Date:    Wed, 31 Dec 1997 16:09:31 GMT
From:    IvanTroy 
Subject: ivan vs MSG II

Whoa......this was quite a show (my 34th)

Set 1: aprox 60 min
Sneakin Sally! > Taste, Water in the Sky, PYITE > Stash, Chalkdust, Day in the
Life
Set 2: approx 1:40!!
Bag > Jam, McGrupp*, Harpua > 500 Miles** > Harpua, Izabella, Harry*** >
My Soul, Monkey, Guyute
Encore: approx 30 min!!!!
Carini > Black-Eyed Katy > Sneakin Sally > Frankenstein
* Page solo turned into a jam, McGrupp was unfinished
** w/ Tom Marshall
*** w/ glowstick war and unfinished

Well well well, too much happened in this show to write a full review that
won't be way too long, so I'll just stick to the highlights.
Sneakin Sally was great, and shocked everyone. It led into this serious funk
jam which was really sweet, which led into Taste
Trey was on fire during Taste, trilling madly
At the end of PYITE Trey did one of those siren note sustains, and was raising
and lowering his hand and simultaneously raising and lowering the pitch of the
note. Ever see that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he is a conductor? He would raise
the baton up really high and then really low and the orchestra would play
accordingly. That's what this was like. Very cool. Led into Stash
Stash was mostly a full speed ahead version, until the end. Fish started
playing a super cool rhythm, then Trey brought it down and jammed for a few
min quietly, which sounded great, before finishing.
Trey (who was on fire this set) was soaring during Chalk
ADITL was fine. Page hit the high notes.

Bag opened, and when it came time for the jam, Trey never stopped chording for
awhile, letting Page solo. He used his cool clav sounds, including putting it
through a wah like in Farmhouse. After a bit Trey started soloing, taking the
jam thru some weird and some great parts. Ended after about 20 min.
McGrupp - Page's solo started out normally. Then Trey went over to Mike and
said something, then went back over to Page, and they hit a note in synch,
then started dueling/dueting. It was incredibly cool, just the 2 of them, then
Mike and Fish came in, then the jam, and McGrupp, ended.
I saw Trey give the Harpua hand signal. Yay! This was a bizarre version.
Involved pentagrams, food items (suggested by front row-ers), and Lost in
Space. Tom and Trey sang 500 Miles. They did the whole song, I think, unlike
in years past when they just do a verse or 2. No mention of Poster or Harpua,
and Jimmy only made a cameo at the end. So they had to update the end:
"Jimmy?"
"Yes dad?
"I have some unsettling info"
"What?"
"Pentagram"

I was laughing my ass off. Then:

"Jimmy?"
"Yes dad?"
"I have some bad news"
"What is it dad?"
"It's about your cat Pentagram"
"Pentagram?"

They screwed with the goldfish part too. It was truly hysterical.
Trey learned a new line in Izabella, but still has no clue whatsoever how to
sing this. He did tear it up tho, almost losing it at one point before Fish
brought them back. Drawn out ending led into
Harry - Trey gave Chris a little signal, killed the lights, then the
glowsticks flew.  A Lot hit the stage, and at one point Trey put down the
guitar, picked them up and threw them back out, then they came back. He caught
a few (to huge cheers) then threw em back again, then picked up the guitar and
started playing. Then again they hit the stage, which maybe was not to Trey's
liking, b/c the Harry jam turned heavy and angry, before settling into a
bluesy groove, then the My Soul lick. So much for Harry ending the set!
My Soul was solid, nothing like the Went, but good. Figured this would end the
set
Then Sleeping Monkey! (by now it was 11:30) Trey flubbed a line, but it
doesn't matter. Gotta love this song.
Then he said they only can play one more song, so they play Guyute. There was
a sign for it behind the stage. Guyute had a few flubs, but at this point in
the show nobody cared. It ended at 11:45.
They came out, Trey said they were supposed to end at 11, but now it was only
12 min to NYE, so they figured they'd just keep playing till it was NYE, so
they would have 2 NYE shows. Trey started Carini, and I totally lost it. I
love this song, and was plenty upset when it seemingly died after Europe. I
think he had the lyrics with him, b/c in between verses he looked at something
on the piano. At the end, instead of the percussion jam (no kit), Trey kept
saying, "Lucy had a lumpy head/Carini had a lumpy head" over and over, then he
and Page were motioning to get Carini to come out, and after a min he did.
Trey said, "This is Carini!" and he got a huge cheer. They kept playing, I
thought it was just a funk jam but now I see it was Black-Eyed Katy. It was
great great great, and after a while I heard a familiar lick, and then Trey
started singing Sneakin Sally!! They played the whole song (or most of it).
Unreal. Unf*ckingreal. They jammed this out a little, then he looked at Fish,
who then started Frank. My God, was this another set or an encore?!?! During
the spacy part at the end of the song, after Fish's solo, Trey kept the
feedback/sustain/whatever going, walked to the front and back of the stage,
spinning the guitar around, Fish walked to the front of the stage, just kinda
loped around, then walked back, then came out again, then walked back. Trey
put the guitar on the stand, still sustaining, walked over to Fish, who came
out w/ the vac and soloed, the lights went out, and Trey picked up all the
glow sticks (the stage was totally illuminated by them since Harry) and threw
them out in bunches to the crowd. Looked incredible. After a long time, Fish
went back, kicked back in the drums, and they finished. It was around 12:20.
Holy sh*t. What a show. No way to give it any kind or rating. The encore alone
was better then any holiday tour 96 set I saw (except maybe 12.28 and 12.29
II). I now have no cares that I won't be seeing tonight's show. This was just
an amazing amazing show.
ivan

