(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion)

For a change, there were going to be wrinkles in our usual New Year's tradition. There would be a new venue and a new city. Huddling in protected areas of the lot in a desperate attempt to stay warm would be out. Going on a pre-show beach run would be in. For once, there wouldn't be a late December trip to the dirty, dreary cities of the Northeast. Instead, we'd get to go to a dirty, sunny city down south.

The first obvious beneficiary of the scene was Shakedown. Freed from the usual constraints of a winter show, it was hopping. The cops just let people set up tents and do whatever they wanted. There were two weird things about the scene though, there was a lot of meat for sale in the lot (this vegetarian actually had a hard time finding something to eat) and the scalpers were out and getting desperate. One almost got into a fistfight with a random hippie who was just trying to miracle someone. It was a scary moment, especially for someone like me whose word association to "Miami" is the murder of his friend Oren here in a car jacking in 1988. Fortunately, nothing became of the fight, and we went back to lying in the warmth before it was time to go in.

American Airlines Arena isn't going to win too many points from the Phish crowd, at least not from Section 309. It made a bad first impression as it didn't have nearly enough bathrooms. The whole point of building these new venues is to not have that kind of issue. The food was expensive, even by venue standards. There were no merchandise stands at all set up in the upper level, so if you wanted a shirt, that required going up and down two flights of stairs. Security was very tight at checking tickets even in the upper levels. All throughout the show, they lit up every single aisle in order to keep them clear. Even though the seats weren't bad in theory (second row in the upper level, a quarter of the way back Mike side), the stage seemed very far away. The acoustics weren't very good, especially in the first set.

The actual show started out oddly. We were looking around, trying to figure out the pattern of the coloring of the seats and speculating about what was behind the large black curtain over the stage when the lights went out. Much cheering. A minute or two passed though and the band failed to come out. They started piping music over the PA and the house lights actually came back on. People booed. Quickly, they turned them out and the band came right out.

The set opened up with a deep space jam. This was a fascinating moment. Would this be a new song? Would they just open up with a weird jam? Alas, Fishman ended all of my speculation about two minutes into it by starting the “Bowie” fill. It's not that “Bowie” is a bad song mind you, but there were just so many interesting possibilities there that didn't come to fruition.

The set started out strongly, if not spectacularly. The “Bowie” and the “Tweezer” were solid, but won't be making top ten lists. The set didn't really come into its own until “Frankie Says”. Yes, “Frankie Says.”

The version didn't start out too promisingly. There was some confusion to the lyrics and it sounded like the whole, "Lost my mind/Lost my way" part wasn't sung. They made up for that, though, with an interesting jam out of the end of it. It started out a bit spacey, with Trey using the effect that he used a lot during the Loaded cover set. This jam soon turned angry and just kept going and going and going. As on the summer tour, any song at any point could go anywhere. I figured this jam would be the highlight of the show. It turned out it was just foreshadowing for the second set.

After a “Llama”, we were to get another treat. For the first time since the Hiatus ended, we were going to get a traditional Fishman front man song. Hearing the “HYHU” theme brought back all sorts of memories. Alas, those memories didn't help out Jon. He forgot the second verse of “Love You” and was first forced into some scat singing before finally improvising, "I can't remember the words/but it doesn't matter/because I can't sing either/so I guess it's time for the vacuum cleaner." He made up for it with his post-song antics. While everyone else just kept playing “HYHU”, he raised his arms in triumph, did a few victory laps, and did a band introduction. It was just like old times.

Speaking of old times, the second set was a flashback to the old days of Summer Tour 2000. There, the ever present “Gotta Jibboo” second set opener was something to lament. This tour, though, it was a bit of a novelty. It was well played too, so there's definitely nothing to complain about there. They came to a complete stop and played “Suzy”. I figured this would be a breather tune. Little did I suspect.

The jam between the first and second verses was nice. It was a Page-led groove jam that went on a bit longer than I was expecting (in a good way that is). As a result, I took notes to see if the second music break would also be longer than usual. This bit started five minutes and forty five seconds into the version. Nearly fourteen minutes later it would still be going strong. The third verse would never actually be sung.

No, this wasn't a long vamp on the “Suzy” chords. Rather, it was a heavy metal inspired jam. It took off where the “Frankie Says” went, and went much further with it. I was hearing hints of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix themes throughout the jam, but I think that was just the tone rather than any actual teases. Phish rarely play like this and the show is worth hearing solely for this jam.

