Phish at Nassua Coliseum

Phish

Nassau Coliseum

Uniondale, NY

Nov. 28, 2003

“The Twentieth Anniversary Tour”

.Set 1:

Bouncing Around the Room
Runaway Jim
Ghost
What�s The Use
AC/DC Bag
First Tube
Frankie Says
Bathtub Gin >
Free

Set 2:

Waves
Sample In a Jar
Down With Disease
Walls of the Cave
Two Versions of Me
Crowd Control#
Mike’s Song >
I am Hydrogen >
Weekapaug Groove

Encore:

Crimes of the Mind*
*with The Dude of Life
#1st played (new original)

YAHTZEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all began at High Noon on Black Friday, a dark and dreary day in which the teeming masses were out early, at doorbuster sales on the highways Kirkwood and Concord. I met Brian, Mitchell, and of course, Wooly, at Brian and Karen’s place, a lovely townhouse with a great finished basement, in which Brian brews his prize-winning beers, Fool Circle.

Since the latest batch of Fool Circle wouldn’t be ready for another few weeks, our first stop was the liquor store, Wooly and I each needing to contribute our fair share to the libations to be enjoyed in a few hours time. As we got back in the car, Mitchell noticed a middle-aged woman coming out of the store with nothing but a huge tin of popcorn. He turned to us and commented, “You don’t buy popcorn at the liquor store!” To the amusment of us all, the driver’s side window was open, and it left in no doubt that Mrs. Popcorn had heard him!

We continued on to Wendy’s for some lunch. Before entering, Wooly warned us all not to ask for our meals to be “Supersized.” Regular readers of Adv. of Mike will be all-too-familiar with the dangers of making that type of request. Lunch in hand, we made our way northward.

Traffic moved fairly quickly, and by 2:45 we were on Staten Island. It was there that we hit our first snag of the day. The traffic was insane trying to get over the Verranzano Bridge, and as such, it was just after 4PM when we made our way into Brooklyn. The traffic on the Belt Parkway was still really bad, and despite his best efforts to distract himself with Electronic Yahtzee and my soccer ball air freshener, Mitchell desperately needed to make a pit stop. We pulled into a rest area along Sheepshead Bay, and everyone piled out - only to discover that the restrooms were locked for the season!

So, while the rest of us decided to hold it a bit longer, Mitchell went running in search of a secluded sand dune. As we waited, a guy in a wetsuit emerged over the dunes, and began to strip, right in front of us, and only a few yards from the parkway! Thankfully, at the last possible moment, he wrapped a towel around his waist, thus saving us from a sight none of us wanted to see. A few moments later, a quite relieved looking Mitchell came back over the dunes, and we were back on our way.

We continued to crawl along the Belt Parkway, inching our way towards Queens. At one point, some fellow Phishheads from PA pulled alongside us, and motioned for us to lower the window. In one of the strangest requests for assistance I’ve ever seen, the passenger leaned halfway out the window, and yelled, “Do you guys have any $5 nuggets you could sell us?” Now, this wasn’t quite the t-shirt toilet paper request from last Phish show, but it was bizarre all the same. Being quite sure that none of us were carrying, I humored them by asking Mitchell, Brian and Wooly anyway, then apologized and drove on.

Finally, the traffic thinned, and we arrived at the Nassau Coliseum around 5:30. As we waited in line to park, I noticed something quite strange. The banners that surround the arena, promoting the Islanders, feature an African-American hockey player. Now, by no means do I intend this to sound racist, but the simple fact of the matter is that there are only a handful of African-Americans currently playing in the NHL, and none of them play for the Islanders. Strange days indeed.

Just next to one of the lampposts to which these banners were attached, lay a green plastic orb, that captivated Wooly and drew him towards it. He leapt out of the car to retrive said orb, and it turned out that it was a mug featuring Mike Kazowski of Monsters Inc. fame. The mug was first placed on the dashboard, and then on the roof, only to have some rapscallions swoop in and steal it! At first we couldn’t see where they had gone, but as we got closer to the entrance, we saw that the culprits were now displaying their prize on the roof of their car, a mere four lanes to the left. Mitchell, Wooly and I attempted to goad Brian into action, suggesting he run out to retrieve what was rightfully ours. He refused, and, alas our trophy was lost.

We finally parked, for a nominal fee of $6.50 - a bargain compared to some of the places we’ve been (IE; Philly) - and quickly made a bee-line for the port-a-pots. The wind was starting to pick up, but the rain had let up for the past few hours, and so upon returning to car, we broke into the beers we had brought. Brian shared some of his Saranac sampler, while I offered up the Anchor Holiday Ale that I brought. The Saranac that I chose was a carmel flavored ale, that was absolutely awful at first taste. However, as I drank more, it grew on me. That said, I don’t think I’ll be ordering it anytime soon. As we stood drinking, a car pulled into a spot next to us, crushing an empty beer bottle (not one of ours,) and sent shattered glass everywhere. While attempting to clear the glass with his foot, the owner of the broken bottle asked if we had a push broom. Now, while I carry many things in my trunk, including a tent, two lawn chairs, two Wiffle ball bats, a soccer ball and a snow shovel, a push broom was not among them.

The wind continued to howl, and was getting worse by the minute. Sure enough, the skies finally opened, letting loose a steady, chilling rain. Needless to say, it was now time to head into the show. The Nassau Coliseum seems to have undergone some renovations since I was last there in 1998, and it looks much better than I had remembered.

