this was my first taste of phish in nashvill/antioch. i attended the show here the next summer. this one gave me a good taste of what i was in for. between this show and the 2000 one, i shall never miss another one in this city or at this venue.

pyite: they came out hot on this one. pyite in 99 seemed to be very deep and funky. they kept playing it and we couldn't get enough of it.

billy breathes: they were slowing it down a little early for my tastes, but they sounded good none the less

guyute: killer guyute. they nailed this bad boy.

wolfman's brother: here is where this one got good. jerry douglas on the dobro for this song made a world of difference. jerry is a wizard and his talents were really on display on this wolfman's. it really got the crowd rocking. we all had a feeling we may be in for something different on this night.

beauty of my dreams: this is one of my favorite phish blue grass covers. douglas stayed on stage and the addition of ronnie mccoury and tim o' brien didn't hurt.

doin' my time: this is one of my favorite blue grass songs and phish's take did not disappoint. sure, it was no flatt and scruggs but hey... o' briend sounded good on vocals too.

roggae: this is easily my favorite roggae, not saying much i guess. the blue grass guys really added a nice inflection on this one. good take.

water in the sky: more blue grassy goodness, but this was a nod at the storm that was looming/arriving.

gbott: unfortunately, i saw this song a whole shit of load times in the summer of 99, and i have to hear the best version of the summer right off the bat. this one killed. like wolfman's, douglas on the dobro did a good song wonders.

poor heart: best poor heart ever! every muscian took a solo, and they all sounded wonderful. unfortunately, this was the last we would see of the blue grass guys tonight.... they weren't really missed that much with the killer set forthcoming

set 2

down with disease: this one is huge. it is one of the few times i have seen them bring a 2nd set dwd back home to the ending without putting something in the middle. with the rain killing us, even making its way into our cush pavillion seats. they took this one really deep and it got a little spacey, but then they started to pull it up. i was wondering wherer they were going to take this one next before they turned it around and closed out with the normal dwd ending before crashing down into

prince caspian: normally, along with bug, i despise this song. on this night, after such a monster dwd, who can complain. a nice page solo at the end led into...

yem: this might be the best yem i have seen. it was nice and long with tons of exploration. gordo and fish were in a nice groove and trey and page put some really hot licks on top of that groove. they seemed to be in sync with the storm, and the jam was just awe inspiring

enc:

character zero: this one really seemed out of place. not a fan of this pick.

highlights:

set 1:
wolfman's brother, doin' my time, poor heart, guyute

set 2:
dwd, yem

overall:

due to the heavy storm, phish had to play a short second set, but i don't think i heard a single person complain after this show. even with hating 1/3 of the songs they played in that set, i still rate as one of the best i saw in 99. not to mention, this and the first night of deer creek are a toss up for the best 1st set all saw in 99. the wolfman's and down with disease are must hear!

Great first set to this show. Great sit in with Jerry, Ronnie, and Tim. Who knew Wolfman's Brother & Roggae would work so well with those instruments? All of the playing complemented the songs nicely. Further expanding what they could do with songs outside of extended jams.

Set two has another stormy Down With Disease that just shreds. The same can be said with YEM. You can tell it was a stormy summer night and the boys as usual were not afraid of a little thunder. Solid show all around. I will spin it again.

1999 is Full of Unique Phish Shows.

On the heels of a brilliant ambient jam-filled show in Bonner Springs, Kansas, Phish seemingly spun 180 degrees in the opposite direction and proceeded to drop the Antioch, Tennessee bluegrass tinged gem of a concert. A stunning collection of country and bluegrass influenced takes on heavy tour rotations and a smattering of special guests from the Tennessee hills seemed to take over the first set of this show. The second set - free of special guests - was a bit more experimental but brief due to extremely violent summer storms that enveloped the venue (even folks in the pavilion were getting soaked).