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

Date:    Fri, 2 Jan 1998 01:02:02 GMT
From:    Arthur Frankel 
Subject: 12/30/97 thoughts (long)

Hi,

Here goes another attempt at a review while I have some time to kill.
This was my 17th show, and I have decided that since we can no longer
compare '97 shows to years past, I will say that I saw, from '97, the
Went, Hartford, 3 Worcesters, 2 Albanys, and 3 MSGs, so you know what
I'm comparing this show to.

I had good vibes going all day leading up to the show.  We got into the
city at around 2 and made our way from the 33 St. PATH station to the
American Museum of Natural History, which was an awfully long walk.
While there, we checked out the dinosaur exhibits, which were packed
with 10 year olds who were so stoked to be seeing these huge,
mindblowing 65 million year old bones that you couldn't help being
happy for them.  We also saw some neat exhibits about African Peoples
and South American Peoples, and especially cool was a video about a
hunter from the Amazon.  This guy was nearly sixty years old, but he
climbed over 5 stories into a tree to fetch a monkey he had knocked out
by using a blow gun to shoot poisonous darts.  It was incredible.

Anyway, we caught a cab back to MSG and eventually went in.  Our seats
were awesome -- section 96, which is lower level, straight away.  We
were just high enough up so the tapers mics didn't block our view.

MSG, I must say, is the BEST venue I have ever seen a Phish show in
(out of 7 indoor arenas).  The security is composed of relaxed, old New
Yorkers who do their job but stay out of your hair.  The sound was
exceptionally crisp and the atmosphere unbeatable.  New Yorkers sure
know how to have a good time.

Anyway, the show started with a song that I wasn't familiar with, but
one that I KNEW I had heard before.  Some people were absolutely
ecstatic, though, (sort of like some people were when Brother was
played at the Ball), so I knew we had a rarity on our hands.  Soon I
realized we were listening to Sneakin' Sally, the first since 1988, and
it was really tight and, I thought, well-jammed.  Like when Brother was
kicked out on 8-17-96, Phish didn't just play Sally for the sake of
playing it, they PLAYED it.  I was totally psyched.

A pretty neat segue to the opening of Taste followed, and the Taste
that ensued was nice but not terribly exceptional.  Yes, it was great,
as most Tastes are, but nothing like the Hartford Taste, which is the
best one I've heard, and, really, this Taste didn't measure up to the
12-29-96 Philly Taste either.  Regardless, I really got into it, and
the set was looking great so far.

I was hoping for a break to rest for the next song, and they obliged
with Water in the Sky, which certainly is one of my favorites.  It is
happy though, and short, and its placement was favorable.

I felt that they needed, somehow, to rebuild the lost energy, though,
and they picked what, imo, is the BEST energy builder of them all,
PYITE.  A very solid version, extremely enjoyable, not quite the
masterpiece that the Albany PYITE was, though.  Still, MSG was rocking
after this one.

Stash kicked in next.  I thought the placement here was interesting --
two Santana-esque pieces in a row.  The combo worked, though.  This
Stash was trippy and cool.  It didn't go quite the distance that the
Worcester Stash did though, but it had this enchanting, mesmerizing
section in it that one was liable to get utterly lost in.  This part of
the Stash was mindblowing.  It quieted down after that, and Trey played
the ending riff in this mellow zone, which was a neat change of pace.
Overall, a nice Stash, one that will require another listen.

