Date:    Wed, 3 Dec 1997 16:55:16 GMT
From:    "James Raras Jr." 
Subject: Hartford and Worcester Run Synopsis

Worcester 11/29 (my 50th show :)

First set was very disjointed and nothing really went anywhere, besides a
decent setlist.  The Simple was especially disappointing, considering past
versions and how I was hoping to get a great version on this run, oh well.

Second set made up for the first set and then some!  Prior to the set we
narrowed the opener down to either Makisupa, Jim, or Gin.  Jim it was, how
fitting for my 50th show :).  The Jim opener started off really mellow, not
as up tempo as usual, and the laid back flavor continued through the usual
stages.  Around 15min or so I realised that they were straying from the
usual Jim type jam and thought we might be in for a Runaway JAM, ala 6/16/95
etc...  boy was I right!

This is the best Jim ever, it is truly epoch in the same vein that the
Providence Bowie is.  And to tell you the truth the whole vibe in the arena
felt *very* similar to the vibe in the Providence CC on 12/29/94 set-2,
during that Bowie.  This Jim went through so many changes it was as if we
were being taken on a musical voyage, over peaks and valleys.  Just when
things got spacy and dissonant they'd pick us up with a beautiful jam that
sounded as if it was composed, just great improv, imo!

At one point (early on) the jam sounded like a portion of Harry Hood, there
were also Spooky teases in this Jim and then later on when Fish sped up the
drum beat as if to try and finish the Jim with the closing segment, Trey
started playing the Weekapaug riff over it!  Insanity, the place went
ballistic, high fives were exchanged, and I was jumping up and down
repeatedly.  They jammed on this for a bit and then strayed for a bit only
to come back to jam the Weekapaug ending, at one point I thought we were
going to get a CYHMK ending.  59 min since the opening chords of Jim they
segued into Strange Design (nice placement!).  What a majestic segment of
music that Jim was, you *must* hear it for yourself!  Even my friend who had
been to several shows with me but isn't very analytical about phish said to
me after the Jim "wow, that was something special huh?".  Indeed!

Hood followed Design and I though it was a fantastic version, but I may have
just been pumped up from the Jim I'll have to listen to this again.  I
originally thought this version was on par with 12/31/93 and 12/30/95 (as it
is the same type of version) but I'll have to hear it again as I was
intoxicated by HOSE when I made the call :)

See below re: Caspian, and Suzie was fun but sloppy, as Fish started Golgi
from what I heard...  The encore was great fun!  Buffalo Bill (w/ Moby Dick
drum solo) > Fire.  FWIW, Fish was on fire all night as well as in the
Wolfmans' JAM the next night!

My Soul and Prince Poopy (Caspian) are undoubtedly the most overplayed songs
of this tour, and both of them have unparalleled momentum stopping ability,
imo!  In Hartford the Gumbo jam was just starting to go places with a nice
laid back groove, nearing type III, and then BAM!  We were sideswiped by My
Soul as Trey abruptly started the opening chords, doh!  Set two in Hartford:
the first 58min of this set is some of the most mellifluous phish ever
played, but once again one of the twin terrors steps up to turn a
potentially legendary set into a set with some great jamming, but a weak
ending (ala Ventura 7/30/97).  In Worcester we see this again, with a My
Soul encore for the first night, I mean c'mon!  This was the third show in a
row where they played it!  Prince Poopy also showed up after the *majestic*
Jim -> Design (superb placement!), Hood run, ugh!  I though the set was over
after Hood, and the Prince just didn't cut it for me at this point, but the
super encore made up for it :)

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Dec 1997 05:21:55 GMT
From:    "DJ Saul T. Nutz" 
Subject: ** 11/29 Woosta Review **

I was not prepared for the Saturday Woosta show.  I was in a vulnerable
state after the previous night's mind-numbing second set.  After the 2nd
show, I felt violated.  I felt like the band took advantage of me.  It was
like someone had put their hands down my pants without asking ;-)

As soon as they opened the 2nd set, I had a strange feeling that it would
be big.  But I had no idea it would be that big.  If the set had consisted
strictly of the first tune, it would have been more than sufficient.  This
65 minute JAM is reason enough to get a DAT deck.  At first, I thought I
knew what song it was, but then the ensuing jam made me question everything
I previously held to be true, including which song was being jammed in an
otherworldly fashion.  Someone after the show said it was RUNAWAY JIM, but
I'm not sure.  It was so long and intense, that I really can't remember.

I used to think that I was fairly good at providing an articulate
description of PHiSH shows, & even particular versions of songs.  But not
anymore.  This jam was so monstrous, so glorious, and so raging, that my
command of the English language is simply not sufficient to accurately
describe it.  What I can say, is that it contained numerous segments.  One
of the jams was a full-blown Weekapaug Jam, not merely a tease.  The
Weekapaug Jam in this tune was better than the entire Weekapaug from
11/15/96 St.Loo, which, btw, sucked.  There were a number of jaw-dropping
builds which peaked at essentially the same level as the Great Curve on
Halloween.  That is to say, this jam was not from Planet Earth.

I was pretty darned sure that the set would really only consist of one
tune, but then they started playing STRANGE DESIGN.  When PHiSH plays a 65
minute Runaway Jim of earth-shattering proportions, they are allowed to
follow it up with SD =^]  I think I laughed through the whole thing, kinda
like how the dude on Sesame Street laughs: One, ha ha ha ha ha... Two, ha
ha ha ha ha etc.

I was sure that SD wouldn't close the set, but I certainly did not expect
the possibility of a HARRY HOOD, let alone one of the best I've heard.
This is probably one of my favourites that I've witnessed, along with
11/16/96 Omaha.  The Hood was absolutely magnificent.

Now, I was 100% ENTIRELY POSITIVE that the set was over.  Then they played
Prince Poopy, & I laughed a whole bunch more, for 2 reasons:

1.  It was "bonus" PHiSH, as it was entirely unexpected;
2.  It pretty much ensured *another* song to follow.

Trey consulted with Mike for a good 15 seconds, & then called off a tune to
the rest of the band members.  The intro was fucked up, courtesy of
Fishman.  We were soon to find out why he messed it up.  At the part in
SUZY when Fish screams something, he screamed, "I thought you said Golgi!"
That explains why Fishman hit the downbeat to Golgi, while the rest of the
band was jumping into Suzy.