Once inside, the first order of business was to check out the “Twentieth Anniversary Tour” merchandise. Finding something to each of our liking, the four of us then split into pairs, as our seats were unforunately not together. Brian paired up with me, and the two of us went in search of some dinner. After weighing our options, we settled on Quizno’s. I’d never had Quizno’s before, and I must say that I was impressed. The toasted Italian sub that I had was really good, and definitely hit the spot.

About twenty minutes later, Phish took the stage and opened with “Bouncing Around The Room.” Upon hearing this, I groaned to myself, as this is one of my least favorite Phish songs I hoped that this wouldn’t set the tone for the whole show, and to my relief, things took a turn for the better when the second song turned out to be “Runaway Jim.”

“Jim” is a classic, the band nailed it, and continued on into “Ghost.” “Ghost” has a great groove going for it, and Mike and Fish really set the pace for this one. “Ghost” segued right into “What’s the Use?” a cool bluesy rarity, that was a treat to hear.

Next came a blistering “AC/DC Bag” that absolutely wailed - one of the best I’ve heard. “First Tube” was next, and although it was strangly placed in the set (would have been better as a lead-in to Ghost IMO,) this is another song with a great groove, and was great to hear.

The always disappointing “Frankie Says” came next. I absolutely loathe this song, and wish the band would retire it. I understand the need to play a “rest song” after the tour-de-force of the last five songs, but there are so many better slower songs in Phish’ repitoire… but I digress.

“Bathtub Gin” was next, and it delivered in every way that “Frankie Says” did not. I thought for sure that “Gin” would be the last song of the set, but Brian thought they’d play one more. Sure enough, “Gin” segued effortlessly into “Free.” I hadn’t heard “Free” live in some time, and it was just as majestic as I remembered.

Set break followed, and when the band came back out, they started the second set off with “Waves,” from their latest album “Round Room.” “Waves” is a pretty good track, and it was the first time I’d heard it live.

“Sample In A Jar” is a good rocker, and got some of the loudest cheers of the night. “Down With Disease,” came next, and while this song is just okay on “Hoist,” it’s a monster live, this version helping to maintain its’ perfect record.

“DwD” was followed by “Walls Of the Cave” which, is another of the better songs from “Round Room.” This version didn’t live up to the version I heard at Camden during the summer, but was a good one nonetheless. Next was “Two Versions of Me” which is just pure drivel; another slow song that could have been replaced by other, much better songs.

At this point, Trey asked the audience if we’d be willing to put up with the band as they played some new songs. Everyone was excited by the prospect of hearing the new stuff, and what followed was a very average song, of the same ilk as “Birds of a Feather.” We didn’t find out until later that it’s called “Crowd Control.” There is definitely some good potential for the song, but at this point it’s a bit sub-par.

What followed was the moment that sealed the show for me as a great one: “Mike’s Song!!!!!!” Trey thanked the audience for our patience after “Crowd Control,” and then stated that the next song would be “…an old one. It will be sung by our bass player. It’s called, ‘His Song.” This got the loudest cheers of the night. It was a classic trifecta, as the killer Mike’s groove slid into a beautiful “I am Hydrogen,” which in turn gave way to the exhilirating “Weekapaug Groove.” An absolutely fantastic way to end the set.

The band took their bows, and shuffled off the stage. The crowd began to buzz, wondering what was in store for the encore. Anticipation built as a third microphone was set up in the middle of the stage, between Trey and Mike. It seemed like it had been set a bit short, so I suggested to Brian that it might be one of the Giant Country Horns coming out to join the band for the encore. Well, that wasn’t exactly right.

As the band came out for their encore, a fifth person emerged from the tunnel. No one could quite tell who it was. At first, everyone guessed that it was lyricist Tom Marshall, and that we were in store for a killer “Run Like An Antelope.” When the lights came back up on the stage, they revealed, not Tom Marshall, but someone not many in the audience could recognize. However, as the band began to play, a collective gasp of realization was let out by the audience as we all realized who the fifth man was - The Dude of Life.

The Dude is an old friend of Trey’s from middle school, for whom Phish served as a backing band on his 1995 album, “Crimes of the Mind.” The encore turned out to be the title track from that album, and The Dude soaked up every minute of the spotlight. He was very gracious however, and led the crowd in cheers of appreciation for twenty years of Phish.

Wow - twenty years. Here’s one reporter who’s hoping for twenty more.

With the show over, it was now time to make the long journey back home. Brian and I made our way back to the car, joined shortly thereafter by Wooly and Mitchell. Having parked near an exit, it was no time at all before we navigated the service road and were back on the highway, homeward bound.

For the first part of the return trip, we listened to the Radiohead show from Camden that Wooly, Jeff and I had been to back in July. Wooly had broken Brian into Radiohead a few weeks prior, but Mitchell couldn’t understand how we liked this “slit your wrists stuff.” In deference to him, I skipped several tracks, so it was more like a “highlights” package.

I was forced recently to replace my car stereo, and, since the new one is MP3 compatable, Brian was nice enough to burn me a disc to listen to in the car. I was planning on listening to it on my own the next day, but he suggested throwing it in right then. The disc is the most eclectic mix you could imagine. The first track is “Moving Right Along” from the Muppet Movie, followed by the Ewok’s victory song, followed by “We’re All in the Same Gang” by the West Coast All Stars. It goes on from there in pretty much the same vain for another ninety-six tracks!

In Bordentown, we stopped for gas and at the truckstop to hit the head and grab some snacks. In the travel shop we saw some of the most bizarre items for sale, including samurai swords and a telephone with a giant gold-plated eagle coming out of the top of it. Disgusting.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, which is always a good thing, and we were back at Brian and Karen’s place by 2:30 in the morning. Thirty minutes later I was home in bed, reflecting on what had been a long, but fantastic day; full of good tunes and even better company.