Chalkdust was next, and it was a straightforward, excellent version.
Good tension/release, nothing groundbreaking.  I though it would close
a very short set.

A Day in the Life was a great choice to close it, though.  I love how
Phish is only playing no nonsense cover tunes (ADITL, Fire, Loving Cup,
Isabella, GTBT, etc.) and they've bagged those covers that just don't
measure up (w/ perhaps the exception of Circus, which, btw, was a great
version on NYE).  A good ADITL ended the short set.

This was a decent set, held up by the Sally and the Stash.  It was
short, though, and in retrospect that was okay because of the
monstrosity that would soon be set II, at the time we felt it was
relatively budget.  Therefore, this set gets a 4 from me.  Certainly,
get the tapes and listen to that Sally, Taste, and the Stash.

Set II opened with a loooong AC/DC Bag that wound its way through all
different types of grooves, slightly similar to the Worcester Jim, but
not quite as prolific, imo.  Certainly, this was an amazing Bag, one
which traveled from place to place, never becoming stale.  I was
totally sucked in.

It had a half-segue into McGrupp, which is always a solid mid-set II
song.  Instead of going into the normal ending, Trey and Page did a
sort of duet which led into an interesting mini jam that just faded out
to silence.  The set was super thus far.

Harpua!  Excellent, and totally unexpected.  You've all heard the
(loooooong) story by now, and let me just say that Trey is a totally
weird guy.  We were in hysterics the whole time -- it was such a WEIRD,
FUNNY story, and just picturing Tom Marshal singing "500 Miles" to 10
year old Trey is hilarious.

"When I wake up, oh I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man that
wakes up next to you."

Tom was AWESOME doing the Scottish accent.  He sounded just like the
real guy.  It was sooooo enjoyable, I can't even explain.

Isabella was a kick-ass version, one which I thought would end the set.
It, too, was straightforward, but completely excellent.  I thought it
definitely topped the Albany Isabella, but I'll need another listen to
both to be sure (grovel).  It was 11:10 when this ended.  I was ready
to head home.  Ha!

Hood.  Beautiful build, not quite as riveting, imo, as the Albany Hood,
which is still the best Hood, musically, I have heard live (the Went
Hood was the best all-around Hood I have heard/seen).  This Hood got
totally type II on us, and contained a smoking blues jam not unlike a
section of the Isabella jam.

The segue into My Soul which followed this raging blues jam was a
slight buzzkill, to tell the truth.  I can't justify not finishing
Hood. Yet another reason to hate My Soul.  Sorry all you My Soul fans
out there.  My Soul was normal, and I was positive it would end the
set.  Wrong again.

Sleeping Monkey, my first, was next.  This ruled and truly added to the
quality of this set.  Peaceful, funny, enjoyable jam, this song has it
all.  The set was over.  Ha!  Not quite.

Guyute!!!  Among my favorite Phish songs.  I'll take it anytime,
anywhere.  I like it better as an opener (my two fav versions are
12-29-94 and 11-30-97) but this was great to hear, especially tacked on
to a set of this magnitude.  Not quite as tight as other versions I
have heard -- it sure wasn't perfect -- but thoroughly enjoyable, as
all Guyutes are.

We had to leave during Carini to catch the PATH back to NJ.  It seemed
like nobody else noticed how late the show went.  I'm sure a lot of
Jerseyites got stuck in the city that night.

It was too bad we had to leave, and, in turn, miss BEK, Sally jam, and
Frankenstein, but I had had my fill and had no regrets.

This set was absolutely incredible, up there with the other best sets
I've seen (8-17-96 II, 12-29-96 II, 8-17-97 II, 11-29-97 II, 12-13-97
II).  The only down point of the whole set was the unfinished Hood ->
My Soul.  This set, though, for its jamming genius in Bag, its
hysterics in Harpua, its kick-ass wailing in Isabella, its improv/risk
taking in Hood, and its bonus Guyute, gets a big, fat 9 on the SJ
scale.  Get this set on tape and listen to it a lot.  It was amazing.

Thanks for reading.

Later,
MF

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

Date:    Thu, 1 Jan 1998 19:14:13 GMT
From:    Guyute2001 
Subject: 12.30.97 Review

Okay...you know the deal.  FWIW, 8th show, 300+ hrs. on tape, brown hair and
eyes, enjoys film and biking, Aquarius.