That was the peak of the show. Sure, it was nice to hear the cheer for "filter out the Everglades," back to a Big Cypress roar and we did get the fun of the double double entendre encore, but when people talk about this show, the focus is mainly going to be on the segment starting with “Frankie” and ending when “Taste” started. This wasn't an all time classic by any means, but it was a solid addition to the tradition of great New Year's Run shows.

(Author's note: this, and my other reviews of this Run, were written only hours after each show, without a chance to listen to the recordings.)

I really enjoy this show. The spacey jam before Bowie is an awesome prelude to a show opener that's out of left field. Tweezer is in an odd slot in the 3rd spot of the 1st set. It wasn't necessarily meant to go anywhere new and exciting (maybe they kept it out of the 2nd set because they didn't seem to be feeling Tweezer quite as much during these years and didn't want to get peoples hopes up) but it is still none the less well played like the above Bowie. Bag was good for the majority of 2003 and this one is no exception. It's followed by arguably one of the best ever Frankie says, not only is the execution great but so is the outro jam. The rest of the set is a classic 2.0 concoction of throwing random crap out to fill the set. No complaints about a quick HYHU and Tweeprise closer though.

Don't sleep on the opening Jibboo, it goes a lot further than you might think. It's a nice textbook hose jam that is very well played. Suzy comes in and at first it seems like another bizarre 2.0 setlist choice but it actually goes into a quite enjoyable jam. Theme is strong as always. Water in the Sky and Friday completely slow down the set, but on the plus side it's one of the best Fridays I've heard. Hood is an excellent closer and like most from this year it's got a nice, slight, little stretch to it.

Sleeping Monkey and Loving Cup are the average encore you would expect, still well played though.

I have no real complaints about this show, it's not perfect, but the playing is excellent.

David Bowie: love this as an opener. The intro is great and the jam actually gets very exploratory for a while (type 1.5?) but returns for the usual peak and ending

Sample In A Jar: great Trey

Tweezer: early entering of the freezer. Awesome build and peak before breaking free into mellow type 2 territory.

Bouncing Around The Room: standard

AC/DC Bag: solid version with another good peak

Frankie Says: I love this song. Extended outro leads to an unexpected beautiful type 2 journey that builds then settles down before Fish starts

Llama: sick extended performance

Hold Your Head Up: standard

Love You: Henrietta! Doesn’t know the words

Hold Your Head Up: standard

Tweezer Reprise: unusual placement to close set one

Gotta Jibboo: second set starts with a fantastic Jibboo take on the type 1 build and peak

Suzy Greenburg: rare type 2 version. First few minutes give major 1997 cow funk vibes. After the next verse Trey launches the band into immediate heavy exploration. Sort of like a Mike’s Song style first and second jam. Eventually it gets quiet with nice Page synthing in the background to add spaciness and Mike adds some Bass and it starts to grow. Trey teases Lizards. Masterpiece

Theme From The Bottom: pretty average

Water In The Sky: cool little mid set cool off with the Everglades line getting a crowd roar

Friday: still don’t get why this song was shelved. Placement could be better but good song

Harry Hood: hot mike action in the intro. Starts to feel like its gonna break free for a minute but soon gets back in for the gorgeous peak and finishing of the set

Sleeping Monkey: standard

Loving Cup: rager to close out the show

This is a very solid show to start the Miami NYE run. This first set has some amazing moments of exploration and energy, and the same in the second. The jamming in both sets is spectacular, but the Suzy is freaking glorious. This is a 8.5/10 show. Highlights are Bowie, Tweezer, Frankie, Suzy, and Hood

Set 1 Highlights: David Bowie, Tweezer, Frankie Says (Standout Version) > Llama, Hold Your Head Up > Love You > Hold Your Head Up

Set 2 Highlights: Gotta Jibboo (Standout Version), Suzy Greenberg (Standout Jam) > Theme from the Bottom

Awesome start to the 2003 NYE run. Starts out with a spacey intro to a reasonably ripping David Bowie. Can't ever complain about a Tweezer in the first set and this one is no exception with a floating mellow jam. The real crown of the first set is the pairing of Frankie Say (an absolutely monstrous version with Trey playing all sorts of nastiness on the wah) with Llama. HYHU > Love You > HYHU is a treat with Fishman hilariously forgetting the lyrics, resulting in some great banter leading into the vacuum solo. Second set starts out with a real gem of a Gotta Jibboo which peaks in the hosiest of fashions and is followed up by Suzy Greenberg. This wasn't any normal Suzy though; this one goes straight to hell out of the second chorus where it broods before resolving to space complete with McGrupp (they're definitely there) and Lizards (didn't really hear them) teases before flowing into an amped up Theme from the Bottom.

