After nearly 9 years I’m the first reviewer? Well, let’s get this started Hotlanta!
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We were determined not to be late on this evening. My suggestion one day earlier of venturing into the Smokey Mountain National Park had left us a wee late for Charlotte show. We literally parked our car, got out, closed the doors and we heard the roar. All in all it was a quick entry and we missed the Bitch opener (only one of the year so we were a bit bummed about that).

OK, where was I?... ah yes, Atlanta. Using my built in spidey sense when it comes to navigation (and wanting to atone for the previous days snafu), the moment we hit traffic on the 75 and it was getting to be that time (say 6pm) I grabbed the lone atlas we had at our disposal and found an end around way into Lakewood. My skeptical tour mates wanted to wait like lemmings in the line on the exit ramp. No way, not today, this was as far south as we had been since Phoenix and SD and we are getting it right or I am turning this Lexus around! They listened, and we were able to sneak in a traffic free back way through a decent looking ATL neighborhood. Having arrived in time we had plenty of time to gather, check out the local ATL vibe (I remember dust, heat and cold beer) and head into Lakewood with plenty of time to spare. The whole experience getting to and in the show was quite pleasant.

I had the best seats PTBM had every hooked me up with, 5th row center and as such I had been looking forward to this particular show since April or May, whenever the tickets had arrived in the mail. Wilson was raucous and the longest non-horn CTB followed. A superb version. Check it. Actually the run of CTB, Wedge, Ice and MMGAMOIO were all played for the first time all tour or since the hiatus and each had excellent short improves. Nice to get a run of songs not yet played at this late point in the tour. A great Wolfman’s (though not on par with the PHX version and Vegas versions), and possibly a best ever Mexican Cousin (certainly the most exploratory) provided a few more late set delights. Taste had a hell of year in 2002-03 with huge versions at MSG, LA, a nice show opener at the Gorge, and this stellar set closer was the icing on the cake for a great set. Songs like Taste that can literally show up anywhere in the set and feel right are what it’s all about people. In 2003 and today this first set was and is, easily overlooked, but has great versions of semi-rare songs. If anything, the 2003 ethos of Phish improv popping up anywhere and multiple times in a setlist was in full effect. Nice stuff in the south.

The 2nd set found me in the back of the pavilion with some old friends and a few tour mates. Literally the back row of the pavilion! It’s so fun to move around at Phish shows, and the particulars and freedom I was afforded this night in ATL made me quite plussed. On to the set- The set opening Piper like many from this year is superb. Featuring various jam segments and a full blown Can’t You Hear Me Knocking tease this version was up there for summer Pipers. In fact I’ll rank them right now:
1) 7.19
2) 7.26
3) 7.31.
4) 7.9
5) 7.12
After all that sustained improv we need something to relax, have a smoke and glass of wine (large beer in a plastic cup) to relax, Mountains in the Mist provided that tonight. Being a native Mainer I held up the coming IT festival all summer and this sojourn south had with it plenty of people who were starting their run up to IT. Mountains in the Mist (Katahdin) and the Wedge (Limestone) may have had me pine and even balsam for my native state. Waves didn’t help but he improv sections did as did the short Tower jam (as it would come to be known) right before Tweezer. When going back through this tour the Tower jamming style showed up all over the place- sometimes for minutes on end and sometimes like in this version of Waves for a few seconds. At any rate, I made my way back down to the 5th row for the Tweezer (arriving at the Uncle Ebenezer moment) and I jammed thusly to the jam and segue into NICU (Cactus!). Mid-set Caverns are weird they throws me off my game. Set closing YEM’s w/ an IT reference do not, and this sent us off nicely. I wandered to the back of the pav for the classic paring of Wading (actually a nice reading) and the boomquake of the Reprise sent us out into the night.