The encore is really what makes this show an immediate classic, imo.  I
didn't even recognize BUFFALO BILL at first.  Then suddenly I had one of
those moments where you say, "Oh, now i get it..."  Needless to say, I was
quite psyched to hear my first Buffalo Bill.  That football team will never
seem the same.  Fish took a little drum solo, & then Trey pointed to
Fishman & said, "Fishman will now do his Moby Dick impersonation" (or
something like that).  They busted into MOBY DICK, & I lost my marbles all
over Woosta.  They didn't even just tease it, they actually jammed it out,
Fish even took a drum solo.  Wow, what an encore!  What a show!!  Wait,
what's that?!?!?!??!  MORE PHISH?!?!??!  The FIRE was, once again, bonus
PHiSH, & was rockin', taboot.  PHiSH should cover a different Led Zeppelin
tune at every show.  I can't wait till the Kashmir encore on New Years!!

Have fun...
sauldude.




Saul E. Wertheimer -- sauldude@merle.acns.nwu.edu -- (847)674-1445
According to Bicycling magazine, beer is the second most popular
post-cycling thirst quencher; water is the first.

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 30 Nov 1997 06:51:33 GMT
From:    ABall394 
Subject: 11/29 WOW!!!!!!

  Just came back from the show and let me just say: oh my god.  I don't know
which show was better: last night or tonight.  They were both completely
different.  I'll try to remember the setlist off the top of my head(might be
out of order for the first set):
I: The Wedge, Foam, Simple, TMWSIY->Avenu->TMWSIY, Sloth, Ginseng Sullivan, I
Saw it Again, Water in the Sky, David Bowie
II: Runaway Jim!!!!->Jam!!!(nearing the hour mark), Strange Design, Harry Hood,
Prince Caspian, Suzy!!
E: Buffalo Bill(featuring drum solo by Fishman)->Moby Dick(another drum
solo)->Fire

I didn't know how they could top last night.  First set was very average.  Not
a bad set, but no real jams until Bowie.  It was nice to hear all the songs,
but just a weird Phish set.  Trey was using his effects pedals in between
songs.  It sometimes didn't fit(for example right before Water in the Sky, Trey
turns on his spacey effects and lets them go for 30 seconds or so).  First set
last night was tons better.
But the second set was momentous.  Definately the best one ever(totally kicks
Raleigh's ass).  The closest thing I can really compare this to are the  second
set Amsterdam shows from this summer.  So much music was contained in the fifty
minute span that was Runaway.  After a good forty minutes or so, Trey brings
the jam back into Runaway which then went into a big Weekapaug jam.  Because of
the relatively short second sets recently, I thought that we were going to see
a one song set, but right after Runaway, Page starts singing Strange Design.  I
got psyched about this because I was pretty sure that Strange Design wouldn't
end the set(by this point in time, the set time already surpassed last night's
second set), it was just a question of what was next.  I was thinking a Fire or
Good Times Bad Times, but I wasn't expecting a Hood.  Hood was very good, not
my favorite, but a damn good Hood.  At the end of Hood, Trey starts waving his
hand in a circular motion as if to say: lets do another one.  Prince Caspian
was well played.  I definately thought that this would end the set like Caspian
ended the Went, but after Caspian Trey talks to the band and we know that we
are getting one more tune.  The beginning of Suzy is messed(it seemed like Trey
started it slow) but by the second line Suzy is in the house.  First Suzy since
last New Years if I'm not mistaken.  I guess Suzy is back from retirement.  It
was jammed pretty well.  By this point in time, I am physically dead.  I didn't
know what to expect for an encore.
    After a long break between set and encore, they come out and Fishman starts
playing an unfamiliar drum beat.  Trey then goes to the mike and says: Fishman,
this is your favorite song, you start it off.  Buffalo Bill starts.  I think
this song has only been played 4 or 5 times and I have seen it 3 times but it
is still a pleasant song to hear.  Right before the solo, Trey says: Fishman,
since you love this song, you play the solo.  What follows it a very cool drum
solo.  Fishman stops and the band starts playing Moby Dick which is followed by
another Fishman solo.  During the middle of Moby Dick, Trey says: John Fishman,
Moby Dick(much like the way Robert Plant does on the Song Remains the Same).
The boys end the night with a jammed out Fire.
    I left this show completely satisfied.  First set was average.  Second set
and encore were WAY WAY above average.  I think that tonight was a historical
Phish performance.  Runaway went places I never even imagined.  I'm bummed that
I can't make tomorrow night's show, but I am glad that I saw two spectacular
shows last night and tonight.  Like my last review(I know that this review
isn't as in depth, but I am tired and its hard to describe tonight's show) I
will include the obligatory grovel:  I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want this
show.  I have over 300 hours of Phish.  My real email address is:
abb@hopper.unh.edu
Check my web page for my tape list: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~abb

Well, Phish is a momentous band.  I don't know how they can go out every night
and do what they do, but they are masters of it.  Hope everyone has a good rest
of the tour(by the looks of the shows so far, it should be a blast!!)
                           Andy

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 30 Nov 1997 03:01:07 -0600
From:    Dan Mielcarz 
Subject: Worcester 11/29/97 Review (What a show!)

While I'm still wired on caffeine, I figured I'd post a review. If you
don't want to read the whole thing, just read the next sentence. SET II
FROM TONIGHT WAS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST SET OF PHISH EVER IMHO. It was
definitely the best I've heard, and I've heard some nice sets (the Went,
12/29/94 II, 12/30/93 II).

Disclaimer: 15th show. 250+ (I haven't counted lately) hours on tape.
First show - 12/30/93. Last show - 11/28/97.

As usual, the setlist comes first:

11/29/97 Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA

Set I (~80 min)
The Wedge, Foam, Simple> TMWSIY> Alvenu Malkenu> TMWSIY, Sloth, Ginseng
Sullivan, I Saw It Again, Horn, Water In The Sky, David Bowie

Set II (~95 min, elapsed time after certain points)
Runaway Jim> "Type II Hose Jam" =)(48 min)> Weekapaug Jam*> Jam (58 min),
Strange Design, Harry Hood> Prince Caspian, Suzie Greenberg

E: (~15 min)
Buffalo Bill> Drum Solo> Moby Dick**, Fire

*No vocals, just the main riff
**Led Zepplin Cover (1st time played?)