A odd of juxtaposition of opaque-ity versus clarity defined the 20th anniversary run. Good times, bad times, the band had their share (but honestly, don't we all). Some called it a microcosm of 2003. Not me. 2003 was far more consistent in its highs and more more spread out in its lows than that 20th anniversary run. The nay-sayers who look back at this year with contempt and define it by the 4 anniversary shows most likely harbor something personal against what transpired for them or their lives. We've all had those moments though, and the moment ends, so as we round the final bend to the home stretch of this glorious year of music, 2003, let us reflect on the multitudes of good, forgive the few bad small potatoes, and look forward to what the magic of Phish at Madison Square Garden on New Years can manifest.

WooooOOOOooOOOO-Tsss-tssss-tssss-tsssssss-tssss-tssss-tsssssss-WooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOo-Tsss-Tsss-Tsss-Tsss-Tsss...brrrrr-boom BLAP DAVID BOWIE! Those are the actual transcribed sound affects on the opening spacey/high-hat segment of the run-opening David Bowie. Holy cow. What a statement opener this was. An extended and highly spacey opening section to Bowie set an immediate tone of imagination and improvisation. The crowd exploded. One of those reactions that is captured perfectly on the AUD and gave goosebumps to me, someone not in attendance, listening for the first time some 13 years later, some 3,000 miles away from the epicenter. The composed section was nailed nearly flawless and the jam escaped at warp speed. As I eluded to earlier -the word juxtaposition- this Bowie was the antitheses of the less-than-tepid Bowie that train-wrecked the 2nd night of the anniversary run. As Harry Dunne once said, "You go and do something like this and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!" And Phish was good. Again. This Bowie is a torrent of diamond-plated fury. It wooshes into the stratosphere before grinding into, a... well, grinding groove. Harsh (in a good way) and with an attitude, Bowie finally hits four substantial, locked-in peaks and the MSG lifts off. Sample in a Jar drops in next and the feel-good sing-a-long whips the crowd into a energized conglomerate of happiness. Hitting notes with passion and intensity, Trey leads us into... A FIRST SET 3RD SONG TWEEZER!!! Phish has scored a hat trick so far, and the New York Rangers are thinking about treading Brian Leetch and Co for the foursome onstage. Tweezer, although nothing too special, features a swampy slow groove that eventually morphs into a Bowie-Esq-grinding groove. You won't remember this Tweezer, but sometimes the whole (set) is greater than the sum of its parts. And when your set starts Bowie, Sample, Tweezer... the whole it good. Bouncing finds a nice home following up the power trio and gives us a chance to gather our brains, catch our minds, and high-ten anyone within an 11-foot vicinity. AC/DC Bag simply does not relent. A blitzkrieg of energy, both this version and this set, washed the crowd in volumes of controversy. The dance moves were unprecedented. Was I there? No. I was not. But if my living room moves were any indication... I mean, they do say history repeats itself... so I was no doubt channeling those of you in the Round Room on 12.28.03. Godspeed to us all. As Bag evaporates out, the eerie opening notes of Frankie Says float in like fog over the sea. One of my personal favorite tunes in Phish's repertoire, this dreamy rendition lifts off into an extended outro jam taking pieces of 2.14.03 Fee, 7.29.03 Crosseyed, and completely original ingenuity: combining them all into a psychedelic masterpiece of space, time, and vapor. The version floats like a peaceful cloud. And it rains droplets of curiously soft, intriguing grooves. Eventually, the clouds darken and give way to a thunder clap set to the tune of the opening snare hits of Llama! Whoa! Did NOT see this coming! Llama rips out of the foggy and haze and takes us all by surprise. The version itself is rather mild though, with Page struggling to find a rhythm in his solo and Trey kinda following suit. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic pairing of songs, the Frankie/Llama. By this point, Phish has delivered it all. Extended jams. Volcanic energy. Architectural set construction. And non-stop fun. Speaking of which... how about a dose of Fish? A wacky, yet *perfectly* placed HYHU > Love You(?) [the question mark is due to the gaffed lyrics, which was awesome in its own right] > HYHU gave this set a fully complete Phish experience. Really. What more could you want? A dramatic and so-unexpected Tweezer Reprise brought the house down. What a way to start the New Years party!

