Phish - The Millenium Shows

It’s been a long time since I’ve shot out some words about Phish. Still love the guys, and hope they come back someday. I expressed some thoughts about it on PT, and it sums it up well.

“They should have become one of those bands that came to your town on the weekend and rocked it out, brought on special guests, took their time, learned their old songs again, and throw in a few more Dead tunes. I think if they had brought in more special guests from the jamband community, it would be cool. That would have kept it new, and Trey wouldn't be bitchin about having to play YEM.

I'm not bitter at all that it's over. If they don't reunite, they left a lot of good music that I haven't even discovered. It never grows old, but I can see how the band (or Trey) thought it was too much of a circus. And if they were to come back, I wouldn't break my back to go see them unless it was Miami or Vegas or near where I lived.

My 2 cents.”

Whatever.

So anyhow, the part about finding new Phish to listen to or rediscovering is very true. I just found the 11-17-97 Ghost from McNichols in Denver, and a Reba from 7-6-94. Always finding great stuff. Right now, I’m really into the greatness of 7-25-99.

Time to reminisce.

BIG CYPRESS – Millenium 2000

It seems like so long since Y2K. A lot has changed in my life since then. I have somewhat bittersweet memories of the whole experience. I think you realize how little choices made in your life can really impact you for the rest of your life. While I had a great time at Cypress, there were things that could have been different. I strive to reject a life that lives in regret. I write down the past mostly for the entertainment of others and to have an archive for my children or perhaps for some book with meaning that 5 people might buy.

Back to the past, a huge group of us made the voyage down to Florida to bring the new millennium in with Phish at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. You could not have asked for better accommodations to see Phish and hang out with your friends; hot weather, the condo that PS’s parents provided, and the prime spot we got at Big Cypress.

Our crew left the big D a number of days before the shows over the new year. We arrived at 5am into Bonita Springs?, FL where PS folks had a sweet setup. In our crew was AJ (shafty), BW, NB, CC, PS, KP, JC? LE? RJ, and perhaps others. We hung out a few days in Florida which got a little crazy for me. I almost lost it in conflicts between old friends and new, but things ended up working out.

We spent a day at the beach while in Bonita Springs, then headed down to Alligator Alley toward Big Cypress. NB got in a little accident with the Burban at a gas station, but nothing that was going to stop the trek. We got camping not far from the gates to the venue. I remember the Timber, Curtis Lowe, and What’s the Use soundcheck. I recall seeing EM too. If you were a phan, you were there. The weather was great, the common area a little half ass, but overall great setup. I don’t recall much about the first night, but here is the setlist.

12-30-99 Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, FL

1: Water in the Sky, Light Up or Leave Me Alone^, Suzie Greenberg, Corrine Corrina, Limb By Limb, +Che Hun Ta Mo*, Big Alligator Song*, Possum, Farmhouse, Ghost, Ya Mar, Character Zero (1:39)

2: Wilson, The Curtain > Tweezer -> Taste, Meat, Golgi Apparatus, Wolfman's Brother, Gotta Jiboo, Harry Hood, Good Times Bad Times (1:35)

3: Chalk Dust Torture, The Moma Dance, Run Like an Antelope, The Sloth, When The Circus Comes, Mike's Song > Simple -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove++ (1:20)

E: Boogie On Reggae Woman > Tweezer Reprise (0:10)

^Traffic cover (from the album "Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys"). +Trey announces that the band will play all night, will not leave the stage to go to the bathroom, and will be surrounded by security to keep them on stage, then introduces the guests. *With Seminole Indian Chief Jim Billie on lead vocals and guitar, John McCuen on mandolin/banjo, and someone else on lead electric guitar. ++With "Auld Lang Syne" tease at midnight.

The millennium crazy for me as well. To describe the whole story in detail would be too much of a downer for me and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. We were in close when the midnight set started. The hot dog that Phish rode in on was 5 feet from us. It was probably the closest I ever got to the band. I remember people trampling about after the music started and a woman with her baby who I was worried about. Then I went back to chill with the lady, and enjoyed most of the show from the edge of the campground. Here is the setlist from New Years.