Here's the list:

12/30/97 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

I:  Sneaking Sally Through The Alley > Taste, Water In The Sky,
    Punch You In The Eye, Stash, Chalkdust Torture,
    A Day In The Life

II: AC/DC Bag*, McGrupp and The Watchful Hosemasters, Harpua >
    500 Miles** > Harpua > Izabella > Harry Hood***, My Soul,
    Sleeping Monkey, Guyute****

E:  Carini Had A Lumpy Face > Black Eyed Katy >
    Sneaking Sally Through The Alley Jam > Frankenstein

* w/ Crosseyed and Painless jam
** Proclaimers Cover sung by Tom Marshall
Harpua was a story about will robinson's robot sending messages to
trey thru the tv when he was 10.
*** w/ Glowstick War
**** Before Guyute, Trey said they were going to play one more song
and not encore. After Guyute, the lights did not go on, the band
came back except Trey, then Trey came on and the encore started.

Last Sneaking Sally 5.28.89, not 7.xx.88!

My day started with a lovely train ride from Darien to Grand Central.  A subway
to Penn St. and a short walk found me at Mustang Sally's for the rmp gathering.
 I had a great time there, meeting Dirksen, Eisen, Bertolet, Yance, Paul Chung,
Craig Delucia, and other assorted geeks like myself.  It was a cool bar, and
the place got really lax around 5:00ish as it became absolutely packed.
Meeting Dean Budnick was rather cool as well, though Tom Marshall failed to
show..:-(

We headed to the Garden at 6:00ish, hoping to score goo balls and grilled
cheeses.  Goo food was found in abundance, but I could not find ONE GRILLY
VENDOR...rats...at least Sbarro's is across the street.  Ran into a few people
I knew outside, Andrew (exree_hipp) gave me a holiday gift (Disco Biscuits
tape) which was very much appreciated.  We spent about twenty minutes handing
out Uno cards in front of the doors...I highly recommend this as an experience.
 It is sooo amusing.  People thought it was some contest, so we had to announce
that "Red 7 wins a free cigarette".  We headed in as soon as the doors opened.

My seats were, no joke, directly behind stage, last section, last row.  I
managed to weasel down to the front of the section for the whole show.  The
view wasn't bad aside from the lights which blocked some antics from my sight.
The goo balls kicked in and we waited.  And waited.  Around 8:05 the show
started.

Sneaking Sally Thru the Alley:  I'm embarrassed to say that I had no idea what
song this was until the chorus.  I hadn't been listening to my old stuff that
much.  Nevertheless, when I recognized it I went nuts...this dissolved into a
nice funk jam, and a segue that deserves more of a (>) than a (->) took us to

Taste:  I have no idea why this hasn't been mentioned yet, but this was one of
the best Tastes I have ever heard.  It was unique in its extremely dark,
foreboding tone.  It was absolutely amazing.  This was an incredible one-two
punch to open up the show.

Water In the Sky:  Let's call this one "Sit in my Seat".  Yeah, it's nice, but
it's not much for dancing.  A good short break.

Punch You In the Eye:  I seem to remember that this was very well performed.
This is one of those songs that seems to follow me around...I think I've seen
it five times in eight shows.

Stash:  This song rarely does anything for me...it didn't do a whole lot
tonight.  It was a pretty cool, dark jam and a nice nod to 12.30.94 if nothing
else.  Overall, nothing to write home about.

Chalk Dust Torture:  This was your average '97 CDT: raw and long.  The multiple
climaxes dragged a bit.  This is another song that follows me.  Maybe a nod to
the 12.30.94 Letterman performance?

A Day In the Life:  Wholly standard.  I was hoping that this wouldn't close the
set, but it did.

Set break:  I didn't know quite what to think.  I was a bit resentful at
missing the previous night, and I figured we were getting a low-key performance
so they could save energy for the next night.  The opening two songs were
absolutely unbelievable, and make the entire set worth having (aside from the
fact that you need something to put on that encore tape :-)  They took a fairly
long break...40 min, I think...

AC/DC Bag:  This song went into a jam that I won't even try to capture in
words.  One of my friends thought that it had 2001-ish jamming...Fishman was
really tight all night, and proved it here.  A fantastic jam that I *suppose*
could have sounded something like CE&P lead into

McGrupp:  My second in two shows...woo hoo!  Nice, standard until it dissolved
during the jam segment.  Very cool version of a rarely changing tune.

Harpua:  Are you fucking kidding me?  This was probably the biggest surprise of
the run.  The only true Harpua of the year takes place the night BEFORE New
Years?  This is always great to hear.  Trey went into this LONG story.  I'll
try to retell it.