[My scene and security comments from last night apply here too.]

On to the review:

Set I

THE WEDGE A fun opener, nothing special.

FOAM Well played, I hadn't heard it for a while. Pretty standard, I think.
Stop-start "segue" into...

SIMPLE After what became of this song at the Went, I probably will never
be satisfied with a standard Simple again. And that's what this one was.
A pretty normal jam that ended up as...

TMWSIY I don't think they have played this for a while, and it showed.
Plenty of flubs by Trey. They got it together for the standard segue
into...

ALVENU MALKENU In contrast with TMWSIY, this was played perfectly. Which
isn't to say it was anything but standard.

TMWSIY The second stab at this song was played flawlessly. It's a really
pretty song if there are no mistakes :-)

SLOTH This is a fun song, but pretty standard. There isn't really anywhere
to go with it.

GINSENG SULLIVAN Well done, my favorite of the bluegrass tunes. So far
this set is pretty standard all around.

I SAW IT AGAIN Now we're talking. The jam out of this song kicks ass, as
does the lighting that accompanies it. I've only heard one other version
(7/1/97), and this one seemed to have a longer jam. This is the Phish song
you test your speakers with.

HORN Standard.

WATER IN THE SKY Same as the Went. Sappy as all hell, and this time I
didn't have my girlfriend to put my arm around ;-)

DAVID BOWIE A little (2 min or so) spacey intro lead into Bowie. This is
basically the only song worth mentioning in this set (well, I saw it
again was worthwhile too). I'd put this Bowie on a level with 12/11/95,
that is, kick ass and fun to hear, but nothing we haven't heard before.
It saved the set from being a disappointment, IMO.

Set I rating: 4.5 (without the Bowie, I shudder to think what I would have
given it)

Setbreak Music: Don't remeber, really. A woman singing to a hip-hop beat.

We had no idea that a rather mediocre set would lead to what it did in...

Set II

RUNAWAY JIM This song started off like it always does, with no hint of
what was to come. The first jam was about what you would expect. But the
outro - this went on for about 10 min, while still on the Jim Theme and
Beat. When it wavered from the theme, I called what happened next the...

TYPE II HOSE JAM This jam had at least 5 distinct sections (movements, if
you will). I drew the line between these sections by the changing of the
drum beat, you might be able to count more. Let me just say that this jam
will forever allow us to tell people what Type II jams and "the hose"
are. There was a little bit of space in here, but most of the Jam was a
full-out assault on your mind, with all of the band joining in. At times,
Trey would let Page take the lead. Mike layed down a nice bass line the
whole Jam, spanking it every now and then, and leading the rest of the
band. But Trey definitely was the Star here, using plenty of effects, and
layering his sound beautifully. The "movements" would be separated by a
deconstruction of whatever theme they were jamming on, and then a new
drum beat by Fishman. It is SO HARD to get this jam across in words; the
time and awe of those in attendance should speak for itself. After the
fifth movement, the drum beat changed once again to what I thought was
Runaway Jim. I was wrong. (48 min to this point)

WEEKAPAUG JAM When I thought the jam would go back into Jim, I was very
surprised to hear the full-on beginning of Weekapaug, minus the bass solo
and the words. They jammed on the Week theme for a bit, and then headed
into a typical Weekapaug Jam, which then became just a regular old...

JAM All traces of Weekapaug were lost, and it was time to jam again. This
was rather short, and slowed down into a spacey effects-laden stew that
ended the Runaway Jim to end all Runaway Jims. Grand total: 58 min. I
thought that perhaps this would be the whole set. I was wrong again.

STRANGE DESIGN followed, and allowed everyone to enjoy Page's voice and
cool down. Played in normal concert style, not CD single style like I
wish they would do it.

HARRY HOOD A very nice Hood. But aren't they all? Again, I have trouble
with comparing different Hoods, but this one got me VERY emotional, what
with all that had transpired in the set so far. At the beginning of the
jam segment, right after the "Thank you Mr. Hood" when the lights change,
I almost broke down with joy. Isn't Phish great? After the "You can feel
good" part, Trey circled his finger to get the rest of the band to keep
going. They held the final note until Trey started to play the opening
to...

PRINCE CASPIAN A perfect choice to close the set (or so I thought).
Nothing spectacular here, but in the afterglow of the Jim, it felt real
good. It was sort-of a collective smoke after the sex of the earlier Jam
;-)

SUZIE GREENBERG IIRC[1], this was one of the "retired" songs. Even if it
wasn't, the opening was botched like it had been. I thought they were
going to abandon it and start over, but they pulled it together. Page had
a nice jam in there, and Fishman supplied the screams where necessary.
Trey finished up saying something like "Thanks for coming, sorry we
didn't get to Destiny Unbound" This seemed like a joke to me, because who
in their right mind would have rather heard destiny than what WAS played
tonight?

Encore (~15 min)

BUFFALO BILL Fishman played the opening Drum beat to this a couple times,
but the rest of the band just kind of sat there. Then Trey said "Now we
are going to play Fishman's favorite song" Buffalo Bill followed, and
ended up in a...

DRUM SOLO Trey told Fishman to "Take it away" or something here, and he
did. A little drum solo lead into...

MOBY DICK This was a real treat! Has it been played before? I think John
Bonham might be a little better at the ego-stroking rock-n-roll drum solo
than Fishman, but he held his own. This song was really tight, and it was
obvious that they know it well.

FIRE I couldn't believe there was yet another song in the encore, but I
was happily surprised. Trey was on fire (sorry :-) in this, similar to
the way he played J. B. Goode on 11/28. Great encore!

Set II and E rating: 10! (I don't give this grade lightly. YMMV, however.
I'm a big fan of long-ass jams. I love the Fleezer, for example. If you
think the Ball is better than the Went, you won't agree with me here. And
also, you are deaf ;-)

Complete Show Rating: 9 (They played a first set? Seriously, get the
second set, but you'll probably have to get the 1st as well to hear the
encore due to the length. So enjoy the whole thing! If you care, the
average of the sets is 7.25)

Man, I need to go to bed, the coffee is wearing off.