I bought a lot poster, got a Sierra and passed up the chance to party in Bucktown, which in hindsight was a huge mistake. Who passes that up for a 3 hour drive back north to our hotel to prepare for the impending Raleigh crap factory the next night? What does one know from night to night on tour some shows shine for a variety of reasons, and some find the bass player asleep at the switch? Some of us will take the sleep and press on.

This ATL show was great at the time and still holds up well. That said, I’m a huge homer for summer 2003 and will put this one in the middle of the pack (with 7.17 say).

Hotlanta. Temperatures rising. Momentum building. Can Phish continue the torrid pace with which they've attacked the previous week's worth of shows?

A Wilson opener might suggest as such. But this Wilson, though containing some extended heavy metal-esq jamming, was a little too loose and sloppy for my taste. Nonetheless, when Phish opens with Wilson the tone is set: energy. This was no more apparent when they came out swinging with four consecutive "bust out songs." Cars Trucks Buses, being the biggest of the four, has some serious rust unfortunately. It was fun to hear... except... it was painful to hear. Trey kinda forgot that he was holding a guitar I think. Oh well, I mean A for Effort.... right? The Wedge also got out to a sloppy start but at least Trey picked the axe back up and tried to slay the finale of the jam, which, for some consolation, starts the momentum to swing in the positive direction, rather than the negative. Now here is when things get interesting. It's Ice finds its first placement of the summer and ho boy, this one took me pleasantly by surprise. Having listened to exactly zero minutes of this show in my Phish career, I had no idea what to expect with It's Ice... especially considering how sloppy the composed sections of the first three songs were. Phish played this version well. Surprisingly so in the context of the set. But things get super cool during the jam. Equal parts slow-build Piper and Thunderhead fluttering, this jam is peaceful, melodic, soft, and happy. It drifts for a good three-four minutes, never losing direction, but never following a straight line. It is a fantastic hidden gem. My Mind's Got a Mind of It's Own caps off the bust out train with some good old PhishGrass, and now, the momentum is definitely turned up. A two-part Wolfman's Brother drops in next. The song portion itself seems rather... uninspired. There is no bite or pace to it at all. HOWEVA... the jam immediately drops into a minimalist, quasi-plinko groove-a-thon. Giddy with excitement, I got up off the ouch and shook my funky bad self in the living room. Mrs Funky looked on in admiration, the cat in contempt. The jam starts to unravel about halfway in when, wouldn't you know it, Trey Anastasio delivers a screeching cascade of notes and the band explodes into a rockin, energized, raucous cacophony of a jam! Man! I did not see that coming! There really is no such thing as a bad Wolfman's, but this one is definitely a GOOD Wolfman's. Mexican Cousin was an odd choice to follow up the funk-down. It did not sit well with me, but I am certain in the moment laughs and smiles were abound as this goofy diddy kept the good times rolling. I have gone on record saying I am not a Guyute fan, and - I am still not a Guyute fan. This one was performed well though, honestly, and even though I don't prefer the song, it doesn't take anything away from the set. Taste continues to succession of odd song selections. But again, I bite my tongue because this is a truly beautiful version. Trey starts out soft. Twinkling. Sparkling. Playful and tasteful playing. The band gets quiet. Trey skips about. The band starts to build. Fishman touches the cymbals. The hits them. The crashes them. Trey responds in kind, in tone, in volume! Before you know it they are in a lock step frenzy, building towards a glorious explosion! What a way to wrap up the set! Especially when you aren't expecting it! I gotta say, this set felt like it could have been 2 hours, especially since it was my first time ever listening to any of these songs. I was impressed.