The year was 1974.  Trey was in fourth or fifth grade, and he finally convinced
his parents to let him have a TV in his room.  This was fun but bad because he
would watch 6-7 hours a day.  On Saturday, he would wake up early, get a loaf
of bread and a frying pan and eat French Toast and watch 17 hours of TV.  One
of his favorite shows was "Lost In Space".  He had this "udder ball" in his
room that he used to play with while watching TV, and in this one episode of
"Lost In Space", he saw that Will Robinson and the robot were in this clearing
that was the exact same place as behind his school.  The same udder ball was at
the feet of the robot.  Then the voice of the robot began coming to him.  It
told him to save table scraps and bring them to school.  One day it told him to
go to that clearing.  There he found a pentagram.  He knew what he had to do.
He placed various piece of food on the five ends of the pentagram.  (Actually,
Trey lost track and ended up with a six-sided pentagram...oops.)  He then
placed the udder ball in the center.  A huge tornado appeared and he saw the
face of Page, Jon, and Mike, and then he saw Tom's face.  [enter Tom Marshall]

500 Miles:  Hilarious.  I think this was a lot more faithfully covered than the
other gag songs where they only did one or two verses.  I think that this was
the whole song.  Fun, fun, fun.

Harpua:  Standard ending, except for calling the cat "Pentagram"

Izabella:  Struck me as wholly standard, though that does mean good rocking
jam.  It was fun.

Harry Hood:  This followed "Sally" and "Harpua" as "Are you fucking kidding me"
moment #3.  I was sure that they'd save this for NYE, with the glowstick
phenomenon and all.  A crazy, somewhat unfinished Hood jam with metal elements
true-segued into

My Soul:  Yeah, it had to come up somewhere.  Perhaps super-charged from all of
the energy in the Garden.

Sleeping Monkey:  Sweet...Fishman singing always gets me.  As well done as it
can be done, I guess.  Show over?  Nope.

Guyute:  Some guy had placed a sign right in front of us (sort of below us, we
were first row in our section).  It said "PYITE", and could be reconfigured to
say "Guyute".  He got both tonight.  Rather sloppy Guyute, but really high
energy.  This has become SUCH a crowd pleaser, but it's still a cool song to
hear.

I couldn't hear Trey's no-encore thing, or I wasn't paying good enough
attention.  So it wasn't as big of a surprise to me when they came back.

Lucy With A Lumpy Head:  This one eventually won me over, though I initially
detested the Rage Against the Machine qualities of the song.  Nice to hear,
especially since it yet to be played in the U.S. (I think?)  This went into

Black Eyed Katy:  Raw, oozing funk.  A fantastic song that should be kept in
the rotation...another song?

Sneaking Sally reprise:  Yes!!!  I believe that they played the entire song
again.  I bet that is a once-only deal.

Frankenstein:  This was my original encore call, though I could never have
guessed it would be this insane.  I actually saw some guy bring some extra
boards out for Page...those really '70's ones.  After Fish's first drum solo,
during the digital delay-ish part, all hell broke loose.  Trey started up the
glow sticks again.  Then he went and tapped Fish on the back, who had already
been doing laps of the stage.  He pointed to the vacuum.  Fish was happy to
oblige.  Another 12.30.94 reference?  The ending kicked my ass as always.

The raw stats?  1st set: 5.5 (saved by openers); 2nd set: 8.5-9.0; Encore: 9.9

I honestly can't think of a better encore.  Maybe 12.6.96, but even that was
rather silly.  This one had some fantastic porno-funk, and was over 30 min.

Overall, I think that I picked the right holiday show to go to...I'll put my $
on 12.30 as the best of the run. At least the best to be at, because while
12.29 will translate to tape, half of 12.30 was being there.

Thanks for reading this tripe.

Charlie


"Cartman, dolphins are friendly and intelligent!"
"Yeah, friendly and intelligent on rye bread with mayonnaise."

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

Date:    Sun, 4 Jan 1998 19:57:49 GMT
From:    Lushington 
Subject: ***(late) 12/29 12/30 12/31 review***

Hello,

my 13th, 14th and 15th Phish shows. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
I will save everyone my pre-show and after-show experiences and get down to
my attempt at a review. i've never done this before, so just humor me.

