, but way way above average... the vocal jam and lights were just fucking with me, absolutely incredible. For an encore, we got a Squirming Coil that's always fun to hear and the expected Tweezer Reprise which is always a good way to end a great show. Well done boys, you've once again made me proud to be a dedicated phish phan for life Of the 39 shows I've seen... definitely a top 5er. I dont care what people say about Trey didnt do this or Trey blew at that or this song sucked or I heard that song last show, it was a damn fine 2 sets, period. I didn't pay 75 bucks to find something to cry about whenever a band member "just didnt have it" during one song. Besides, if you people really wanna anaylze Phish and find out where they "went wrong,", then fine, go ahead, but I think you'd have much more fun looking for mistakes from other bands who don't have 15 years of experience together and know each other like the back of their own hands. Tripp
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 17:25:57 -0400 From: Franklin Craig Malemud fmalemud@en.com To: dws@gadiel.com, dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Oswego 7.17.99 [Funkdown] Review I rarely chime in with my assessment of how a show was, but with all of the negativity about Oswego I have concluded that people could not disassociate themselves from many many subjective qualms about the scene, etc. and therefore, failed to focus on the MUSIC, which my phriends, is WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN OSWEGO. THE MUSIC. THE MUSIC. First and foremost, I was one of the people who stood directly behind the first delay tower page side. Meaning, my view of the stage was obstructed by the VIP platform infront of the tower and the tower itself. I could see the light show, but most importantly, the SOUND WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING from beneath the delay tower. As the sound should be the focus, because I was there for the music. The people who were standing in this location were there for the music. [BTW- I stood in the same location both nites, very very kind grooving vibe, with almost everyone GETTING DOWN - Thanks to the gal with the hebrew Llama sitckers and the 50 stranger group back rub]. It was amazing, as close to wearing headphones as possible. And let me say this, during Fluffhead on the second nite, I had to make my way to the back of the venue to head out of the show as soon as it ended and the sound sucked in most places as I headed back (along the side and back of the venue). HOW could you enjoy the music when u can't even hear it. Phish jams are partly about minutae and changes and a focus on the sublime, if you can't hear the music you can't hear an essential element of what there is to appreciate about it . And with that, I will focus solely on the highlights - which was everything! OK< someone point out a show with more funk? Sick funkdown? I mean Tube <- Funk; Boogie On <- Stevie fUNK; Tweezer <- Phish Phunk, Wolfman's <- see 3.1.97 for definitive Phish phunk, Sneaking Sally <- Uh, more funk, and of course YEM - <- Epic signature song, ripe with the funk bombs. People, I challenge you to name a better show with MORE FUNK than this one, I don't think there was one? And lets' not forget the sick rock: DWD was of epic quality. I have never heard so many notes played a minute as the raging jam climazed. Machine gun Trey, best and most original DWD I have seen ever (and I have seen 50+ shows). Funky Bitch wailed: the song started just with Phish, and then about 30 seconds into the song Trey introduces Son Seals as "the Badass himself, Son Seals" and man was he badass, singing the lyrics in his chi town old bluesy voice and just freaking out. The second tune with son seals raged as well. Amazing guitar exchanges between son and trey. And while I am on the subject, let me address the complaint that IT WAS TREY'S SHOW. you know what, it should be HIS SHOW: Trey and Fish are the only two members of the band who take such a crazy scene (80,000) and use it to their amusement. Page and Mike are pretty doscile creatures. On the other hand, Trey is going to make this his show because he THRIVES off the energy unlike any improv playing rock performer of our time. And that's why Trey makes it his show BECAUSE THE ENERGY MAKES HIM THE PERFORMER THAT HE IS! so let him FREAK, and let him PARTY, if it wasn't for the band partying much of what you all do at the shows would not be so passively permitted. Trust me. Back to the music: Epic again: tHE tUBE boogie on needs not be discussed. Res Ipsa Loquitor - the thing speaks for itself! Serious funk, serious statement from the band (implied of course): "This is going to be a sick show, so get out your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie!" Roggae (soft beautfiul) with DDL type jamming at the end, I have never heard a ROagge like this before, up there with the best I have ever seen (10.31.98). And then the Phish signature: Contrast. Sweet beautiful floating roaggae and then hard edge rock your socks off and destroy your