-Dan Mielcarz

[1]If I Recall Correctly

--
Dan.Mielcarz@dartmouth.edu
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mielcarz/


------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Dec 1997 22:40:49 GMT
From:    Craig Garneau 
Subject: 11/29/97 thoughts

Having been at the previous nights show, I was expecting a show with
perhaps a little more energy. Friday nights show was good, but having seen
phish quite a number of times, I know they are capable of more. Saturday
night was a show to remember.
I: Wedge, Foam, Simple > TMWSIY > Alvenue > TMWSIY, Sloth, Ginseng, I saw
it again, Horn, Water in the sky*, Bowie    (*Vibration of life)
        rather than comment on every song like I did for Friday's show,
I'll just comment on what I though were the highlights of the set. Foam
was a great selection, I loved its placement. There was some serious
machine gun trey going on in here. Simple ripped up the centrum, I swear
the roof was coming off the joint!! TMWSIY is one of the most beautiful
songs I have ever heard...I don't think I'll ever get sick of hearing this
one. At the end of Water in the Sky did anybody notice a Vibration of Life
that led into the space of Bowie?? Please tell me I'm not losing my
mind....I need these tapes to satisfy my curiosity. The stage was soaked
in red, as with most Vibrations, and The bass was going right through my
body. Bowie was a sick rendition...soooo much energy!! 'nuff said

II: Runaway Jim > Second night Worcester Jam > Weekapaug Jam > Second
Night Worcester Jam > Stange Design, Hood, Capian, Suzy
E: Buffalo Bill > Fishman Solo > Moby Dick > Fire
        Runaway Jim should most definately be labeled "Runaway Jam"
(thanks Buzz!) This was the best example of Phish's capability to take a
song and Runaway with it. They were doing some sick stuff in here! Get the
Tapes!!!, help me get the tapes!!!! Jim clocked in at alomost an hour,
it's a shame the A side is going to disrupt the groove. You'll notice in
my setlist I labeled "second night worcester jam". Tinber Ho! had the
first night jam, Runaway Jim had the second. The jam they went into in
both cases bared no resemblance whatsoever to the song it came out of. You
need to hear this!!!! Hood was godly has ever..I love this song in midset!
The encore totally kicked the lame ass encore of friday night (my
soul!??!) I didn't reognize Moby Dick until my friend Walt pointed it out
to me. Fire was my first and it was amazing

        I can honestly say that the second set was the most amazing set I
have ever seen (including 12/9/95 II) I can't wait to ge the tapes. You
should make it a priority to get these tapes as soon as possible..I know
as soon as I get them I will make alot of offers to newbies and vets
alike. I believe this solitary show perfectly sums up Phish's power to
Destroy America.



<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Craig Garneau   garneaca@www.academic.marist.edu
http://www.academic.marist.edu/garneaca
"The tree of knowledge in your soul will grow, and the Helping Phriendly
Book will plant the seed"

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 30 Nov 1997 17:21:06 GMT
From:    NOAHCOLE 
Subject: Worcester Review: 11/29/97

Note: This review is neither glowing nor hyper-critical.  I am not a
"jaded fan" although for reference purposes I've been going to shows since
1991.  This was my 44th show, the 4th of this tour (the others being
Hamptons and Hartford).  The most important thing about a show is not what
others think of it, but what you think of it.  This is my opinion, formed
under my circumstances and situation.  Your milage will vary.  It should.


We arrived in Worcester later than expected due to heavy traffic on 495
but still relatively early.  Using the previously unknown back door, we
got
inside in 5 minutes - a record for all events I've attended at the awful
Worcester Centrum.  To make matters worse, Worcester is in the midst of a
major downtown development project which has just about made driving
through the city impossible. But I'll talk about that later.

Our seats were decent, thanks to the tickets I got on TM Online 2 weekends
ago.  We were on the side, Page size,  about 3/4 of the way back.  Sound
was okay and the lights were impressive (Section 106).  Before the show I
made my way up to section 201 and ran into lots of Phish.net folks.  I
also saw Benjy earlier on so I doubt this will see his digest for
a few days ;-)


I: (8:07)
Wedge
Foam
Simple->
TMWSIY->
Alvenu Malkenu->
TMWSIY
Sloth
Ginsing Sullivan
Saw it Again
Horn
Water in the Sky
Bowie
(9:26)

Mike was dressed in a cool orange turtleneck.  Trey in jeans and black
t-shirt and Fish with the dress. I really liked how this set started out.
As at the Went, Wedge sent the show off in the right direction.  It was
tight and the pedals were in full
effect for Trey.  The Foam was solid althouth not oustanding in light of
previous foams back in yesteryear.  Simple was good to hear; I like this
song.  So did the audience - it seemed to get them almost as happy as that
Prince Caspian in the second set - but overall I thought that people were
surprisingly quiet for a "home" show. The Simple jam was not that long
although interesting.  TMWSIY seemed rusty however nice to hear.  Alvenu
was great - nothing complex or memorible but fun.  I banged my head in joy
to the rocking Sloth. Metallica or Phish - you be the judge.  From this
point the set calmed down and lost some energy.  Ginsing was standard.
Saw it again I'm not a fan of, and was standard was well.  Horn seemed
sloppy and Water in the Sky didn't create a memorable impression.  I was
very happy to hear the Bowie set closer.  I was listening to the 11-94
Bowie from Minneapolis and lamenting the fact that they just don't play
them like that anymore, but as far as current Bowie's go, this was good
and I really enjoyed getting to hear it as it had been 11 months
(12-29-96) since I last heard it.  Trey was the leader of the jamming, a
little bit of "follow the leader" style jams (he loves this song) and it
was a great closer.

Setbreak I ran into a bunch other phish.net people, talked to people, and
waited.

(Note: I labeled this differently than Dan S.)
II (10:06)
Runaway Jim->
Jam->
Weekapaug Groove (main theme only, no words) Jam (Total :59)
Strange Design
Harry Hood
Prince Caspian
Suzy Greenberg
(11:42)

It's difficult to say much about this amazing Jim jam.  I want to hear it
again.  But I thought it was great.  After a solid, rocking, Jim opener,
it quickly went into a Runaway Jim jam although eventually left it behind
and became something else.  The jam was melodic and methodic, most of the
time Trey was leading although there were definate instances of Page and
Mike and Fish taking the lead as well.  Page was using his new keyboard a
bit in parts.  Around 50 minutes into this jam it went into a Weekapaug
Groove.  I was waiting for them to start singing but instead they just
played the main theme and jammed it for an aditional 10 minutes.  This,
needless to say, is a must hear.  From here the set went downhill in my
mind, with a Strange Design that was nothing special, A fun yet average
Harry Hood, to the 4th Prince Caspian in 5 shows, to the Suzy set closer.
On Suzy I thought that Trey's voice might have been hurting a bit.  They
kept playing, however, and 96 minutes is a very impressive set in any
book.