12/30/97
I Sneakin Sally Through the Alley > Taste, Water in the Sky, Punch You in
the Eye >   Stash, Chalkdust, ADITL
II AC/DC Bag > McGrupp > Harpua > 500 Miles* > Harpua > Isabella > Hood >
Jam > My Soul,    Sleeping Monkey, Guyute
e: Carini Had a Lumpy Head > Black Eyed Katy > Sneakin Sally Through the
Alley >    Frankenstein**

This is my favorite show out of all 15 that i have attended. It was full of
surprises and was very emotional for me.

Set I
Sneakin Sally. good lord. 1st surprise of the night and they just ripped
this shit out of the 80s. I couldnt believe what was going on. extreme funk
in this. what a huge treat it was to hear one of the coolest covers.

Taste. the segue was tight out of Sally. I remember flipping out during this
song like i never have for Taste. Albany was pretty good but this one had
strange effects on me. the jamming is so strange and powerful, especially
the part where it completely shifts down and they all go off into some other
realm. it's nuts.

Water in the Sky was cool to see live since i've never seen it.

PYITE is getting old now. it's still good to to see because of the
beginning, the energy and excitement it creates. but they gotta stop playing
it so much.

Stash. the segue out of PYITE was rather noisy and space-ish. i liked that.
never expected Stash for some reason. this is probably my favorite Stash.
really tight and meaningful jamming, great stuff.

Chalkdust. um.. i dont have anything to say about this song.

A Day in the Life. it was good to see since they have layed off of it. i
remember when i wished they would stop playing it so much. they did.

set II
AC/DC Bag was fucking huge. for some reason, i usually dont like this song.
But the jam was monsterous. i've never heard such a long Bag. i wrote down
that it was around 25 minutes. too hard to describe what was going on, you
need to hear it.

McGrupp. segue out of DC Bag was alright. McGrupp is never bad, its such a
strange song. The Page solo turned into this little almost duel. rather, it
was just Page and Trey playing together. Mike and Fish layed off for a bit,
but then came back in strong. i saw some conversing and had a good feeling
of what was coming up.

Harpua. woo! finally get to see some crazy ass Harpua shit. and this was
indeed crazy. Trey story was so wacked and so funny that I am going to say
this was the best Harpua i have ever heard. better than 4/20/89, better than
12/6/96, even better than my old favorite with the baby racoon story -
10/31/95. Trey was all over the place talking about his child hood. i'm not
going to explain it all, but i can :) i'm sure everyone has had heard some
sort of description. anyway, I have never laughed so hard in my life. then
Tom Marshall came out and did 500 Miles which is a really bad song, but
that's tom marshall's specialty, besides writing for Phish, which is singing
really bad songs around New Years Eve. the accent mocking by Trey and Tom
was too funny. back to Harpua with some playing with the lyrics going on by
Mike and Page during the "Jimmy?"  "Yes, dad."  segment. "I DONT WANT A SLIM
JIM!" thats all i have to say...

Isabella came screaming out of that fucking insane Harpua. another rocker
like Crossroads.

Hood was great because i wanted to see some glowsticks flying around. i've
seen this numerous times and it keeps getting better. unfinished version,
which wasn't a good choice, into..

My Soul. hmmm.. this can go in the Chalkdust category.

Sleeping Monkey is a terrific song. Fishman, or as i might call him.. God,
had a change to show off his vocal genius as usual. i've never seen this
live and it was definitely something i want to see again.

Guyute. never has there been a bad Guyute. its just not as rare as it used
to be, which isn't always a bad thing. excellent song.

Encore
when they came back out, which Trey explained would not happen, the crowd
was extremely excited. Trey said they would keep playing until NYE so when
we saw then again, it would still be NYE.

Carini Had a Lumpy Head. i've heard this on a couple Europe tapes and it
became one of my top 5 favorite Phish songs. i'd break out 2/17/97 or 3/1/97
and listen to Carini over and over again. my dreams of seeing this live were
always shattered by the thought of its non existance after that Europe tour.
but, thank god, it's back. Trey played the first chord and i immediately
went berzerk. i think there were 3 other kids around me that actually knew
what it was and they looked at me with HUGE smiles and proceeded to join me
in flipping out. simply incredible. i love this song so much...

Black Eyed Katy. I just thought it was a funk jam until i came home and read
a setlist. never heard this song before. it's funk as hell and really tight.
suddenly, for some weird reason..

Sneakin Sally, again? so many weird things happened during this show and
this is just an example. no, it was not a jam. they played the entire song
again, just not as jammed out as the first time. crazy shit.