brain funk/rock of Tweezer. Perfect placement in the first set taboot! Thick grooves as the sun is going down and the nite brings forth one of the biggest kick downs ever: Have Mercy. I was pleased to have heard this the last time they played it (11.12.94 II DWD > MErcy > DWD, don't forget the epic Hood from Kent State either) and had just handed a friend a tape with the 11.12 DWD>Mercy>DWD filler on it at OSwego. But come on people, you may never see this again, and its beutiful reggae music. Again perfect contrast to the Tweezer. The taste that followed raged much like the Taste I saw at the Gorge 8.3.97 II, just the phat spanish jam ala carlos that Trey can't shake. [Note I mention the dates of these shows for two reasons: There is a distinctive difference between having an opinion of show you heard vs. a show you saw and the fact that giving reference a specific version gives someone who is familiar or wants a reference point to what you are talking a bout, a benchmark for comparsion. I spout off these dates to show you that I have been to show X or Y or that I travel a lot] And then Char. 0, which flippin rocked the house, everyone around me just jumping up and down with this rock anthem wailing from the stacks above. Wow, one of the greatest sets of music I have ever heard, partly because it was my 53rd show and the best overall Phish show I have ever seen (total packagae inclusive of vibe, friends, scene, music, party, etc.). And the second set just was over the top. I mean people: Wolfman's - sick but then into Sneakin funk - sick o II, but over the top was the raging Timber - dark, eerie, calming down the funk vibe [called by my best friend standing next to me about 5 minutes before they began playing it] and as Timber peetered out and the show could have ended........ Y E M. Mike's BASS solo was abosultely over the top, over my head, over the hills and far away. out of hand. Out of hand. Out of head. Coil was very nice cheery, only to be devoured by the insane energy that only Tweeprise could bring to this show after the sick sets and the sick energy and the sick vibe - Tweeprise simply brought the house down. 80,000 people rocking out to Tweeprise. Pure Trey energyvibe. Pure energy! All I can say is this: I am not very good at explaining what I found to be wonderful about 7.17.99, I do my best, and its far short of a Dirksenian review. However, as I was lying on the ground after the show abosultely freaking out about how good I felt after this show, I wondered how good was this show really? It was only after discussions with at least 10 old school (100 plus shows each) phans that I realzied my emotions were genuine and shared. Many of these pholks responded that this show was one for the ages. I think so. I've seen a number of Weens, NYE's Hamptons, and many other shows. #53 topped them all. Don't believe me though, get the tapes and if you feel a little bit of the magic maybe you can understand it was 1000 times better if you where I was standing. In my space with my friends with my vibe and with OUR MUSIC. Hope this helps. OSWEGO was far from a failure, it was an apex of type II jamming and fun. Thank you very much Phish, for one of the most amazing weekends of music in my life! Sharingthegroove, F.
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 14:57:51 -0400 From: Ian Ference ference@wpi.edu To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: First nite Oswego thoughts Well, here are my general thoughts on the first nite of Oswego. Besides the 3 day Worcester run I had not made a show since the Wheel, so I did not know exactly what to expect in terms of what direction the band had taken, but I was pleasantly surprised! Musically, I thought this show was far superior in general to Lemonwheel, except maybe for the fact that it was 5 sets instead of 6 (OK, maybe I'm just greedy :] ). The lot scene was a little more sketchy, and it pissed me off to see so many people there just for the drugs. Drugs should be used to enhance the musical experience, not the other way around folks! I talked to several people who didn't even bother to go in to the concert ground to see Phish, that pissed me off. Also, a note to some (not all) of the dreaded up hippies: You're just as much of a conformist in your own way as anyone else, and I didn't appreciate the disapproving looks I got for having short hair and not wearing patchwork pants. There was a lot more of that this year, I hope the scene doesn't become any more snobbish, because I felt the community atmosphere had definately suffered. Well on to brighter things: the music. Here's my individual set synopses for the first nite: First Set: The Tube opener was a pleasant surprise, and then all of a sudden... no way! Boogie on Reggae Woman! Birds of a Feather... well I'm getting sick of this song but still an excellent version. I'd never seen a live Papyrus, so that was a treat, and seeing the dance was just fun! It was now that I was getting the impression that Page was having an off nite. MSO was solid, and then the Tweezer->Have