, attached to 2003-12-30

Review by Anonymous

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

I will always remember the NYE '03 run in Miami. These four shows are what Phish is all about, doing what they do best: having fun and playing great, entertaining music at the same time. The most memorable show for me was 12/30.
The show started off with “Wilson” > “Sand” > “Shafty” > “NICU” > “Weigh”. The "Sand" was one of the funkiest I've heard, recalling the Vegas '00 version. "Weigh" was a huge surprise, as they had not played it in over 100 shows. Once "Weigh" was finished, Page took over with his natural talent in "Strange Design", "Scent of a Mule", and most notably, "Bathtub Gin". The first night was my good friend's first Phish show, he had pulling for a "Bathtub Gin" all week but was not fulfilled, so you can imagine the excitement that overwhelmed him when Page started playing the funk of "Bathtub Gin".
By this point my friends and I were in awe at what we had experienced already, but it was only foreshadowing something we were not prepared for. Halfway through a rockin' "2001", Phish teased Parliament- Funkadelic, a huge surprise to most of the crowd, I'm sure. End of Set I.
Set II opened with a real funky "Tube" which is a personal favorite of mine, and I have not had the pleasure to see it in the past. They jammed this tune into one of the Doors' favorites, "LA Woman". By this time we knew this night was something special. Sandwiched in between "LA Woman" was one of the most raging "Birds of a Feather" I have ever heard. They jammed the second part of "LA Woman" into "Makisupa", which is always a favorite. There was no keyword however. Trey instead announced that they wanted to play "Touch Me" but they didn’t know it and they didn't have a horn section. He then apologized for the "let down" and announced that they'd would like to bring out Parliament-Funkadelic.
I've never heard a larger cheer in my entire life than the one witnessed as George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic walked on stage. P Funk played a few of their own songs, including "Botta Butt" and "One Nation Under a Groove", which was such a treat in itself. After clearing off the stage, Phish returned to "Makisupa" after an almost twenty min. lapse.
"Down With Disease" was the Set II closer. I thought this fitting, it was a pretty average "Disease" with an extended jam, however. Tears were nearly running down my cheeks as I awaited the four phenoms known as Phish. The song to end the encore was "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", written by George Harrison. This tune is one my favorite covers that Phish does, so I was especially delighted to hear this one. Once the show was over my friends and I walked out of AA Arena with smiles on our faces, memories in our heads, and a sense of joy we had not experienced in years. No doubt we will always remember this night, albeit for different reasons perhaps.


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