(11:46)
E: Buffalo Bill->
Moby Dick->
Fire
(12:01)

It sounded like a few people closer to the stage were trying to sing
Destiny Unbound, and there was a minute or two of fooling around and
discussion on stage ('are they going to play it?') until Trey said, "we're
now going to play Fishman's favourite song.  Start us off Fish" or
something along these lines and the Bufalo Bill started.  Always a treat.
The transition into the full on Moby Dick was introduced as "John Fishman,
Moby Dick.  You called it" or something like that.  Moby Dick was classic.
Fire, which usually doesn't do much, was a fine way to end a great show.

It took us 30 minutes to get the 4 blocks from parking to the highway and
we stopped at Dunkin Donuts in Chelmsford about 45 minutes away where I
discussed the Destiny Unbound effort with some others there.  For the
record (and I've been known to eat words with my donuts) I don't think
that we're going to hear this song.

I am not going tonight - I've got to fly back to Washington and work
tomorrow.  Damn.  Now the question is, do I try and go to Philly?

Thanks for reading.

-Noah

Date:    Sun, 30 Nov 1997 19:51:20 GMT
From:    Dan Seideman 
Subject: Re: Worcester Review: 11/29/97

I just wanted to add a few comments in here, as I'm too exhausted to
write a full review....

(BTW, Noah, sorry I was in such a rush at setbreak.  I had to get back
to the ts to start my deck :)


NOAHCOLE  wrote:


>(Note: I labeled this differently than Dan S.)
>II (10:06)
>Runaway Jim->
>Jam->
>Weekapaug Groove (main theme only, no words) Jam (Total :59)
>Strange Design
>Harry Hood
>Prince Caspian
>Suzy Greenberg
>(11:42)

As a general rule, I don't like to label "Jam" in the setlist, but
this jam certainly left Runaway Jim completely.  I thought I might
have heard some Can't You Hear Me Knockin' in there as well.
>
>It's difficult to say much about this amazing Jim jam.  I want to hear it
>again.  But I thought it was great.  After a solid, rocking, Jim opener,
>it quickly went into a Runaway Jim jam although eventually left it behind
>and became something else.  The jam was melodic and methodic, most of the
>time Trey was leading although there were definate instances of Page and
>Mike and Fish taking the lead as well.  Page was using his new keyboard a
>bit in parts.  Around 50 minutes into this jam it went into a Weekapaug
>Groove.  I was waiting for them to start singing but instead they just
>played the main theme and jammed it for an aditional 10 minutes.  This,
>needless to say, is a must hear.

This is definitely a must-hear...the longest Phish song ever!  It
seemed like Fishman kicked in the Runaway Jim drumbeat several times
during the song, as if he wanted to return to the main theme to wrap
it up.  The second time he started the Jim drumbeat was ~40 min (?)
into the song/jam.  Trey then took over the lead, and he brought it
into the Weekapaug Jam, which needless to say, had myself and everyone
around me grinning!  The last 15 minutes of the Runaway JAM were fiery
and truly intense, as they had already brought the jam down and up and
down again, before going into the Weekapaug Theme.


>From here the set went downhill in my
>mind, with a Strange Design that was nothing special, A fun yet average
>Harry Hood, to the 4th Prince Caspian in 5 shows, to the Suzy set closer.
>On Suzy I thought that Trey's voice might have been hurting a bit.  They
>kept playing, however, and 96 minutes is a very impressive set in any
>book.

I thought the Strange Design was perfect, frankly.  It was well
executed, and after that Runaway JAM, the place needed to settle down.
I thought they'd end the set after Hood, but it was nice to get two
more songs, even though Suzie was a bit sloppy in the intro.  (They
haven't played it in how long?!)  FWIW, I thought the Hood was quite
good, although not up to the standard that the 12/31/93 Worcester Hood
set, the last Hood in the Centrum.

>
>(11:46)
>E: Buffalo Bill->
>Moby Dick->
>Fire
>(12:01)
>
>It sounded like a few people closer to the stage were trying to sing
>Destiny Unbound, and there was a minute or two of fooling around and
>discussion on stage ('are they going to play it?') until Trey said, "we're
>now going to play Fishman's favourite song.  Start us off Fish" or
>something along these lines and the Bufalo Bill started.  Always a treat.
>The transition into the full on Moby Dick was introduced as "John Fishman,
>Moby Dick.  You called it" or something like that.  Moby Dick was classic.
>Fire, which usually doesn't do much, was a fine way to end a great show.

Moby Dick was awesome, as was the whole encore.  Since they were
overtime, (curfew, I'd imagine) I thought they'd play a short encore.
But no way!! :)  All in all, a classic show that is definitely a must
hear.  The section was packed, so tapes will be out there soon enough.

Can't wait for tonight.

Dan


***************************************************
Dan Seideman

http://www.amherst.edu/~djseidem/

Check out:
http://www.phish.net/mockingbird/
***************************************************

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 5 Dec 1997 18:46:43 GMT
From:    John Ferguson 
Subject: HEY BENJY! : Dissenting thoughts on 11/29.

This was my forty-third show and, of course, I listen to every tape I =
can my hands on!  I was in the second row for this show in front of Fish =
and struggling to gain control of MY SEAT.  Excuse me, but could you =
"please move over!!"  Anyway, I have seen Hartford and now both Philly =
as of the writing of this post. (I was also passing out flyers for =
"Promised Land" my buddy's store in Cambridge, MA)

SET I THOUGHTS
I thought pretty much what everyone else has said about this set; nice =
setlist but really nothing exciting short of hearing Wedge, Foam, =
TMWSIY>Avenu>TWSIY, Sloth and Bowie!  I knew what the would play most of =
the time during this set because Trey would shout out the song he wanted =
to play seconds before they played it!  I like not knowing better.  =
Finally, this guy has moved over.