Mercy... KICK ASS! I didn't even think they did Have Mercy live anymore but I was extremely glad to see it, this was by far the highlight of the set. Taste... decent version, found this song disconcerting to dance to (POLYRHYTHM HELL!) so it's cigarette time. By this point I was SURE Page was having an off nite. Character 0 - OK, well I'm kinda tired of this one, and the jam wasn't exactly spectacular, but it wasn't bad and certainly not a horrible way to end a set. Overall rating: 6.5 Second Set: Ever since I had seen the Son Seals set at the Echo Lodge, I had been calling a Funky Bitch with a guest appearance by Seals this weekend, and when they ripped into the opening I just Knew they were going to bring him out, even though I had moved back far enough that I couldn't see too well. Excellent, soulful version, and the Son Seals vocals were insane! As my friends could probably tell you, I went completely nuts during this! To my delight and shock, Seals stayed for another kick-ass blues song before leaving the stage, during which they did a bluesy jam! Uh oh, that weird noise... Time for DwD! At the beginning, I was thinking crap, they had to go and do that, I didn't sleep at all last night and don't have enough energy for this! But by the time Wolfman's Brother hit, I was so energized that I was having a blast once again. The DwD jam was among the best I've seen! So Wolfmans hits and it is obvious that the keyword for the set was FUNK. I would not have been too surprised if they broke out a Ghost or Moma, but instead they jammed neatly into Sneakin' Sally! I had never seen this live, and tapes do not do it justice! I hope they bring this one back into regular rotation so I can see it again! Then, wheres this going, Timber Ho! The Worcester version was better, still tho, this is one of those songs I won't get sick of. If they had ended the set here, I would have still been more than happy, but then those opening arpeggios hit and I just lost it! What the hell were they thinking, the set was already like an hour and a half long! Not that I was complaining or anything. Solid YEM, but they real highlight was the vocal jam - eerie and haunting, and props to Kuroda, for the whole nite really but especially for that vocal jam, I was not on any drugs at all but felt the completely submerged feeling that I always feel on really good ones. Overall rating: 8.5, would have been 9 if Page was on. Overall rating of show: 8, a good solid show with solid if not shining performances by most of the band, and props on making Mike loud enough! I had a blast, and will write a review of Sunday's show when I get around to it. Peace, Ian /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/ | "I will not forgive you, if you will not take a chance..." | / --Robert Hunter / | "Those things of real worth in life are worth going to any | / length in love and respect to safeguard." / | --Julia Butterfly Hill | /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 13:36:15 EDT From: Joker0037@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: 7.17.99 review i'm a little disappointed. not at all with the show, they kicked ass. i'm disappointed with the phans that are jumping all over the band. and jumping all over the other phans. i read one of the reviews and he said "everyone needs to get off the drugs" because people around him weren't dancing like crazy. hello? did you watch the show? alot of those songs you couldn't dance to. the only thing you could do was stand there and watch in amazement. and i'll admit it seemed like trey was getting awfully carried away with himself at points, but it wasn't hurting anything. the shows alternate. when i saw them at msg on the 30th, it seemed like mike was totally dominating the whole show. and at camden paige absolutely blew the roof off. so i don't think anyone can hold that against him. and as for the dancing, their style is changing again. like the 97 phunk, something different is going on here in 99. and the change has been gettting more noticable since the dark side show. more of a pink floyd ambient jam style phunk. and another hint of the change is the stage setup. trey and paige are on opposites and mike and tubbs are in the middle. and son seals demonstrated the purpose of this to everyone. during funky bitch and southern fried trey was ripping a viscious solo when son seals said"alright alright trey" and turned and pointed at paige. then paige kicked it out. i think they are kinda battling for the spotlight, so to speak. last year everyone was placed logically because they just came out and played and no one was really in charge. this year something new is happening. and if everyone would relax, and just enjoy the music, we could be in for a hell of a ride. now the show. to me it was a setlist of songs you always guess but never get. songs like tube, boogie on reggae woman, sneakin sally & timber ho! are personal favorites. as well as wolfmans, DwD, YEM, funky bitch TUBE phat. BIRDS don't really like this one. i have it on so many tapes that i'm just tired of hearing it. it