Gotta Jibboo sashays through the PA to open set two and this swanky little jam really does it for me. Patient. Consistent. Upward-sloping. Perhaps not the most colorful of words to describe a jam, but these trio of symbols elegantly define this 13-minute Jibboo. It slowly swells in intensity. It patiently builds its energy. It unapologetic-ly takes the long route to a fine, hearty, satisfying peak. It's one of those jams that's easy to overlook because of its title and timestamp, but when you listen to it, you can't help but say, "I wish I was there for that." Suzy EXPLODES into the two slot and this is when the when things get interesting. This version pops with fury from the opening lyric. The normal Page-led mini-jam segment between the verses gets flipped on its head into a Mike/Fish-led maelstrom of dance and rhythm. I was GETTING DOWN in my living room. Articles of clothing were being removed at a clip that had Hugh Hefner saying, "We need to hire that guy." One of the most fun living room dance parties that even had Mrs Funky saying from the other room, "What version is this?!?" It slams back into the chorus and then immediately takes off into truly uncharted territory for Suzy. Unfortunately, to my ears, this second jam was light-years behind the first extended jam. Where the first one was peppy, bouncy, and unabashedly controversial... the second jam was dissonant, disconnected, and a little to wanky for my taste. Trey got a little too carried away and led the jam into weird, distorted places that just didn't sound good. Nonetheless, this two-part Suzy is worth many listens to decipher the many nuances of the jam. Suzy eventually recedes into some space (which was cool) before Theme starts up. The composed section of Theme was not well-executed. In fact, it was poorly executed. Not to worry, as the soaring jam on the back end makes up for the mistakes in the front end. This version is a high-flying, feel-good version that will leave your jaw on the floor... after, of course, you finish grinding your teeth on how bad the composed section was. Theme stops, Water in the Sky starts, and WITS finds its Winter 2003 roots. WITS was a song played with great frequency in 2003, with versions being measurably less-strong as the year went on. Fortunately, this version bucked the trend and delivered strong Page and Trey work. Both working quickly and nimbly, this version is fierce and hot. It felt like a perfect springboard for a huge jam, maybe Ghost or Waves or something along those lines, but instead it is followed up by a song that sounds worse than getting kicked in the nuts feels. Fortunately, the pain ends, and we get a Hood to close things out. 2003 was good to Hood, and this version falls somewhere in the bottom third. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as, again, 2003 was a very good year for this song, but this version features a more "metal" jam to it, rather than melodic. It grinds along, filled with distortion and darkness. It does build, however, into a colorful almost-peak, but they never...quite...get...there. Sometimes they just can't stick the landing. Oh well... still, bot a *bad* version, just not a great one. A humble and fun Sleeping Monkey kicks off the encore which leads into a raging Loving Cup. A fine pairing in the final frame, Phish puts a much deserved exclamation point on a whirling, eccentric, fun, and energized night of music!

Must-hear jams: David Bowie, Frankie Says, Suzy Greenberg (especially the first jam segment)
Probably-should-listen-to jams: AC/DC Bag, Gotta Jibboo

If you want to listen to the only time Friday was played well listen to this show. Friday was amazing tonight and that song sucks hard-core. Get rid of the sucking the love you the bike the Jennifer dances the Terrapin station Cracklin Rosie. I love I didn’t know and I love grind but I only love the hold your head up if it has I hate to say this because I love Pink Floyd but not a bike give me a sexual healing or a terrapin or maybe John Fishman can actually sing the lyrics to let’s see what’s in his range I’m trying to be generous we love some of your songs but party time is not one of them even the first time out it was terrible I was at the Meriwether show and your songs are supposed to be the best the first time out so party times got ago but tube and ass handed I’m with you there buddy I get my ass handed to me every day at work And page you are right it is a crapshoot but I really don’t want the hold your head up to ever be in a show it’s gonna ruin every show except you can make a great show only if it has Jennifer dances or sexual healing