Phish - Hampton Comes Alive November 29, 1999 - CDNOW by Paul Semel Album Review - Hampton Comes Alive There's one thing you can always expect from Phish: the unexpected. And this live album is no exception. Sure, even a casual fan of the band wouldn't be surprised that this constantly touring band is releasing another live album, but only hardcore Phisheads would've guessed the group would ever do one that's six discs long with two complete concerts on it. Still, even those hardcore fans would be surprised by what tunes are included (that is, unless they attended the two Hampton, Va., shows in 1998 contained herein). Phish is well known for playing unreleased tunes and odd-ball covers during its shows, so no one will be surprised that 20 of the 44 tracks here have never been on an album before, or that these tracks include Phish's versions of Stevie Wonder's "Boogie on Reggae Woman" and the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Bold as Love." But the only people who won't be shocked to hear them do Will Smith's "Getting' Jiggy Wit It" and Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" are those who've heard Phish do them before. And even they might be surprised that the band included them. In fact, the only thing about Hampton … that isn't surprising is how good the guys sound here. When they're on, these guys are really on, and listening to this album, it's obvious why they picked these shows to release in their entirety, especially during such moments as the effortless jams of "Bathtub Gin" or the fire with which they perform "Character Zero" and "Cavern." Which is exactly what we expected all along.