PHISH - Summer 2003

I will be totally honest when I say that I don’t remember a whole lot about the first segment of shows at Alpine and Deer Creek in the summer of 2003. That summer was a little crazy for me personally, so I'm not surprised that I chose to block out some of it. I know that JH, TM, JB, MG, NB, AJ, JM, CW, JR, and others like PS and JCT were in the whole mix. Once again, many of crashed at AJ’ s place in Chicago (thank you Mrs. J), however instead of immediately leaving for Deer Creek, we took our time getting down there. We camped in our own compound in the middle of the field at 40 Acres, and had a good ole time. I don’t recall much musically that was great about these shows. Phish pretty much mixed a lot of their new stuff with the old stuff, but nothing spectacular like past years at Alpine and Deer Creek. And I recall that it was EASY to find a ticket at Alpine Valley. It was great to see shows with NB again since we had not seen shows together in more than 3 years. All in all, Summer 2003 would not be as crisp in mind as the Summer 2004.

Here are the setlists from all 5 of these shows:

07/18/03 - Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, Wisconsin

Set 1: Axilla, Rift, Bathtub Gin > Mango Song, Roggae, Discern, I Didn't Know^ > Dust in the Wind^*, David Bowie

Set 2: Down with Disease > Catapult, Bug, Secret Smile, Two Versions of Me, Twist, Character Zero

Encore: Harry Hood

^ w/ vacuum solo; * for Dave, who won the hotline contest

07/19/03 - Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, Wisconsin

Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Reba^, Wilson, Scents & Subtle Sounds, Maze, Driver, NICU* > Ya Mar*, Rocky Top*, Lawn Boy, Julius

Set 2: Piper > Rock and Roll > Seven Below > Prince Caspian, You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea

^ no whistling at end; * all three songs consecutively contained "Play it Leo!"

07/21/03 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, Indiana

Set 1: Cities, Runaway Jim, Meat, Water in the Sky, Stash, My Old Home Place, Vultures, Birds of a Feather > Mike's Song > I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Taste > 46 Days > Tweezer > 2001 > Limb By Limb > Good Times Bad Times

Encore: Loving Cup> Tweezer Reprise

07/22/03 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, Indiana

Set 1: Punch You in the Eye, Beauty of my Dreams, Gumbo, Divided Sky, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Carini > Magilla*, Possum

Set 2: Split Open & Melt > Free > Friday, The Lizards, Walls of the Cave

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room > Frankenstein

* last played 7.4.00"

07/23/03 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, Indiana

Set 1: Scents & Subtle Sounds > Theme from the Bottom, Rift > Sample in a Jar, Sneaking Sally Through the Alley, Billy Breathes, Seven Below, Cavern

Set 2: Down With Disease, Squirming Coil, Makisupa Policeman, Buffalo Bill, Run Like An Antelope*, Thunderhead, Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: Waste

* dedicated to Greg. Trey begins song by saying: "Don't let it get you down...""

The trip to Maine for IT was a more memorable experience because it was my first and only trip in an RV to see a Phish show. JCT brought together all his college buddies (including the legendary Murph) plus myself and PS for a trip that took us from Detroit to Cleveland to Boston and finally to Maine. In total, we were 11 or 12 deep, and I think we picked up one more for the ride home. We left on July 31^st from Detroit, stopped in Cleveland to pick up some folks, got to Boston pretty late at night as I recall, picked up someone else from the airport, which is when I took over driving for the late night/early morning shift. All the while, it was nice to chill in the RV, play cards, chat with folks, or sleep. I drove the late night shift through New Hampshire to the top of Maine. When we finally stopped the RV not far from Limestone, ME, someone ended up opening the door or moving the car when the steps to the RV were extended and ended up bending the metal on the gas pump. This was a bummer to JCT who put the RV thing together. In retrospect, while the RV was a great way to travel, the cost wasn’t worth it ($200 a piece).

In any case, we spent most of August 1^st at a standstill in traffic into the venue. Luckily, we had enough beer to sit out the day, meet people and relax. I ended up crashing in the late afternoon or early evening and waking up when the sun had set. Everyone else was beginning to crash, so I took over the wheel again for the late night shift.

There is something so surreal about that experience. I sat with a good friend of JCT (I think Phil), while everyone slept and we slowed moved towards the gates of I.T. You see lights for miles meeting at an intersection from 3 directions, filing in slowly to an abandoned air force base at the top of the United States. You feel like you are part of a little colony that has formed in the middle of nowhere. I am glad that I was awake to drive us in.