seems like they realize this though because the last two i saw (camden &here) were 15min and more than ten respectively. looks to me like they are trying to turn this into a big jam. TWEEZER---------->JAM this was awesome. the jam just got ridiculous then somebody next to me was like "uh oh here they come" and i turned around and there were at least a hundred balloons (looked like it anyway) being bounced over the crowd and forward toward the stage. when they finally got there it was just furious. and the lights and the jam they worked into just made it a kodak moment. (we were sitting about 25 rows out on trey's side, by the way). it seemed like the jam couldn't end until the balloons stopped. so i thought as long as the crowd kept it up so would the band. but somehow slowly the balloons disappeared and the jam slowed out and closed but carried right into... HAVE MERCY thought it was makisupa or something at the beginning but then i realized i didn't know it. someone told me they played it a while back and that its a rarity. it was great and i love it when they kick the reggae beat. it also followed the sick tweezer very well. into... TASTE another song i don't really like (not that i don't like it) but i do now. it was great. it was really tight and all the guys were really into it. and then.... ZERO thought taste was it but they tagged this one on. this is a song that just kicks ass when they really rock it out. with trey on the hendrix wah on the solo it really wails and the crowd goes wild. then the opened the second set with FUNKY BITCH!!!!????? wow. this is always a closer (it even sounds like it should be the end of the show) so to open the second set with it is a statement. and son seals was out. but the whole little set with him was really great. it was one continuous jam around his entrance, sit in and exit. the mood was like a celebration of him by phish and the phans and kurodas lights were all orange and pink and green, really adding spirit to it. then after son seals walked off i saw trey lean in to talk to mike and it was a quick statement. then DOWN WITH DISEASE the lights just dropped into blue. the mood went from warm to frigid in a heartbeat. and mike was doing those crazy sounds he makes in the beginning of this tune. sounds that let you know he's about to get down and dirty. the first thought that came into my mind was uh oh. then down with disease. the way the mood changed so fast was like they were saying "welcome back, we're phish, & we're about to knock you on your ass." and he did. as well as everyone else. the first fifteen minutes or more of this was just a totally intense jam. all four guys were just lost in it. then it segued into WOLFMAN'S great song. this is a short version i think though. it went pretty good at the start but somewhere into the jam i think they lost it. so tubbs did a couple of skip drumbeats, to make it seem intentional, and then kept doing them for the little close jam. then trey started to play a couple of chords and i just listened really carefully. "i know this....what is it....." and he was playing it really slow to start. it took a minute for them to get anywhere close to the actual song. then after about 20 seconds it clicks and i exclaim to all around with great joy SNEAKIN' SALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! then they continued playing for about 30 seconds until Mike came in with the sally baseline, at which point everyone went nuts. i love this tune. (dying to see sneakin sally----->jam----->moma dance though) it was definately one of the songs i thought i wouldn't get to see at a show. and it was a good version nicely jammmed and a good addition to this already steller set. blues----->DwD insanity------>funk is definately a quality set. then the sally jam closed out and next was TIMBER HO! this is like my dream show so far. at least this second set. this song was great but didn't seem quite as tight as the DwD so it kinda dragged a little. wasn't as clean. all four weren't on the same page. at least thats what i saw. not at all a complaint because the versions of this i have all have the same problem. i think it could just be the song. but it was still good then they coulda ended it with a with a short song. something that really cooks but isn't the 20minute YEM they decided to play. talk about the perfect end to an unbelievable set. this was about as tight as it could have been with the trampolines and all. the vocal jam seemed a bit long but i don't know. and the way they were singing i called them to break into an amazing grace acapella but they didn't. when you listen to the tape sing it yourself, it would have been perfect. but i digress. then the encore COIL find this to be a bit of a boring song. and by this point my legs and back were absolutely killing me. i could barely stand straight so i was totally dreading paige coming out at the end of this and playing a 7 minute piano solo. woulda been great but i would not have been able to enjoy it. but he didn't. it was just a clean song with a subtle little