Show #2 = 07/03/2010 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
- Sample: Bathtub Gin
Kevin Shapiro on 7/3/2010: On Saturday July 3, 2010, Phish returned to the Atlanta area for the first time since 2003 to begin the final two-night stand of Leg 1 of their summer tour. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park is a general-admission multi-purpose amphitheater with a capacity of about 12,000. Phish had played this exact date in Atlanta eleven years ago in 1999. The band kicked off the show with “Character Zero” and the only “Destiny Unbound” of Leg 1, followed by “Rift”. A request from the audience earned a trip to Gamehendge for “McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters” before a concentrated “Bathtub Gin” and the year’s first “Mountains In The Mist”. The combination of “NICU” > “Gumbo” > “My Sweet One” spotlighted Page (aka “Leon”) and Fish, who penned the latter two songs. Set one concluded with “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan”, “Strange Design”, the only “Sanity” of summer and “Run Like An Antelope” to close the set. Set two began with an opening sequence of the The Velvet Underground’s “Rock And Roll” > “Prince Caspian” (with a jam that entered “Dave’s Energy Guide” territory) > “Tweezer” > “Slave To The Traffic Light”. This sublime Tweezer/Slave combination was featured on LiveBait Vol. 02. Set two continued with “Bouncing Around The Room” > “Possum” and “Backwards Down The Number Line” > “Harry Hood” > “Loving Cup”. The Encore, “Sleeping Monkey” > “Tweezer Reprise”, capped a great first performance at Alpharetta.
Show #3 = 07/04/2010 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
- Sample: Gotta Jibboo
Kevin Shapiro on 7/4/2010: On Sunday July 4, 2010, Phish celebrated their second Independence Day in the Atlanta area (they played Lakewood Amphitheatre July 3 and 4, 1999). The second show of a two-night stand and the last show of Summer Leg 1 began appropriately with an A capella performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” followed by a return to Gamehendge for “Punch You In The Eye” > “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent” > “Fly Famous Mockingbird”(narration-free except for Trey pointing out the Mockingbird). Next came some animal songs in the form of “Camel Walk” and “Ocelot” before a three-song combination of “Heavy Things” > “My Friend, My Friend” > “Lawn Boy” after which the rowdy crowd began to chant “USA, USA.” Set one concluded with “David Bowie” and a fiery “Gotta Jibboo”. After more patriotic chanting by the crowd, Phish kicked off a mostly non-stop set two with “Down With Disease” > “Piper” > “Ghost” > “Waste” > “Julius”. “Mike’s Song” > “Tela” was next and was the first and only time in nearly fifteen years that these two songs were paired this way. After an Independence Day greeting from Trey, the band dropped into the year’s only performance of “Harpua”. Trey used his holiday “Harpua” narration to educate Atlanteans and visitors alike about “the history of our country as we know it”, pointing out that both the real and alternative history books in schools are full of lies. Instead, he explained, the nation’s true history is to be found within Phish’s music. This rap led perfectly into the band’s first and only performance of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name”, sung by Fish with all the spirit of the holiday. A burst of energy from the crowd acknowledged the message was received. “Killing in The Name” returned to “Harpua” > “Weekapaug Groove”, capping this unique Mike’s Groove. The instrumental “First Tube” filled the Encore slot, closing Leg 1.
4 Responses
Anyone else getting choppy playback?
How much better sounding are these compared to the discs from LivePhish?
@JBL: I’ve only listened to the Gotta Jibboo mp3 sample of the mastered version, but when comparing it to the FLAC version from livephish, there is a slight “punch” to the mastered version, likely from slightly boosted levels, though not much difference in terms of clarity or soundscape depth. Honestly, I would bet most people would not be able to tell much difference between the two, other than the fact that the mastered track has a fade-in and crowd noise before the songs starts, as opposed to starting right when the song begins on the original. It wasn’t enough of an improvement to me to be worth buying, if that’s what you’re wondering. Of course, I only had 1 track to compare & YMMV. 🙂
Thanks earthsound. You make me feel better about not ponying up to get another version because I do love these shows but didn’t want to spend the money… again…