Recorded less than a week after the two shows documented on 1999's
Hampton Comes Alive, the sixth volume in the
Live Phish series, and the last in the first batch, documents
Phish in populist, crowd-pleasing mode. The long, esoteric jams are nearly absent from the three discs presented here, with only three songs clocking significantly over the ten-minute mark. Following a sleepy first set (and, consequently, somnambulant first disc), the band engages in an accessible and fun second set. Instead of relying on previously established inside jokes to carry the weight of the band's silliness,
Phish introduces a theme (in this case,
the Ventures' "Wipeout") and integrates it throughout the set. The first "Wipeout," which serves as a sort of overture to what ensues, follows a reading of guitarist
Trey Anastasio's unrecorded "Buried Alive," a frenetic instrumental composition with a head full of oddly timed steam. The "Wipeout" theme then surfaces periodically throughout the rest of the set, including a nicely harmonized appearance during the introduction to "Chalk Dust Torture" and an encore-closing rendition. Also included are a triad of the band's gag-oriented songs, "Dog Log," "Sanity," and "Buffalo Bill." Each tune is quirky enough to be appreciated even by those who don't know the songs' histories. Unfortunately though, most of the show is window dressing. The only significant improvisation on the discs occurs during a long and beautiful jam out of "Weekapaug Groove," similar to the band's textural ambient improvisations on
The Siket Disc and the so-called "Denver Jam" included on
Live Phish, Vol. 11. ~ Jesse Jarnow