ending that fell into TWEEZER REPRISE huh? o my god. they played tweezer tonight. wow. i was totally satisfied with the second set and when they started playing this i remembered that there was a first set. and i was really really satisfied. thats how good the second set was. i forgot that they played TWEEZER. excellent excellent show. despite waking up at 1pm on friday, leaving for oswego at 7pm, getting to that mobil station at about 20 of one in the morning. then we got into line. the line we were in til about 8:30am on saturday. seven and a half hours. then they made us camp in the dustyest place on the planet i think. no grass in eyesight then a car would drive by and the cloud removed your eyesight. set up camp by about 9:15 and tried to lay down. after being in the tent for about 10 seconds we realized it was 900 fuckin degrees in the thing and sleep was going to be impossible. so we just walked around. didn't get to sleep until after the show at 3 or so. a long long long day. but like i said, it was a great show. lates Hyers in philly this is based from memory so don't take it as the bible. couple of things i did this last weekend could have affected it abit. and it isn't the whole setlist either.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 13:47:54 -0400 From: damon ripton nazarenko damon@nazarenko.com To: dws@gadiel.com Subject: oswego thoughts ... post 'em if you want to Okay it's a miracle that I'm even sitting at my PC writing this so soon because at 8am this morning I woke up from a nap at a service station on I90 in a rainstorm with a dead battery (damn cell phone plugged into the cig lighter) and a hood that doesn't pop because of a torn cable. I'm fucked, to put it mildly, until some old groundskeeper pulls this huge cast-iron rod out of his wagon and prys open my precious Cadillac. The whole ordeal took two hours. I don't think I obeyed the speed limit at any point on the ride home. Okay now for the "review" ... I've never done one of these before, but I think I can ... I've gotten a chance to see the band members play lots of guest spots around Burlington lately and they've been sounding great so I couldn't wait to see them all play together again. I've seen Phish once or twice a year since 1994 and I have a lot of their very best shows on tape (10/29/88, 2/20/93, 12/30/93, 12/31/93, 6/22/94, 12/29/95 etc.) so I have plenty to compare with what I saw at oswego: 7/17/99 set one tube - got things rolling. nowhere near 12/7/97 or anything but sounded good ... seemed to last a while. then ... boogie on reggae woman - a lot of tour kids around me went nuts and started dancing up a storm. i did too ... very fun. birds of a feather - this song is the same every time. i sat down. guelah papyrus - better song, but i still wasn't ready to stand up yet. my sweet one - i remembered singing this song with my friends in highschool and i got up and danced to it even though I wasn't really ready to. roggae - uh ... this definitely isn't my favorite song ... tweezer - ...but this sure is one of them! right on, guys. I thought this tweezer was very good and pretty mellow, and the segue into have mercy was silky smooth ... i didn't even notice it at first. taste - good song, good jammed-out version ... was hoping for something more old-school ... character zero - snore. During the setbreak my buddy Nat and I were talking about which band member to pay attention to in the second set. I wanted a good look at Trey. Nat takes bass lessons from Stacy Starkweather and he said that he really wanted to get up front and center so he could see Mike play. Well, we headed in and made our way up front but way on Page's side so we could only see Page's back, and Trey when he stepped up to the front of the stage. We got to see a lot of Trey :) AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT : 7/17/99 set two funky bitch - trey introduced the second set by welcoming son seals, the writer of this song, onto the stage. it ripped ... front to back ... son sang vocals and the boys just blew it up. 2nd blues tune - dunno the name of this one but it sounded almost like funky bitch :) son sang this one too. again, very tight and danceable. the song ended and phish played a blues jam as son walked off stage ... this wound up with trey (who was smiling a MILE WIDE for the entire first two songs) going over to mike and signalling ... down with disease - okay ... basically, they RUSHED through the composed section of the song and may have even flubbed it a bit, but it didn't matter. I didn't get to feel a single drop of rainwater fall on my head this past weekend but after being DOUSED BY A FIREHOSE like this I felt as cool as the other side of the pillow. This was high speed Phish at its best, folks, specifically Trey, who stepped up, appeared to get hit by a bolt of lightning, and thanks to the 60,000 volts of electricity running through his body, tore this song to shreds. Get it on tape and play it loud. wolfman's brother - typically slow, groovy wolfman's which was perfect after that colossus diZEEze ... into ... sneaking sally - phish does a great job with this song and i danced my ass off ... into ... timber - ?!?!?!? this, i did NOT expect. It was sick ... they jammed a long while between verses, if i remember right ... you enjoy myself - this set is pretty much a classic at this point, as you can probably tell. great, unique YEM jam into a vocal jam that sounded like gregorian chants (lots of "oh" and "ah"). the lights didn't seem in sync, though ... whatever. squirming coil - see "birds of a feather". no page outro, though ... they just went right into ... tweeprise - pretty hardcore! the boys knew they had just put on a show and they seemed just as psyched to end it. the first set of this show was fun and probably above average but it didn't hold a candle to set 2 (in my opinion, the best set of the weekend). Hear the DWD jam as soon as you can. Hope everyone had fun. 7/18/99 REVIEW COMING SOON. damon nazarenko add a "@" and a ".com" to email http://www.nazarenko.com/DAMON
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 10:32:25 -0700 From: Doug boardcrazy@mindspring.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Oswego 7-17-99 (AWESOME SHOW!) This weekend was a blast!!! We had a convoy of what I've heard called "Senior Heads(as old as the band)" coming up from Philly,NYC and NJ. We cruised up Friday AM after the PNC show. We cruised right in and were setup by early afternoon. I'm not even gonna get into the heat thing. Saturdays show was one of my favorites. The sound was great. We stood right near the last speakers on the left side. We walked up to the first speaker bank during Sneaking Sally, right about when my once a year buzz kicked into overdrive.... It was weird in the sense that I remember outstanding playing by everyone except Trey during the second set. Which is not to say he sucked(because he didn't), I just didn't notice him that much... Which is sometimes a good thing. Even though I didn't remember much about Trey that night, It does stick out in my mind that his Blues playing was great! I remember a thread on RMP about Trey not being a good Blues stringer... Well - I think he answered that question himself!! He's great! Page was incredible. He jammed during the Blues stuff and I ALWAYS love him on YEM and Squirming Coil. The piano sounded soooooo good!! I kept thinking to myself how Page and I graduated the same year from a town away... And how I wish I could've hook up with him to jam when I was younger.... He may be my favorite musician in the band, but that changes from show to show. Fish was like Keith Moon reincarnate!!! DWD was incredible drumming!!! DWD seemed fast and Fish kept up like a machine spewing out cascading, extended fills. I've been playing drums for 25 years and I was very impressed.. Fish moves around the kit like a madman on second and then he wires it tight the next... I don't know how he keeps it going. Mike's poppy funk bass lines in YEM are amazing. We saw him near he second stage on Saturday and said "hey". He is just so normal - it's great... He's like any of my friends. I look at him and I just want to give him a beer or something.. And NOW the lights!!!! WOW!!!! The lights during YEM were incredible!!! Just outstanding, particularly during YEM...... I love when they make the spotlight go up and down with their voices going higher and lower. And at the end of the Vocal Jam there were spinning snow flake looking spots above the band. When the singing stopped, these spinning designs dropped to the stage on by one. Very cool!!! I love the lights!!! They are truly the fifth Phish! When the show was over I just stood there and thought that I just saw one of the best shows ever! I wanted more! I told people I had one of best shows ever, and they thought I was nuts... But for me, everything was right. The music, the lights, good buddies, good buzz. A perfect Phish night for me!!! The only bummer of the night(and a total buzz kill) was a guy we know lost his dog when we got back to the cars.... A Black Lab named Belushi, who has tags so we're hoping for the best..... Please people LEAVE YOUR PETS AT HOME!!!!!!! Peace, Doug boardcrazy@mindspring.com
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 11:22:11 +0000 From: Michael Kester kester@baldcom.net To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: 7-17-99 Review Wow, what a scene! Amazing, just amazing. There are so many people here! Too many, in fact. I never found the friends I was supposed to meet, and that stunk. But, luckily, I found some other friends, and hung out w/ them! So all is well. Anyway, enough about the AMAZING scene, on to the show: SET I: TUBE: A Tube opener!! Alright! Wow, is all I can say....obviously a first for me, and it was a great version. It surprised everyone around me, and luckily it surprised them pleasently. BOOGIE ON: Excellent tune, a lot of fun. Another first for me, and I was happy to hear it. BIRDS: Great version of this one. I listened to Story Of The Ghost on the way over, and this one blew the album one out of the water (as all the live