Set two starts out with Piper. Perhaps picking a thread from It's Ice, Piper kinda slow builds... kinda. The jam then blasts off into a 4 part musical endeavour. Part 1: 3-9 minutes: Straight fire rock n roll. Part 2: 9-13 minutes: Bouncey bubble jam. Part 3: 13-17 minutes. A little bit o' everything from previous 2003 Pipers jam. Part 4: 17-20 minutes: Serene deep space jam. Piper settles beautifully onto Mountains in the Mist. Mist is humble and blissful. Introspective and calming... a perfect landpad from that multifaceted, high-action Piper. A wonderful pairing. Waves got a lot of attention in 2003 and I sure do wish they would give it the same attention in today's era. Ahh well. This Waves starts out with Trey nimbly picking his way through the water. Skipping stones across the frets he eventually dives in face first and starts shredding away. Personally I like the nimble, stone-skipping portion of the jam over the latter shreddage part, but whatever, it is still a decent version. Waves recedes into Tweezer which definitely gets a HUGE cheer from the crowd - as the set so far - the show so far - the week so far- has been on fire. This Tweezer doesn't do much though... in fact it is rather forgettable. A rough (and liberal) -> NICU regains some momentum as Mike and Fishman take turns exchanging riffs or flourishes or something! I dunno how to describe it, but it is sure fun to listen to! Never thought I'd say this, but do not skip this NICU! Eventually it gives way to a respectable and well-timed Cavern. You Enjoy Myself catches EVERYONE by surprise and WOW! What a way to end the show! Although this version is rather tame for 2003 standards [author's aside: 2003 was a STRONG year for YEM. 2.26, 7.19, 2.18, 12.1, 7.12 are ALL top-notch. And although this one is certainly the least powerful of 2003, had this taken place, oh I dunno, in 2016... we would be freaking out saying, "FINALLY YEM IS BACK!!" So, a little context when I say this one is "tame."] Back to the tunes... this YEM was "tame" but definitely not lame. And then as a show closer to this particular show, well, it was very well received. Wading was particularly pretty and Tweeprise put about 10 exclamation points on the evening.

It's always fun to listen, start-to-finish, to a show you know NOTHING about. This one took me by surprise in the best way possible... even though it is not an "all-timer" nor contains any "best evers." It is still a dang good Phish show.

Must-hear jams: It's Ice, Wolfman's Brother, Piper > Mountains in the Mist
Probably-should-listen-to-jams: Taste, NICU

Atlanta 2003 is one of my favorite shows of 2.0, and all my shows overall. My brother Chris and I drove up from Orlando, where we were living at the time, and made it to the lots around 6pm. Holy shit this is the most ghetto venue for parking. Paying a security guard 20 bucks likely saved my car from being ransacked. We got tickets on lot and strolled into the venue.

Set 1
Wilson>CTB was a nice opener, especially since CTB is rarely heard anymore. The Wedge was a first timer for me, and I loved every minute of it as the sun started to set. It's Ice was a song I chased in 2.0 and this version was one of many I saw in those short years, but it stood out in my mind because it was so damn hot and an ironic choice.

Another first timer for me, My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own, short and sweet, followed by Wolfman's Brother, Mexican Cousin and Guyute. I loved these three, but in my mind, Taste stands out as one of the best versions ever, and the highlight of first set. Listen to it and share your thoughts - its so ingrained since that moment 9 years ago that I smile every time I think back on it.

Set 2 had us moving down to the lawn, right of center, and almost getting arrested as a cop walked through the crowd and saw me as the middle man between a couple who were passing, um, things, back and forth. He glanced, walked away and I got ready for set 2.

A slow build Piper, remember those? This one might be the last one of its kind, and takes a 20 minute journey, just mind-bogglingly solid and the jam of the night at this point. A segue into the soft Mist was expected from the airy ending to Piper. After a few minutes of chill Trey balladeering, Waves arose. Listen to any recording and you can hear in the intro to Waves some dude yell 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!', i laugh every time i hear it. Waves was perfect, the segue into Tweezer was out of the blue, with both songs combining to be as long as Piper. Segue into NICU was unexpected, but provided a Mike solo for once instead of Page.

Cavern was a needed break before YEM showed up and we all got the fuck down. the Boy, Man, God, IT was half expected, but it set the crowd into a frenzy for the rest of the night. The Kuroda birthday tease was lost on some, but I definitely recalled hearing it and wondering who it was for.