SET II THOUGHTS
OK. get ready!  (This guy has left the floor, too!). I DID NOT LIKE THE =
RUNAWAY JIM THAT MUCH.  IT WAS AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT BUT, IMHO, =
FAILED!  It looked like the band wanted to take the jam somewhere but =
were not able to find their way there!  Most of the jam meandered in =
mediocrity.  I felt no HOSE, just rugged improvisation.  BTW, I have =
seen NO ONE mention this but parts of the Jim had Beauty of My Dreams =
teases; during the very beginning of the Jim the tease was blatant and =
once again towards the end too.  I, aside from the minor Harry teases, =
heard rift, as well.  They also played with the ending chords to Jim a =
few times too!  I did not hear C & P teases like I have heard from a few =
people.  Now the teases section was cool but most of the sections were, =
to put it frankly, BORING.  I really don't understand the high praise =
for this Jim, except that they experimented for an hour.  Which is =
really cool and I'm glad I was there and I look forward to hearing it on =
tape again so I can reform my opinion.  But it was not legendary.  Hey, =
maybe I wasn't focused but I did not walk out of the centrum thinking I =
had seen an epic.  Just an interesting show.
Anyway, Strange Design was pretty and the Harry was phenomenal!!!!  Hard =
to judge Harry's against others until you hear the tapes but I think =
this one was top notch.  Prince Caspian was next and killed the momentum =
of the Harry for me.  Hartford was better; although that was a momentum =
killer too!  I couldn't tell what Trey said before this next one but I =
certainly did not expect Suzy.  I think this was the first one since =
AmsterDAMN 2-17?  Fish thought Trey said Golgi and so the beginning was =
majorly flubbed.  One good jam but a poor Suzy compared to what they =
could do.  The encore was AWESOME!  Best part of the show, for sure.  =
This set should be heard but DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!  Set 1: 5.0 =
because of song selection only & Set II: 6.0 =20
FLAME AWAY NETIZENS!!

"Tell me what this thought is worth."  Trey.

John Ferguson

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 2 Dec 1997 03:21:55 GMT
From:    Exree Hipp 
Subject: Worcester Thoughts Pt. 2

These were my 9th, 10th, and 11th shows, I've about 350 hours or so on
tape, and have heard quite a bit more.

OVERVIEW AGAIN: Phish is doing things that you always hoped that they
would, but never got around to. Do you remember every single time that
they've been playing a jam, played it out, and then given up, lamely
segueing into another song? Well, for much of Worcester, when a jam was
played out, they simply turned to another jam, and this is very important
to remember. Instead of turning to another peg to jam on, they made one up
on the spot. Because of this, the jams had MOVEMENTS, and actual definable
transitions that were just as smooth as silk. This is a review of the
second night. The Runaway Jim from the this night was and is the greatest
thing that Phish has ever produced. It's not melodious like the Albany
YEM, it won't make you hold your breath like the jam before Sanity on
11/30/97, but it is absolutely THRILLING to witness.

Set I (~80 min)
The Wedge, Foam, Simple> TMWSIY> Alvenu Malkenu> TMWSIY, Sloth, Ginseng
Sullivan, I Saw It Again, Horn, Water In The Sky, David Bowie

Set II (~95 min, elapsed time after certain points)
Runaway Jim*, Strange Design, Harry Hood> Prince Caspian, Suzie Greenberg

E: (~15 min)
Buffalo Bill> Drum Solo> Moby Dick**, Fire

*About an hour. Insane. Had full-blown, full-band Weekapaug jam.
**Led Zepplin Cover (1st time played?)

PRE SHOW: More video games, playing right up until show time. Just great
fun to do something comletely un phish and then just go and walk in and
have prime seats for a PHiSH show. God, I love that. The video games were
cool. Tom kicked my ass in this Star Wars fighting game.

Wedge: Great opener, suitable type-I jam. This is a wonderful song, with
some great soloing. Love this placement.

Foam: Talk about good placement, this is my favorite place for this song,
and it is one of the few that I REALLY wanted to see badly, the other two,
Buffalo Bill and 2001, I was split with. But this Foam was alright. It had
some flubs by trey, nothing major, but this was a good, very high energy
Foam. Not as cool as 8/3/97, imo, but good none the less. No segue from
Wedge to Foam, which woulda been cooler. I love this song.

Simple: This show was really in the groove, and I was loving it! The jam
was good, but not great, with Simple pretty much fading down and segueing
the way it often does. Nothing non-Simple, and the segue to TMWSIY was
rather contrived, but certainly a great way to kick this set off.

TMWSIY: My first, very well played, seeing how it was the first in 67
shows. Right on. Cool song and all.

Alvenu: Standard. Nothing real hot. I was hoping we would get something
other than TMWSIY to follow, or a cool segue from TMWSIY. We really got
neither.

Sloth: Standard, crowd pleasing fare. I was hoping for something huge to
follow like Reba (!!) or like Mike's or something to get a nice type II
jam out of. Instead, we got what is probably the worst 4 song stretch I
could have asked for. They could have put Bouncin' in for Ginseng, and if
so, it would have been the worst they could have possibly done to me.

Ginseng/Saw It Again/Horn/Water in the Sky: Oh, god, just horrible. I hate
these songs so much, although Ginseng is tolerable, the other three are
just the worst Phish there is this side of Bouncin'. Ugh, and just when I
thought we had gotten rid of SIA and WitS. There was a rather fun space
jam briefly before Horn, but other than that, this was just painful.

Bowie: Raged like nobody's business, but it was type I all the way. No new
jamming or anything, but the jam before Bowie kicked in was long and good.
Altogether, a very high energy Bowie with some extremely fine jamming in
the type I fashion. Had this been played in '93, it would have been like
monumental.

First set: Starts with a bang, ends with a bang. That middle was shit. I
hate those song. This was easily the worst set of Worcester, but hell yeah
did it have some fine moments. WedgeFoam was a GREAT opener, and TMWSIY
was well played. There is no way I would have predicted that this would be
the precursor to what started about 40 minutes later.