We settled in the RV area, set up our tent, wandered around for a little while, then crashed under the cool night air.

The next day, we went to explore the colony. We traveled the runways, sipped on beers, and took in the party. We made our way into the show in the afternoon. Here is the setlist from the first night:

08/02/03 - "IT" - Loring Commerce Centre - Limestone, Maine

Set 1: AC/DC Bag, Ya Mar > Runaway Jim, Reba*, Birds of a Feather, Meatstick**, Two Versions of Me, Vultures, Limb By Limb, Cavern

Set 2: Down With Disease > NICU -> Brother, Lawn Boy, Discern, Waves^, David Bowie

Set 3: Rock & Roll -> Seven Below -> Scents & Subtle Sounds^^ > Spread It Round, Bug

Encore: Dog Log, The Mango Song

"Set 4": The Tower Jam#

* with whistling; **Trey: "we'd like to honor that request" (referring to loud crowd chant for the song), and sung with Japanese lyrics; ^ with ambient jam; ^^ with Seven Below teases. #An all-improvised (and unannounced, though heavily rumored) set from the roof of the old air-traffic control tower, taking place about 2-3am, with special lighting by Chris Kuroda. Featured many teases, accompanied by dancers on rappel lines down the tower's sides. Thanks to Cody Schibi, Allan Morris, and PhantasyTour for the info.

After Phish completed the first three sets, we went back to our tent figuring that was the end to the night. I was lucky enough to stay up to witness the Tower Jam set on top of the control tower of the air base. It was quite a spectacle. I remember thinking if someone saw that from space, how crazy it would look. It was truly epic. I feel really bad for PS who fell asleep not long before the set started, and I feel worse for not waking him up. Sorry dude. At least you got a poster.

The next day, we were fortunate to walk into the venue and discover the poster line which had an image depicting the Tower Jam. PS ended up getting 2 posters and giving one to JC. This poster sits in my place in Ann Arbor as we speak. We then got into the show, getting pretty close and I snapped a few good pictures. Here is the setlist.

08/03/03 - "IT" - Loring Commerce Centre - Limestone, Maine

Set 1: Daniel (Saw the Stone), Saw It Again, Punch You in the Eye, Army of One, Chalkdust Torture, Wilson*, Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

Set 2: Mellow Mood, Ghost** > Mist, Pebbles and Marbles, You Enjoy Myself > Chariots of Fire^, Loving Cup

Set 3: 46 Days, Julius, Lizards, Secret Smile, Run Like an Antelope^^

Encore: Good Times Bad Times#

* - Trey said something to the effect of: "Hey, Kevin, there's a post-able version of 'Wilson.' Ladies and gentlemen, the Shortest 'Wilson' Ever! I'd like to dedicated that to our archivist, Kevin Shapiro... And now: the longest 'Bittersweet Motel' ever - I'm kidding!" Then the crowd started an enormous chant for 'Fluffhead.' After conferring with the band, Trey said, "Mike says no" - and the band launched into 'Mike's Song'; ** - with massive glowstick war; ^ - Phish played the song in the background as the winners from the '100th Running of the First Annual Runaway Jim 5K' were brought up on stage and announced by Trey with photos on the video screen (the women's second-place finisher was actually Trey's neighbor "from right down the road" and the men's winner, from nearby Presque Isle, had a time of 15min for the 5k); ^^ - after the "downshift," Trey thanks the crew and the crowd; when the band returns to the song, they skip the "Rye rye rocco/Marco/Spike" lyrics section; # - with fireworks behind the stage during the close of the song; thanks to James Dean Young, Maria Valiente, and Andrew Saskin for corrections.

I was a big fan of the Chariots of Fire jam when the honored the people who ran in the 5K race. It was one of those feel good moments. The glowstick wars were crazy (newbs love those glowsticks). The fireworks were great and the music was solid. Phish seemed to have made a solid comeback that summer, climaxing with the IT musical experience.

After the show, we immediately departed. We took Canada on the way home which saved some time. At first, we encountered the same crazy fog in Canada, but things smoothed out when we got into Quebec and stopped at a Burger King for breakfast. We got home late afternoon to Detroit, and so concluded another great road trip. Thanks to JCT for hooking up the great ride and all those people that were there. I will miss going to Maine for these festivals.

Peace out.