Leaving the show during Velvet Sea was the best decision I could have made - the parking lot was a nightmare and we needed to get on the road to South Carolina to see family, before heading up to Burgettstown for one of the most epic shows of 2003.

Listen to this show and enjoy it. I did, immensely.

This show is excellent and has more to offer than meets the eye.

The first set is pretty average but Wolfman and Taste both have a nice extension that is quite nice.

Set two IMO is far about average. Piper has a great groove oriented jam and all segues into Mountains in the Mist are great. The Tweezer > NICU is butter, just a top notch excellent segue. Cavern gives a sign that the set may be ending but then YEM just jumps in. I love this YEM It's very finely polished. The groove section is also outstanding with some fantastic work by Mike. The whole set doesn't really have any stutters or sour moments.

Wading does it's thing as a soft closer and Tweeprise has some extra thunder in it.

Great show from one of the greatest weeks of Phish.

Hotlanta. Temperatures rising. Momentum building. Can Phish continue the torrid pace with which they've attacked the previous week's worth of shows?

A Wilson opener might suggest as such. But this Wilson, though containing some extended heavy metal-esq jamming, was a little too loose and sloppy for my taste. Nonetheless, when Phish opens with Wilson the tone is set: energy. This was no more apparent when they came out swinging with four consecutive "bust out songs." Cars Trucks Buses, being the biggest of the four, has some serious rust unfortunately. It was fun to hear... except... it was painful to hear. Trey kinda forgot that he was holding a guitar I think. Oh well, I mean A for Effort.... right? The Wedge also got out to a sloppy start but at least Trey picked the axe back up and tried to slay the finale of the jam, which, for some consolation, starts the momentum to swing in the positive direction, rather than the negative. Now here is when things get interesting. It's Ice finds its first placement of the summer and ho boy, this one took me pleasantly by surprise. Having listened to exactly zero minutes of this show in my Phish career, I had no idea what to expect with It's Ice... especially considering how sloppy the composed sections of the first three songs were. Phish played this version well. Surprisingly so in the context of the set. But things get super cool during the jam. Equal parts slow-build Piper and Thunderhead fluttering, this jam is peaceful, melodic, soft, and happy. It drifts for a good three-four minutes, never losing direction, but never following a straight line. It is a fantastic hidden gem. My Mind's Got a Mind of It's Own caps off the bust out train with some good old PhishGrass, and now, the momentum is definitely turned up. A two-part Wolfman's Brother drops in next. The song portion itself seems rather... uninspired. There is no bite or pace to it at all. HOWEVA... the jam immediately drops into a minimalist, quasi-plinko groove-a-thon. Giddy with excitement, I got up off the ouch and shook my funky bad self in the living room. Mrs Funky looked on in admiration, the cat in contempt. The jam starts to unravel about halfway in when, wouldn't you know it, Trey Anastasio delivers a screeching cascade of notes and the band explodes into a rockin, energized, raucous cacophony of a jam! Man! I did not see that coming! There really is no such thing as a bad Wolfman's, but this one is definitely a GOOD Wolfman's. Mexican Cousin was an odd choice to follow up the funk-down. It did not sit well with me, but I am certain in the moment laughs and smiles were abound as this goofy diddy kept the good times rolling. I have gone on record saying I am not a Guyute fan, and - I am still not a Guyute fan. This one was performed well though, honestly, and even though I don't prefer the song, it doesn't take anything away from the set. Taste continues to succession of odd song selections. But again, I bite my tongue because this is a truly beautiful version. Trey starts out soft. Twinkling. Sparkling. Playful and tasteful playing. The band gets quiet. Trey skips about. The band starts to build. Fishman touches the cymbals. The hits them. The crashes them. Trey responds in kind, in tone, in volume! Before you know it they are in a lock step frenzy, building towards a glorious explosion! What a way to wrap up the set! Especially when you aren't expecting it! I gotta say, this set felt like it could have been 2 hours, especially since it was my first time ever listening to any of these songs. I was impressed.