12-31-99 Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, FL

1: Runaway Jim+, Funky Bitch, Tube, I Didn't Know*, Punch You in the Eye, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, Roggae, Split Open and Melt** -> Catapult, Get Back on the Train, Horn, Guyute, After Midnight*** (1:46)

2: #Meatstick^ -> Auld Lang Syne, Down with Disease -> Llama, Bathtub Gin^^, Heavy Things^^^, ^^^^Twist Around > Prince Caspian > Rock and Roll, You Enjoy Myself%, Crosseyed and Painless, The Inlaw Josie Wales%%, Sand -> Quadrophonic Topplings%%%, Slave to the Traffic Light, Albuquerque, Reba, Axilla, Uncle Pen, David Bowie, My Soul, Drowned -> After Midnight reprise, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Bittersweet Motel, Piper** -> Free, Lawn Boy, Hold Your Head Up > Love You%%%% > Hold Your Head Up, Roses are Free, Bug, $Also Sprach Zarathustra > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Meatstick$$ (7:45)

Set 2 was played from midnight to sunrise, non-stop. +With marshmallow war, lots of balloons, and aerial tortillas. *With Fish on vacuum. **Unfinished. ***First time played; J.J. Cale cover from the album "Naturally" (best known for the Eric Clapton version). #Set begins around 11:35 pm with Father Time on stage pedaling away at a stationary bike, powering a large clock, with the sound of the gears on the PA (possibly a Siket Disc track?). At approximately 11:50 pm, Father Time collapses from exhaustion and the clock stops. At this time, with appropriate sound effects, a large fan boat entered the field from halfway back, stage right. Soon the sides and top of the fan boat were blown off to reveal the band riding in the hot dog from 12-31-94. The hot dog approached the stage as the band threw leis and other goodies into the crowd. Once the hot dog reached the stage, the band disembarked carrying several meatsticks. They fed these to Father Time, reviving him to drive to clock to midnight. ^Instrumental version, with the band picking up the song from a pre-recorded version played during the hot dog ride. ^^With vocal jam, as Trey, Mike, and Page sang the notes as they played them. ^^^Recorded live for ABC's Millennium coverage; Trey instructed the crowd to chant the word "Cheesecake" after the song (instead of applauding), in an attempt to confuse TV viewers; Trey introduced the band for the recorded footage and offered a message of peace and harmony for the world ("The right lane is for driving. The left lane is for passing. So stay in the right lane unless you're passing."). ^^^^Preceded by "Meatstick" tease (possibly as Central Time hit midnight). %With "Cheesecake" vocal jam. %%Trey solo acoustic. %%%With Mike holding up a voice box, repeating the phrase "Quadrophonic Toppling." %%%%With Fish on vacuum; Fish introduced Page before the song, and Mike and Trey afterwards, and the band as "Phish 2000." $Preceded by a tease of the "Harry Hood" intro. $$No encore; post-show music was the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun."

Hearing Crosseyed was a great moment, as was the Sand. We saw a lot of crazy things that I will remember. We saw one woman who must have been very high on drugs, screaming at the top of her lungs as if she had seen death. It was freaky. But the coolest thing we saw was a guy in a superman outfit, walking in slow motion with a beer in each hand. It was a classic photo seeing this guy go into the concert grounds solo. I heard the whole show (except those 20 minutes in the Burban, sorry Dogg).

In retrospect, I should have stayed in with my peeps instead of taking off with my lady, but it was still memorable. When the sun rose, we watched out peeps return exhausted. KP brought back 2 future boyfriends for a moment, and we were on our way back up north. I drove the first leg, and we stopped for the night somewhere around Atlanta. I fell asleep before I could witness Michigan’s awesome triumph in the Citrus Bowl which we practically drove by on the way home.

So that is the story of the millennium and Phish. Pretty lame. Great music, epic memorable times, cheesecake, but not at the top of my list for shows.

As I embark on sharing the experiences of 2000, I want to warn everyone that I don’t remember a lot from the 2000 shows. I’m not sure why I remember 1999 so much better, but I think Phish was starting to get old in 2000. My heart wasn’t there, and I wasn’t the only one who would suffer. I probably let down my peeps a bit, but at least we had so many other great times together.

Priorities was the lesson of Big Cypress & 2000.