Runaway Jim: This was the greatest jam that Phish has ever played, and I
would probably be hard pressed to find a finer set of Phish around. I put
it certainly even with 10/31/96-2, 8/17/97-2, and anything 12/31/95 can
bring. This Runaway Jim was not an hour of chaos, it was an hour of what
often sounded like composed music. It had movements and definite
transitions. The song went from Jim, to space, to a rocko-william type
groove, to rocking grooves, to weekapaug jamming, to everything. It was
simply brilliant. Because I love segues as much as I do, throught the jam,
I kept thinking to myself, "What are they teasing, what are they playing
now, what are the going into?" But the point was that they did not go into
anything. It was simply jam after jam after jam, all moving seamlessly
from one to the other. At one point the entire band played a full and
all-out Weekapaug jam, and that was exciting, but since it was never sung,
it was simply just another part of this masterpiece. I've already seen
this compared to the 12/29/94 Bowie, the 10/31/95 YEM, the FLeezer, and
things like that. It's not like that/ It's far better. Phish 2000 at its
best. I do wonder if it will become the norm for Phish to have no need for
songs as jamming pegs like they did with this Jim. I hope so! This Jim is
the definition of must-hear. Jim was about an hour. Yeah.

Strange Design: I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought Jim might start
and end the set. However, it went into SD, which is now sort of a rarity.
Cool to sit down to, although I like Dirt about four hundred times more.
Mm, Page.

Hood: I think Fish hit the toms to start this song, but they didn't come
over the PA. Other than that, this Hood was just a great, great version. I
was pretty sure that it was the closer at the time, but I was quite wrong.
Very, very nice ja, although I certainly don't like it as much as the
8/10/97 Hood (have you heard this Jam? It's fresh and just GREAT! One of
my favorite Hoods, easy.) Good Hood, and I felt great when they sung the
close to this.

Caspian: Well, it's still a stupid-ass song, but the jam at the end is
really great now, so It's fine for me. Staring at the moon at the Went
while this played will never leave me, and this version sure couldn't
provide that, but it was still pleasant and well played. Imagine my
surprise as the band proceeded to flub the intro to..

Suzy!: Nice Suzy, fun to dance to. First one in a while, and it showed,
but when they didn't have to sing, they were on! Trey had some great
helicopter-type noisses coming from the 'doc. Fun closer.

E: Bill/Moby Dick/Fire: I was beyond psyched for Bill, and although it had
no jam (they went straight to a drum solo and then Moby Dick), I still had
fun hearing those great lyrics and the toms from Fish. Moby Dick was
great, great, fun, and played very well by the band. Fire was probably the
best version ever, although it goes without saying that I haven't heard
them all. It raged like you wouldn't believe. An extremely good encore. I
really enjoyed all three of these songs, and Fish's hilarious solos and
introductions as Moby Dick himself. Fun, fun.

This set recieves the 10. No joke. Jim is unrivaled, Hood is very good,
Caspain and Suzy solid. Encore is great. The Jim deserves all the respect
it gets. MUST HEAR.

This show gets instant stature as a classic, and I know that this date,
11/29 will forever be mentioned among the great moments in Phishtory.
Unbelievably well played second set, and I cannot wait to hear this JIM
again. Get the tapes. Now.

andrew

------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 2 Dec 1997 06:36:45 GMT
From:    Andrew Van Alstyne 
Subject: Worcester Review -- 11/29/97

Hello All,

Just for the record, this was my eleventh show.  I started listening to
Phish in 93, saw them for the first time in 94, and have heard ~500
hours.  My seats were in the upper
level, but were decent.  Unlike on the 28th, I was not stuck under the
third level overhang.  Well, on to the review:

Set One:
Wedge, Foam, Simple > TMWSIY > Avenu Malkenu > TMWSIY, The Sloth,
Ginseng Sullivan, I Saw It Again, Horn, Water in the Sky, David Bowie
Time: 8:06-9:24
Wedge -- Fun opener.  Our pre-show guesses for openers ranged from
Chalkdust to Makisupa (we looked to the wrong day of the Went for our
clue, I guess).  Fun opener.
Foam.  Another song that rarely changes from version to version.  Still,
two solid songs that are fun to hear and are rarely played, make for a
good open.
Simple was next.  I prefer these stand alone Simples because the jam is
allowed to progress from the Simple and not another song (for example,
the Fall 96 Simple > Swept > Steep or Simple > Hood).  This jam was
gloriously melodious.  Trey soared on the guitar and the band was solid
behind him.  Beautiful soloing from Trey, he clearly had a plan for the
song in mind, so he wasn't wandering around the guitar looking for
direction.  Exceptional thumping from Mike.  Slowly Trey settled in on
the intro theme to TMWSIY.
TMWSIY is an instrumental treat, and the segue from Simple was quite
nice.
Avenu Malkenu and the return to TMWSIY were also well played.
It seemed that the stage was set for a ripping jam, but instead the band
kicked off a rather intense Sloth.  Although there is precious little
jamming in this song, it did pick up the pace.
Instead of continuing the up tempo mood, the boys kicked into Ginseng.
I do love this song, but enough with the short, brief, "rest" songs.
I Saw It Again continued the trend of four or five minute songs.  Blah.
Horn.  Normally a nice treat, but it didn't do much for me.
Water in the Sky is perhaps my least favorite song.  The melody is
catchy, but not in a good way.
Finally they began David Bowie.  It had seemed that Bowie was going to
come before Water in the Sky, because there was a little spacey jam
before Water, but I think it was wisde to play Water before, and not
after, Bowie.
While Bowie is normally solid, this one seemed to kick major ass because
it followed a whole slew of non-jamming songs.  Machine gun Trey at his
finest in this one.  Fun, fun, fun.

Ok, I found this set somewhat disappointing.  Up to Sloth, this had the
potential for a good set.  Unfortunately there were many non-challenging
songs that followed.  As Jim (the guy seated in front of me) asked: "One
of those songs is fine, it lets Fishman take a rest, but do we really
need four or five in a row?"  I'd give it a 3.5.  It was far below
average, especially for Fall 97 (which I believe will rank up there with
4/92, 8/93, and 12/95.

