My partner in this sandbox wrote earlier about his world being changed by "Tweezer" in Memphis. Well, I can't say it changed my world but it sure was an unforgettable show.
If you've ever been to San Francisco, you know it's a great city to live in if you don't have or don't want a car. It has such a good public transportation system unless you want to go to Shoreline Amphitheater. It's the epitome of "Cars,Trucks, and Buses" and you have to add in a 45 minutes to an hour long train ride. Unfortunately, I got a late start to the train station and finally got to the show after an agonizing cab ride through a traffic jam. The opening notes had already rang out as I was handing my ticket to the lady at the gate.
My friends took no small pleasure in letting me know I missed the "Mozambique" opener and "Guyute" is what I was hearing walking in. I took much greater pleasure in the fact Phish tore into "Ghost" as I was walking up the steps towards our place on the lawn. We had a spot that we always sat in at every show. Every now and then we sat in the pavilion but I like the freedom of the lawn to dance and they have wonderful grass to dance barefoot to Phish in. So, for me, "Ghost" was really the opener. After that they played "Lawn Boy" and I knew Page was singing it for me. The whole show was like that. Almost every song was one of my favorites. The songs came out like I wrote the set list. After the two songs I missed, it was, "Ghost>Lawn Boy>Peaches en Regalia>The Moma Dance" which has two of my favorite Phish songs and one of my favorite Phish covers and a beloved piece of cheesy Page. If that wasn't enough, after a quick "Water in the Sky" then they played "When the Circus Comes" and then a "Back on the Train>David Bowie" and a "Squirming Coil" and that was just the FIRST SET!
If I wrote a setlist for Phish it would look a lot like this. The second half kicked off with "Runaway Jim>Sand" followed by a spirited "Piper" and then a jammed out "Roggae" led to "You Enjoy Myself" and that's when my mind got blown. I knew that something special was going to happen. Warren Haynes had sat-in for the encore of the night before, playing "Misty Mountain Hop". My friends and I had thought that since the Phil had Trey and Page onstage as his "Friends" in April, just maybe we would see him again but then a fellow fan mentioned he had seen Phil Lesh going in the artist's entrance but there wasn't any extra equipment at the start of the show, so we weren't expecting anything like what was about to happen.
What was about to happen was a YEM with Phil gamely playing along with the trampolines that led into a jam that was just Phil and Mike that went into a crazy, funky "Wolfman's Brother" that then went into freaking, "Cold Rain & Snow" which was a Phish debut. So after my perfect first set and a great second set with Phil, they went Spinal Tap and turned it up to eleven on the encore. Phish and Phil came out and then Warren came back out to a huge roar from the crowd. What we were about to see was making Phish history. It was Phish and Phil Lesh and Warren Haynes and they busted out Phish's first, "Viola Lee Blues" and it raged. Unfortunately, only video of Phish and Phil playing Wolfman is on YouTube but still, find the tapes. This show is definitely in my top ten musical experiences. I didn't get to see a lot of shows in 99' but luckily I got to see this Shoreline run because this show was a masterpiece. It had the best of both worlds for me. All the songs in the first set I loved and all the Phish songs in the second were great songs well played and then the two special guests sealed it. Sometimes, it's cool to have someone sit in but it's not always, by musical standards, a success. Sometimes it's just cool to see. Not this time, it was fulfilling in every way. So 17 years ago, yesterday. I had one of my favorite Phish experiences.
Written by: Greg Heffelfinger
Phil Jamming with Mike after the YEM
Phish with Phil Lesh "Wolfman's Brother"
9-17-1999
SET 1: Mozambique, Guyute, Ghost > Lawn Boy > Peaches en Regalia > The Moma Dance, Water in the Sky, When the Circus Comes, Back on the Train > David Bowie, The Squirming Coil
SET 2: Runaway Jim > Sand, Piper > Roggae, You Enjoy Myself[1] -> Jam[2], Wolfman's Brother[3] > Cold Rain and Snow[4]
Phil Lesh joined the band on a second bass guitar from YEM through the end of the show. The encore also featured Warren Haynes on guitar. Cold Rain and Snow and Viola Lee Blues were both Phish debuts. YEM did not contain a vocal jam and included Phil joining Trey and Mike on trampolines. The subsequent jam out of YEM comprised of solely Mike and Phil.
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