I have been reviewing 1999 shows based upon how they fall on the "ambient jam grading scale," and thus every GREAT show might not necessarily score well for ambient style jams. This is a prime example of a Phish concert that is extremely unique - and should be heard by all Phans - but that does not necessarily fit the overall theme of 1999's sonic explorations. The guest sit-ins during the first set of this show are really spectacular - Jerry Douglas on dobro, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Tim O'Brien on fiddle (and vocals) and Gary Gazaway on trumpet.

SET I
From the dobro filled jam of Wolfman's Brother, to the spectacular hoe-down of Poor Heart, this set is filled with country, roots-rock, and bluegrass flavors that totally fill the void that Phish often creates in their songs and jams. At some points you may say to yourself - "This is exactly what Phish is missing!" - but you will realize by the end of the second set that Phish is not missing anything.

SET 2
A 3 song set with a 1 song encore. That's it folks. THREE SONGS.
Dropping the all too common Down With Disease opener for the second set, it is evident the band was feeling the pressure of the inclement weather and was anxious to get to the centerpiece jam of the night. Trey blazed through the initial solo with precision, intent and fire-wrought licks while the band did its best to stay on pace with the guitar virtuoso. Anastasio spent almost 6 minutes of the initial jam putting on a clinic before descending into what is the only ambient jam of section of the entire night. As the band lets the jam descend into a feedback drenched chaos, Trey layers his guitar with the similar effects of the My Left Toe jam from Kansas on 6/30/99. The ambient jam builds for a couple minutes before Trey returns to the signature DWD guitar lick and the band returns for the final stanza of the song. The Prince Caspian that follows is delicate and beautiful in its own way - a definite must-hear for fans of the mighty water dweller. The You Enjoy Myself is a funky throw down harkening the Fall of '97 and expansive in a way that modern YEM jams fail to achieve. No ambient jam in this classic take on YEM, but it certainly isn't needed as this one speaks for itself. Character Zero Encore, because Trey gonna Trey.

my first show of 1999,my 1st time to Nashville,Tn..Great city w/great folks all around everyone was really kind...This show is great,i loved iit!!!

the 1st set had many guests,which wasnt much of a surprise, (given the fact where we were)..Wolfmans w/the Dobro gave it a dif.feel.
beaauty,doin'my tme,roggae,water in sky,back on train were the bluegrass versions...Poor heart to close the set was ragin'(for bluegrass)
best version out there!!!

2nd set had the band faceing mothernature..Disease was very strong,w/alotta peaks and valleys..caspian was played beautifully and YEM to close was fvckin awesome..

I started listening to this show via the Random Show link and I have only made it through Roggae. The reason why is that I have to go back and listen again and again. That might be one of the best live Phish songs EVER! Not a huge monster jam or even Type II, but it is just the perfect meld of instrumentation with the song and it floats and bobs around in such a beautiful way. Everyone is listening and respecting each other and creating an exquisite musical space. Best sit-in I've ever hear by a LONG shot! Let's see if I can make it past without repeating it.

This was my first Phish show ever. I had just moved to Nashville after breaking up with the girlfriend that got me into Phish. I came into this really only knowing the studio and official live albums (ALO, HCA, SSP); and not really a fan of bluegrass. So, this probably wasn't the best introduction to Live Phish.

Highlights for me:
PYitE / WB / the lightning off in the distance during YEM / CZ encore

Lowlights for me:
- While I thought it was cool to have guest musicians, I wasn't established enough into the band to enjoy the 6 bluegrass tinged songs and versions. / - Billy Breathes, while a great tune, as the 2nd song, just set a chilled out mood too soon for me, and I couldn't get the vibe up for the rest of the show. / - with the approaching storm, the 2nd set seemed to have been shortened to about an hour or less. That being said, I would've rather a rapid-fire of multiple songs instead of a long DwD, a slow PC and a really really long YEM that (to me) didn't take off. When the lighting would flash off in the distance, the whole crowd would cheer. seemed to be the most exciting part of the jam.

I get that I was a newbie, and in many ways, 20 years later, I still am. But I was mostly bored at this show, standing way back in the lawn section.