On to Set Two:
Runaway Jim > Jam > Weekapuag Jam > Jam, Strange Design, Harry Hood,
Prince Caspian, Suzie Greenburg
Time: 10:06-11:42
Encore:
Buffalo Bill > Moby Dick, Fire
Time: 11:47-12:00

This set more than made up for the last one.
Runaway Jim opened.  I was initially disappointed because I was hoping
the recent trend of three song sets would continue, but this
disappointment soon disappeared.  The Jim Jam was, imo, the best ever.
Not only for length, but for quality.  It started out upbeat and the
phased into a brief spacey jam.  This was classic space, with cymbal
from Fishman, strange Organ from Page, Pick scraping on the strings and
weird effects from Trey, and syncopated bass from Mike.  Then it ripped
into Weekapaug.  This was basically Weekapaug without the lyrics.  Trye
played the chords to the song while Mike played his intro bass solo.
They then jammed on the tune for at least five minutes before they
meandered off into unchartered waters.  Eventually they ended up in a
Harry Hood-esque jam for a short time, before going off into space
again.  They did some nice start-stop moves.  Also, there was a cool
quiet jam.  The Jim was not quite an hour -- 59 minutes as I timed it.
All of a sudden Strange Design started.  Imo, there was no segue
whatsoever.  The jam was winding down, and out of nowhere Strange Design
started.  I want to make it clear that I bear no malice towards this
song.  However, this placement sucked.  Buzzkill.
They more than made up for it by starting Harry Hood.  The first section
was somewhat weak, but the Mr Minor part was as evil as ever, and the
crescendo to the end was mighty.
I expected the set might end with Hood (it had been a little over an
hour, but they seemed to be winding down) when they started Caspian.
Prince Caspian was as pleasant as ever until the ending when Trey ripped
out some incredible trilling.
Then they started up the first Suzie in quite a while (since March, I
believe).  There were some major flubs in this, as they vocally came in
at the wrong time, but it was all in fun, and Page made the most of his
breaks.  The set ended, after an hour and thirty eight minutes.
The encore was as good as the previous nights was bad.  They walked out
and Trey played some extremely high pitched licks while pretending to
talk into his mic.  The band looked at each other as if trying to decide
what to play when Trey motioned for Fish to take a bow.  Fish stood up
on his stool while Kuroda shone a spot light on him.  Trey then
announced that they were going to play "Fish's favorite song," and he
asked him to start it up.  Fishman began playing the drum part of
Buffalo Bill.  I love this song for some reason.  The percussion is
cool, the bass is upbeat, and the lyrics are intriguing.  In the middle
of it, Trey told Fishman to take a solo.  Fish played a very slow solo,
before the rest of the band joined back in.  Then Trey introduced Moby
Dick, and Fish played it.  Finally, the band ripped into an average
version of Fire.

Get the second set and encore, skip the first set.  Unfortunately the
whole Jim won't fit onto one side of a 50 minute tape.  The Weekapaug
Jam is great, as is most of the Jim Jam.  The encore is fun, the Hood is
nice, and the Suzie is funny.  Plus a Hood, taboot.  The only flaw is
the three minutes given over to Strange Design.  It just didn't belong.
An 8.5 ranking is in order for this set.  This is the greatsest version
of Jim ever.

Comments, questions, flames,
Andrew
--
Andrew Van Alstyne
http://www.stlawu.edu/x0avana:http/home.htm
"The road goes on"   --  DMW

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 24 Dec 1997 15:23:40 GMT
From:    John Ferguson 
Subject: UPON FURTHER REVIEW: 11/29 Woosta

I typically would start saying how many shows, hours I've heard but I =
agree with Jon S. from Canada, *****I LOVE PHISH***** and that's all =
that matters.

I saw this show from the second row in front of Fishman.  The sound was =
good but not as clear as it could have been.  A case of being too close =
- I think I was under the main speakers?

Anyway, about two weeks ago I posted a "HEY BENJY- Dissenters thoughts =
on the Runaway Jim from 11/29.  I sunce have gotten the tapes and given =
a thorough listen.  Now, I didn't think this Jim stunk, I just felt that =
the EPIC reviews the Jim and this show were getting were way off. =20

The first set was excellent.  Not jamming but a great setlist, well =
played and alot of fun; I mean Wedge, Foam, Simple, TMWSIY>Avenu, Sloth =
to start -  SICK!!!!! =20

The Runaway Jim is fairly typical in the composed verbage section; it's =
obviously the Jam that separates this Jim from others.  The first 20 =
minutes or so of this Jam is simply captivating, some great grooves and =
some fine noodling.  It is flat out incorrect to call any section of =
this jam, a HARRY HOOD jam, it's just not true.  Although there IS a =
Harry theme at one point (distinguishable ultimately by the Harry drums =
that Fish plays for a fleeting moment) but this is NO HARRY JAM!  it's =
just at some point this jam actually bores me for awhile and I've =
listened quite a bit.  I just can't help but feel that they wanted to =
take this jam somewhere else but just couldn't figure out how ot get =
there.  At some point, the jam actually ends and the listener wonders if =
that's it.  There's a brief pause and then more noodling. =20
The weekapaugh jam is fun but I think tthey did it because they just =
couldn't figure out what else to do.  I really can't put my finger on =
it; there just seems to be no phlow?  Post weekapaugh is a hard jam but =
just not exciting to me.  The jam eventually dwindles (for the second =
time) into Strange Design. =20

At the show I thought the rest of this set was excellent but after =
listening it isn't.  The Strange Design is poor at best, the Harry which =
at the time I thought was REALLY GOOD, was just another Hood.  Some =
excellent jamming by Trey towards the end but the band just seemed off a =
beat.  The Prince Caspian was the worst of the four I saw this tour and =
the Suzy lacked momentum.  One good jam in the Suzy but not a good Suzy =
Greenberg.

The encore was amazing!!!
Maybe it's just me, but I feel this Jim is getting so much attention =
mostly because they played it for an hour!  I can name many early Dark =
Stars that are jammed out for just as long and are extremely boring.  A =
long jam doesn't translate to EPIC performance.
I had a great time at this show.  In fact, I loved it!  I saw six shows =
on the Phall tour and it was great to see one like this; very cool.  The =
Jim had some fine moments but, imho, does not deserve EPIC reviews. =20
Personally, I preferred either Philly show to this one.  And the way I =
hear em, the tapes back this up.  11/29 had incredible width, just not =
alot of height.  If you've read this far, the first three people who =
email me get a copy of 12/13II.  A set that blows away 11/29! Merry =
Christmas!!  See you at MSG!