Set two starts out with Piper. Perhaps picking a thread from It's Ice, Piper kinda slow builds... kinda. The jam then blasts off into a 4 part musical endeavour. Part 1: 3-9 minutes: Straight fire rock n roll. Part 2: 9-13 minutes: Bouncey bubble jam. Part 3: 13-17 minutes. A little bit o' everything from previous 2003 Pipers jam. Part 4: 17-20 minutes: Serene deep space jam. Piper settles beautifully onto Mountains in the Mist. Mist is humble and blissful. Introspective and calming... a perfect landpad from that multifaceted, high-action Piper. A wonderful pairing. Waves got a lot of attention in 2003 and I sure do wish they would give it the same attention in today's era. Ahh well. This Waves starts out with Trey nimbly picking his way through the water. Skipping stones across the frets he eventually dives in face first and starts shredding away. Personally I like the nimble, stone-skipping portion of the jam over the latter shreddage part, but whatever, it is still a decent version. Waves recedes into Tweezer which definitely gets a HUGE cheer from the crowd - as the set so far - the show so far - the week so far- has been on fire. This Tweezer doesn't do much though... in fact it is rather forgettable. A rough (and liberal) -> NICU regains some momentum as Mike and Fishman take turns exchanging riffs or flourishes or something! I dunno how to describe it, but it is sure fun to listen to! Never thought I'd say this, but do not skip this NICU! Eventually it gives way to a respectable and well-timed Cavern. You Enjoy Myself catches EVERYONE by surprise and WOW! What a way to end the show! Although this version is rather tame for 2003 standards [author's aside: 2003 was a STRONG year for YEM. 2.26, 7.19, 2.18, 12.1, 7.12 are ALL top-notch. And although this one is certainly the least powerful of 2003, had this taken place, oh I dunno, in 2016... we would be freaking out saying, "FINALLY YEM IS BACK!!" So, a little context when I say this one is "tame."] Back to the tunes... this YEM was "tame" but definitely not lame. And then as a show closer to this particular show, well, it was very well received. Wading was particularly pretty and Tweeprise put about 10 exclamation points on the evening.

It's always fun to listen, start-to-finish, to a show you know NOTHING about. This one took me by surprise in the best way possible... even though it is not an "all-timer" nor contains any "best evers." It is still a dang good Phish show.

Must-hear jams: It's Ice, Wolfman's Brother, Piper > Mountains in the Mist
Probably-should-listen-to-jams: Taste, NICU

On par for summer 03. However the Piper is exceptional and one of the best versions of 2.0. That's saying a lot considering the Piper's we got during that era! Also the segue into Mist is nice and a great compliment to the monster jam that preceded it.

Ah, back at Lakewood. I was here for the 99 4th of July run and after that promised I would make it back. Phish always seems to throw down here in this great city, tonight would be absolutely no exception. The lot scene was sweet. No security presence at all - anything goes, and everything did. We got a brief rain shower which produced: I was lucky enough to be 7th row DFC tonight (thanks Lee) w/ Tony. Great seats. Best I'd had since first night Shoreline. Nearing 7pm - I still had to find Tony to get my ticket and I was starting to freak a little. I couldn't find him after like 10 minutes at will call then realized there was another will call on the other side of the venue, so I hauled ass over there and luckily found him.

SET 1: Wilson: Great opener, really gets the blood pumping.>

Cars Trucks Buses: Sweet, tour bustout! Not played in 43 shows. Page's playing is sweet and this one actually gets jammed and felt longer than most.

The Wedge: Trey falters w/ the opening licks. Page comes to the rescue and shows Trey the way. Trey hops back on the horse and it's all good from here on out.

It's Ice: Very well played. One thing about this version that I have never seen or heard on disc. The middle jam which is typically dark and evil instead on this night turned rather upbeat and almost ambient. It worked well though and I liked it.

