Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Video Quality Considering!
Review: I read the reviews of this DVD with a large grain of salt, do to my college education in Telecom: Radio & TV. I took a semester in lighting and a couple in video electronics and leaned a few things 15 years ago. The number may have changed a little as technology has progressed but I think I will be pretty accurate for the production of this DVD. Lighting contrast numbers are as following, Human eye 100:1, Film 30:1, Television 25:1. This means that the brightest amount of light can be 100 times more then the darkest for a human to see detail. The DVD is a concert that was light for a live audience, NOT the video cameras! So we lost over 60% of the detail there! In concert lighting we "paint" the stage using color filters, gels, to add to the stage presentation. You will notice that quite often the screen will go red or another color as all the lights use a common color filter. Video is made up of 3 basis colors Red 29%, Green 60%, and Blue 11% to give you the color picture. Good cameras are 3 CCD chip camera, meaning they have 3 pickup devices with color filters on them. So if I put a red gel on my light and then point a camera at the person I have just knocked out most of the green and blue pickup device and now I am using about 35% of my cameras pickup capability, (number rounded up as red light is not pure). Now rewatch the DVD and remember that we loose over 60% to lighting contrast and depending on the color filter we are loosing detail there too! Having shot live stage performances, mostly theater productions that light at 100:1, I was quite amazed at the detail they pulled out of the concert. The only way Phish would get better video quality would be to light for video, but then it would probably take away from the Vibe of the show. Oh yea, it sounds great in Dolby 5.1! I sure hope Phish puts out more shows on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: this show sucks
Review: I warn you do not buy this dvd. The show simply sucks, the band is not in good form and it shows. It says something when Trey is not even smiling, and he doesn't during this whole show. Trey and the band are obviously bored. I will say that there is a good version of the curtain and a day in the life here though. Hope this review helps.
Rating:
Summary: PHISH Delivers!
Review: I was at this show in Vegas. It was Trey's Birthday, so already the crowd was extra excited. The night before saw the boys bring out Kid Rock so we knew we were in for a wild ride. The first set was beautiful. Very solid - Walfredo, Curtain With, Mikes Groove with a Esther in it! Sick set! Second set started out with all us in the crowd singing happy birthday to Trey which was really cool. The highlight of the set was the Col. Forbins where Trey opened up and spoke about the hiatus, and then told us a very cool and strange story, but I won't tell you what he said. You'll have to find that out for yourself. If you are even remotely a fan of PHISH, then get this DVD! Follow Up - I said earlier that i had seen the webcast saved on a friends computor. This DVD is an exact copy of that. From the quality of the picture (it looks digitized) its almost as if they ripped the whole show straight off of the computer that broadcasted it over the net. Camera work is terrible! My own personal opinion is that a live dvd should enhance the performance on stage - this detracts from it. There were only three cameras on stage and one in at the soundboard, and its the same angles over, and over, and over again with no rhyme or reason. And the mix is almost an exact copy of the webcast as well. If there was even a small effort to present this concert in a way that it would actually look good on film, and the mix was finessed in the slightest, then i would have no doubt given a five star... This was a great show! I love this band! But... the dvd was too poorly produced. With that said - if you're a fan and you just want to be able to watch PHISH on your TV like me, then get it! If you are expecting Listener Supported, or Live From The Vault style stuff here, you will be disapointed. Two Stars - like i said, it was a great show.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointingly low energy
Review: I was hoping for a more jam oriented show and less vocally oriented. Let's face it, they aren't exactly the best singers. I hope they put out DVDs from some of the mid 90s shows. That's when they really rocked!
Rating:
Summary: ehhh.