ones do, I might add). But this one was a longer version than some I have on tape. GUELAH: Non-jam song, but that's fine, it's a great tune. And the mid song break is really impressive, with Trey and Page doing the lilting scales up and down. Very good, although this one seemed extremely slow to me (not that that's a bad thing). MY SWEET ONE: I love Bluegrass, and this is one of my favorite Phish bluegrass tunes. Page's solo got off to a rocky start (as his did much of the night, if I remember correctly), but oh well...fun nontheless. ROGGAE: A song to slow everything down...nice, but I heard this one at Vernon last year, and would have liked to hear another slow song instead maybe. Never mind, good version. TWEEZER: Awwwwww yeah. Tweezer, when it's done well, is a phantastic song. Tonight's wasn't the hard rock version, nor was it an experimental/spacey version. It was a mellow, but very dark one, that I really liked a lot. Eventually, it made a (great, BTW) segue into.. HAVE MERCY: Wow...they haven't played this since 1994! And this was the ninth time it's been played ever! Cool song, I liked it. I also feel privelaged to have heard it. TASTE: Taste is one of those songs, like Scent Of a Mule for me, that I wouldn't request, but once it gets into the song, I really enjoy it. But, I didn't think Page's solo was very good, but that might have just been the speakers near me. The after-Page-solo jam was very good, and it eventually segued into... CHARACTER ZERO: This is such a fun song, and a good way to end a set, IMO. It lets Trey wail on as long as he wants, and got the crowd dancing madly. Let me say this, though: There are a ton of people here, and yet, hardly any yelling and applause, and sadly, not everyone is dancing!! Come on, everyone...my friends and I were dancing the whole set and only 3 or 4 people around us were. Kind of disappointing. SET II: FUNKY BITCH: My friend Gary called this some time this weekend, with Son Seals guesting, and he was right. This was a great version with Page taking his solo, then Trey, and then Son Seals. I'll admit, the crowd seemed a little more responsive to this than the first set, but not much more :-( SOME BLUES SONG: I would guess this was one of Son Seals. Fun song, and he once again followed Trey soloing. I love the blues, and this was just great for me. BLUES JAM: Someone near me had this as a Funky Bitch reprise, but I think it was just a jam, as Son Seals left the stage. Nice jam, either way. DOWN W/ DISEASE: Wow. This was truly amazing. This must have lasted 20mins. The first I would guess 12-13 mins were some of the most fast and fierce jamming I've heard. It was sooooo intense!!! Then, they slowed it down into a mellow funky jam. After 4-5 mins of that, (which numerous times, I called to segue into Moma, Ghost, and/or 2001 (yeah, I know they played all those songs recently, but it really would have fit into this jam!!) ), Trey started the DWD end refrain, and they finished the song up! An awe-inspiring version, and the lights, I must say were incredible. WOLFMAN'S BRO: Alright! Funky to the near max (The max being a good Moma), this song rocked (not as in rock 'n' rolled, as it kicked butt!). And, thankfully, they just jammed it out, without getting too spacey or ambient. That stuff is ok, but I like the older Wolfman's, where it's a song, instead of lyrics and then just space. An enjoyable version which segued (once again wonderfully) into.... SNEAKIN SALLY: I called this when I heard Trey playing the opening chords inside the Wolfman's jam (he played a few of the opening chords, but it wasn't a Sneakin sally tease by any means). I was right because it appeared, and was great. Really really fun...it eventually segued (yet another well-done segue) into.... TIMBER HO!: I have this song on tape and never cared for it. But it's so much better live! I really liked ths version, and by the time it was finished, it had been a long (65 mins +) set, so I figuered it was encore time. YEM: But, no!!!!! Yem!!! Where are they pulling this second set from?? It's amazing. I'm not going to go into depth here about the YEM (I'll let then YEM reviewer do that), but I will say that a great version finished with a fantastic vocal jam. It was not insane at all, but dark and eery. I thought a couple of times they were either going into Kung (I know, I know, done recently, but hey, why not again?) or that Gates of Jerusalem song that is on the end of Demand on Hoist. Either would have been great, but instead it was just a great vocal jam. ENCORE: SQUIRMING COIL: Trey came out and played some chords that **were** the opening chords to Twist (Around), and I thought for sure we were getting that, and I wasn't the only one. But the played Coil instead, which is a good song. There was a glow stick war, and it was understandable. It really was a great moment. TWEEPRISE: Then, of course, Tweeprise. Typically rocking, great version. Nice ending to an amazing night! Thanks everyone, see you tonight for the 3 sets! -Nate
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