My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own: Got a kick out of watching Mike from close up. >

Wolfman's Brother: This Wolfman's both funks and rages throughout.

Mexican Cousin: Good spot for it, dig this song.

Guyute: Evil and well played. >

Taste: Another great 2003 Taste, highly recommended.

SET 2: Piper: 3rd second set Piper opener and 4th of the tour overall. I personally thought this Piper rocked pretty hard. It gets Very ambient for the last few minutes and segues into >

Mountains in the Mist: Sweet. I saw this debuted from the front row in front of Page on 7/3/99. Nice vocals from Trey and a nice little solo too.

Waves: Like a fresh summer breeze, in rolls Waves. Love the choice here. This Waves is wonderful, I loved every bit of it! Great, great segue into >

Tweezer: This segue just blew me away, I'm at a loss as to try and describe how good it was. This Tweezer just rages the whole way thru. No ambience. No white boy cow funk. Just nasty, machine gun Trey going to work on my dome. Shredding people, just shredding. Wow. The most amazing segue into ->

NICU: Seriously, the Waves>Tweezer>NICU is some of the slickest segueing you will find on this whole tour. Not to mention on a tour filled with LOTS of excellent segueing. So very tasty. Trey calls out Play it Cactus instead of Leo and Mike takes a nice solo. Page actually looked a tad bummed out at first but then looked to be enjoying Mike's solo. Sorta segue into >

Cavern: Ah Trey, I hope you've continued to practice. We can't have another debacle like KS now, can we?! He comes in a bit late on the porthole pirate line but otherwise this is an impeccable version. Sorta segue into > >

You Enjoy Myself: Jesus H, bless you boys! The nirvana segment just puts me into the biggest trance. Page manages to break that with his soft playing and brings the band back to life w/ him. Boy! Man! God! IT!!!!!!! NICE!! I love that the band is having fun with the fans again. All the banter at KS and Alpine night - keep up the chatter boys! Trey struggles just a bit pre tramps (a little off key). Page just funks it up during the tramps’ section, dirty Page! Post tramps sees and utterly and completely Trey led machine gun jam. Sick as all hell. At one point I had some nice eye contact going w/ the red headed one. With arms out and up in front of me, palms up I'm telling him to bring it, BRING THE HEAT TO ME TREY. Going on memory from the show and now listening to the tapes, this at around 15:20. No lie, he laughs at me, and he proceeds to fucking shred it man. Wow, special moment to be sure. Shortly thereafter the jam breaks down and Mike proceeds to funk away at the foundation of the venue. Crazy YEM right there folks. The vocal jam (which I did not catch at all at the show) was based around the Star Spangled Banner. CK5'S lights at this point are seriously driving me to my knees. I've never been so completely blown away by Chris's lights, I felt like I was going to end up in a straitjacket before too long!! A mellow end to the vocal jam allowed me to maintain some sanity, but not much. That was just too damn good.

ENCORE: Wading in the Velvet Sea: What I said about the Alpine Wading encore pertains here as well. After that hot of a show, Wading is a perfect choice. As long as the band puts heart and emotion into it, then I am fine with it; and pleased to see it actually. Page sounds wonderful, I love to hear the man sing and tickle the ivory. It was played exquisitely.>

Tweezer Reprise: I found myself mustering some sort of energy to again break out the flailing angry chicken dance. CK5 again putting the screws to my dome. This sent me out the doors all warm and fuzzy. Thank you Phish for another extremely entertaining evening in the ATL.

Replay Value: It’s Ice, Taste, Piper, You Enjoy Myself

Summary: I was supposed to meet up with some folks from Phishhook after this show, but I was just whipped. We raged the lot hard pre-show and danced our butts off both sets. All I could do post show was find the car, lay down, and prepare to drive to Raleigh. I have attendance bias because I was so close and was with my tour buddy. We raged it hard. But this show comparatively speaking versus Deer Creek and Charlotte just doesn’t measure up. I would rate it a 3.7 out of 5.