Review: I was lucky enough to catch 27 Phish concerts before they finally pulled the plug, but I'm not one of those overanalytical types that dissect their shows inside & out...I've mostly been a happy & satisfied customer, warts n' all. Having said that, however, this DVD really doesn't do much for me. On paper it looks like an intriguing setlist, but apart from a handful of songs, the performance isn't too inspiring IMO. Looks more like one of those "you had to be there to appreciate it"-type shows, actually. Visually, it varies from bootleg quality to barely above average. I mean, the first time I watched this, I cleaned my DVD player after the first few songs, thinking that's what was responsible for the poor picture quality...but nope, no difference. I mean, this was filmed in the year 2000, right? To put things in perspective, the picture quality of the Led Zeppelin DVD blows this away, and some of THAT footage is 35 years old!! The audio is top-notch however, so that offers slight redemption. Bottom line: spend your money on the far superior "IT" DVD, and avoid this one...
Rating: 
Summary: a great live event
Review: i was lucky to be at this show in 2000 and think it will make a great addition for any phish phan based purely on the setlist. There are many treats for you to enjoy and some great covers. Walfredo opener, muffed up lyrics for Esther. A Beatles and a Stones cover! Trey has some great narration as well that night, sighting the haitus and how crazy vegas is in a rambling dream narration...i thought it was funny.This night is also Trey's Birthday. I do think the energy was a bit low for this show. In my opinion, this is because this is night 2 of a 2 night vegas stand. Just like in '98, phish seems to be a bit tired after a full night in vegas from the day before. It just takes it out of ya. If you been to these shows, then i think you know what i mean. Trey played at 5am that morning with Les Claypool as well, so you can see the bags under their eyes for this night, and some of the jams lacked the punch that phish is known for. Still, it is a great buy, becuase of the song list and simply because phish is a great live band. And this captures them in great form. I'm sure you will enjoy playing this loudly on your home dvd player!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Audio, but doesn't deliver on video quality!
Review: I was so anticipating this DVD to be a home theater showpiece, to display the capabilities of my new 5.1 surround sound system and HDTV rear projection TV....but Phish only delivered on half of those expectations. First let me start by saying the audio quality is outstanding, for this alone the DVD is well worth it. They did a terrific job of creating a crystal clear sound out of a live concert, as well as projecting the music and audience through Dolby 5.1 Surround...hats off to the audio crew. Now for the not so good part. I was very disappointed with the video clarity. The picture is grainy and blurry, especially on the distant shots of the band. The only time the picture quality seems ok is when it is a close up shot highlighting only one or two of the band members. Once the camera pulls back, it is difficult to even make out the faces (say nothing of the expressions) of the band members. I was hoping this DVD would bring me closer to capture the expressions and actions of the band as they played, instead many times I felt as though I had another upper balcony ticket to the show! At first I made excuses for the video quality (well there shows are not well lit and all the lighting effects make it difficult for good video quality...etc.), but then I compared it to the clarity of the live clips from Bittersweet Motel and realized that displaying a clear live Phish video is not impossible. To wrap things up, do buy this DVD. If you like Phish, you will appreciate the playing and quality of this show. As long as you don't have high expectations for video quality and know this going into it, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: NOT ALWAYS GREAT
Review: I was thoroughly pleased to hear of the release of this DVD, however, the first few I got were bad copies (thanks for the quality assurance Warner). When I finally got a working copy I thought it was a lackluster performance, and the video quality, as most people say, is absolutely horrible. There was some guy giving the facts about lighting, well I too work in television, and if you use video equipment that is any good at all, you can work with lighting and make it look great. Phish appears to have used the low-end of video equipment and it looks horrible. As for the show, we all know there are phans out there that think everything and anything the band does is brilliant!!! And then there are phans, like myself, who can admit that the boys are human and aren't always on fire and ocassionally have a boring show, this one is a boring show!!! Out of all the great shows on that particular tour (Tweeter,AllState,Target,Shoreline) why did they pick, IMO, one of the worst? If you are a discerning Phish phan and appreciate the music more than the scene/vibe, avoid this one and wait for the next DVD release. If you think Phish can do no wrong, than obviously buy this one, you probably won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but worth the bucks