Frankenstein scared the shit out of me. Frightening Phish. the noise
segment, which i have never heard made longer than it should be, was pretty
nuts. Trey left the delay/sustain shit going and collected a bunch of
glowstick in his shirt while showing us his sexy stomach. Fishman danced
around a bit behind his drums, then came up to the front of the stage a few
times. Trey stole his drum sticks and whispered something.. which made him
bust out the vacuum. all around strange


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

Date:    Mon, 5 Jan 1998 07:32:19 GMT
From:    Charles Dirksen 
Subject: *NYE Run Thoughts*

You're probably sick to death of reading/skimming NYE run reviews by
now in the Eigest, so I will try to keep my comments reasonably brief
(yeah, sure, charlie).  It was wonderful meeting so many folks at the
Mustang Sally's gathering on 12/30.  For those interested, the
arm-wrestling match between CLF and myself did not occur, primarily
because my non-net girlfriend wasn't at all amused by the prospect
(and presumably didn't want me -- intoxicated as I was by the time
Corey showed up -- to humiliate myself (she's not entirely privy to
the truth that I regularly humiliate myself in front of you folks)).
I hereby dub CLF "KingMoron of Lamehendge" by default (there will
always be only one KingMoron420, however).  Strangely, I have no
difficulty conceding said title to Corey, worthy 6'5" bitch that he
is. He would have beat my drunk old ass, anyway!

It seems to be in vogue these days to MOCK the articulation (in the
form of a DISCLAIMER) of one's Phish experience prior to one's two
cents on a particular gig.  Far from being "irrelevant," though, a
sentence explaining your Phish experience in general terms before you
review something helps provide a context for your comments (such as
that "the [Name of Song] was Excellent").  At least give references to
other versions (!).  I'm thrilled that so many folks are reviewing shows
these days (makes for meaty Eigests), but I think that a review
without a serious preface contextualizing the two cents is *arguably*
a waste of bandwith. (I say *arguably* because there are plenty of
examples of enjoyable, thoughtful, helpful and intelligent reviews
that are NOT contextualized by the experience of the author)

ANYWAY, I'm a jaded fan who has only seen around 60 shows since
10/6/89 (which I still haven't found on tape, btw).  I have heard most
of the Helping Friendly Book (which is not to say that I'm better than
you (of course I am), but simply to contextualize my TWO cents).

I didn't take notes at any of these shows, so please forgive my lame
memory.

12/30/97 Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY

You've seen the reviews.  This show really was an incredible
spectacle, with a magnificent setlist that even a jaded oldbie could
love.  I'm sure this show has been reviewed to death, so I'll keep my
comments short (or try to).  I love the Sally > Taste opener, but
otherwise, the first set was fairly straightforward.  Stash contained
a dark, eerie, evil, sinister, wicked groove, but ended with a WHIMPER
so enormous that it trivialized the version imo (it isn't nearly as
good a version as 12/29/95, in case you were wondering).

The Bag opener contained a huge JAM that >segued into McGrupp's.  This
jam was, at the time, the highlight of the run for me, but having
since heard it again on tape it is Just Another Beautiful Piece of
Improvisation from Phish and isn't even close to being One of the Most
Awe-Inspiring Phish Jams Ever, as I hear it.  Still, loved it at the
show. To say that there is a "Crosseyed and Painless Jam" in this JAM
out of Bag is, again, bullshit, in my opinion.  There is perhaps a
small tease, but no major C&P jamming.  At all.  Sorry.  McGrupp's
actually JAMS, for a change, and is easily the most unusual version
I've ever heard.  Harpua has to be heard to be believed, and 500 Miles
was hysterical (thanks for keeping the tradition alive, Tom). Izabella
was wonderful (my first to hear *live*).  Harry featured a glow-stick
war, which won't translate to tape (and which was the highlight of the
version for me).  Although I do NOT think that Harry Hood "peaked" at
any particular time in Phishtory (I think the whole surmise that it
"peaked" at any time is LUDICROUS, given the nature of the song), 1994
versions of Harry -- generally speaking -- are more consistently
inspiring than the versions of today (ditto with Slave, though, imo).
I think Phish should play Slave and Harry more rarely in 1998, even
though I love these songs.  I'd love, for example, to hear Sally come
back more often, not to mention Brother, with more of DA FUNK. My Soul
and Monkey were ok versions (I enjoyed them, but I was surprised that
they were played.. the 12/29 show's encore had ended at 11:30pm, and I
think Phish STARTED My Soul around 11:20 or so). Guyute was easily the
worst version I have ever heard.  Nearly every section was botched.
Just a sloppy mess.