Review: I'll agree that the show is not one of thier best by any means... ok, so we've got an average or sub-par Phish show... but, an average Phish show is still a GREAT show. As a Phish fan myself, I would have liked to see certain songs that weren't included and more emphasis placed on jams. The set wasnt ALL bad, though: Some highlights: I Didn't Know- Good one for Phish fans. A Capella delight with a little suprise... if you've never heard Phishman play the vacuum cleaner, you're in for a treat-- very interesting. Weekapaug Groove- Rarely does one get to see Mike wail so much on bass. Not the best version of the song, but since this is not available on any Phish studio album, the dolby digital really makes it sing. This track alone makes the purchase price of the DVD worthwhile in my opinion, but shouldnt be considered a deal maker for everyone. Fly Famous Mockingbird- Trey does a nice, funny preamble, though it does drag on a bit. The song itself if nice. Trey's guitar work on this song never ceases to amaze me. Twist- Despite what some fans think about Farmhouse, I simply love the album; especially this song, and this is one of the best versions I have ever heard. Long, jammin, heavy. I like it. Emotional Rescue- Just great. Love this part of the performance- the Trey/Mike thing at the end is simply adorable. I was laughing quite a bit at this... if for nothing else, the visual aspect of the disc really makes this moment shine. The audio quality on this DVD is top notch-- I'd love to see more concert albums out there with this kind of 5.1 treatment-- a lot of effort must have gone into making this Dolby Digital mix. This is not one of those muddy, washed out, inactive audio tracks that many concert DVDs suffer from. It also doesnt use the channels inappropriately-- the soundstage remains firmly fixated in the front where it belong and the rears are used for ambiance such as the audience and the general sounds you'd normally hear from behind you at a concert like this with the ever-so-slight reverb from the sound hitting the walls. The depth of sound isnt as wonderful as it could be-- would love to see what the live Phish sound crew could do with the DVD-A or SACD format, but for a dolby digital mix, it delivers the goods. The video is a different story. This is some of the worst live footage I have ever seen on DVD... absolutely terrible camera work and video editing-- and the picture itself is grainy and washed out. I would agree with what was said about some of the Bittersweet Motel footage being a bit better. If you're a hardcore Phish fan, you have already picked up a copy of this or plan on doing so I'm sure. Casual fans might enjoy it despite the somewhat week performance-- I'd say rent it if you can find it or borrow it from a friend before purchasing it if you're just an occasionaly listener. General live concert DVD fans-- The audio is stellar but the video is wretched... it's a toss up. Performance: 3 stars
Audio Quality: 5 stars
Video Quality: 3 stars Overall: Have to give it a big 4-- the performance may be lacking and the video is definately terrible, but the audio offers some amazing quality, and this is, as of yet, the only live Phish DVD... 3.8 stars?
Rating:
Summary: Good audio, lousy picture
Review: I've been waiting for years for Phish to put out a DVD like this,
bringing the concert experience home, while giving us 5.1 audio and stellar picture quality. Unfortunately, the picture quality isn't there. I'd compare it to a worn VHS tape... a tape you'd rent from Blockbuster that's been rented thousands of times before you. I understand the show was originally taped for a webcast, hence the lack of picture quality. Well fine, but maybe they should have picked a better show then. There is about a half hour of bonus footage from the following day's show, and the picture quality there is fine ( But the audio there is only Dolby Pro logic). Any, that being said, the audio is very good on this DVD. I was interested in how they would break up the various instruments over the 5.1 channels. Page's vocals and keyboards come through the left main and left surround. Trey's guitar comes through the right main and right surround. Trey's vocals seem to come from the center. Fish's drums come from the left and right mains, but not the center. One of Fish's drums comes from left surround. The center speaker seems very under-utilized. I couldn't seem to hear Mike at all through much of the show... but then again my subwoofer isn't the greatest, so I might not hear it anyway. (In the extras, with dolby pro logic, I could hear Mike very well). If you're a phish fan, you'll find a lot about this DVD you'll like. I especially like the Maze jam, similar in quality to the Maze from the extras of Bittersweet Motel. Also the Mike's seemed especially good to me, with good camera angles featuring both the band and the crowd, making you feel like you're there.
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