The 12/30/97 encore was a hell of a lot of fun at the show, and I
REALLLLLY enjoyed it.  I was hoping to hear a more funked out BEK on
12/31, but this version was fine.  The Carini, and the return to
Sally, were HUUUUGE surprises, not to mention the vacuum solo (and
more glowstick warring) during Frankenstein.  This encore is faaaar
more interesting musically than the 12/6/96 Vegas encore, but isn't
perhaps as pretty as the setlist may suggest.  Still, one hell of a
show.  Get it.  8.0 rating.  The best all-around show I'd seen Phish
perform since 7/31/97 Shoreline.  Certainly one of the most intense
shows of the year to have been at, I'd bet (musically it was excellent
in parts and ok in parts -- it wasn't as consistently awesome as
Shoreline 7/30, imo, and several other 1997 shows).

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

Date:    Tue, 6 Jan 1998 03:15:29 -0500
From:    Cardinal 
Subject: *** MSG Run Review/Thoughts*** PART 1

Hi all,
   This message isn't intended to incite riots or more diatribes from
various people on how NYE was great or wasn't, it is simply one person's
thoughts on the matter.  Of course, if the aforementioned things happen,
you'll have that.

Anyways, on with the post!  Before anything else, my credentials, as they
are, stand at seeing roughly 30 shows, and listening to twice that on
tape, my first show being Kent State.

12/30/97

Seeking Sally- What?  A breakout to open the first set?  This whole tour
it seems has been rife with breakouts, what with Pyschokiller, Boogie on
Reggae Woman, etc.  Great, great way to open a show, pretty nice medium
sized jam to segue way into....

Taste-   A for setlist cohesion so far.  WHile Trey's solo was a little
rocky at first, he more than made up for it at the end.  That, and Paige's
solo was very enjoyable as usual.

Water in the sky- After such a high-octane duo of openers, one almost
expects a "slow 'em down" song, thus, water in the sky.

Punch you in the eye-   While I like this song a lot, it seemed kind of
misplaced here.  My favorite version of this song remains New Year's 96/97
where the placement for it was just wonderful IMO (as well as NYE '95, not
as good as '96 though).  Otherwise, a fine version. A jam ensued, which
led into....

Stash-   After PYITE ended, for a second my good friend Mike Witt and I
though we were about to be hit with a BBFCFM since it had the heavy metal
edge intensity to the jam.  Alas, we were treated instead with Stash.
THis stash, was I would say above average since the jam was very dark, as
several have described it, not your usual cut-and-dried Stash, yet, not as
exploratory as others.  I liked the quieter ending, something different
for a change, but that perhaps robbed momentum from the next song.   My
favorite Stash that I've seen live remains Star Lake '97 (featuring the
Arabian Jam), followed closely by NYE's 96 Stash (very paige heavy that
one).

Chalkdust-  Hearing this here, I was confused.  I know I've said before
that I hate seeing this as a set closer since they do it all the time, but
I was thinking to myself at the time that this CHalkdus couldn't be a
closer, it was too early.  Otherwise, in the league of the the Chalkdust's
of '97 (which are definatly improved over previous years).

Day in the life-  To end the set, this was kind of a buzzkill, truth to be
told.  However,one could infer that this meant momentus things were ahead
for the 2nd set.  This is another song that I wish would get played less
often, with Paige bringing out some other tunes in place of it (i.e. Star
Lake opener "Aremania" or something like that :)


Set II

AC/DC Bag-  I had remarked to my friends before that I was surprised one
song that Phish had not busted wide open like others this year, was AC/DC
bag.  Especially with all the jamming potential it has.  Well, this was
the first of many I hope to come.  THis bag actually began out really
low-key, but quickly progressed into what became a 25 minute jam, with the
first half the jam being very rythmic.  At one point (midway through the
jam), it almost sounded like they were winding down to an ending or
transition.  But, this was not to be.  What instead ensued was some very
nice low-key transitionary jamming eventually leading into more
exploratory rock and roll type jams. Little note here, I hate to use the
word Jam so frequently, but, I'm not one very blessed with music
terminology, so, please put the counter you are all using to to count the
number of times I say the word "jam" away. :).  Anyways, this ended, and
about 3 seconds later ...

Magrupp- They jumped into this beautifully.  At the time, I thought this
was a perfect setlist choice, provided this magrupp be actually stretched
to the limit, as opposed to your stock Magrupp.  Again, I was not
disappointed.  This one featured a very nice solo by Paige that eventually
had Trey join in, and the two of the them began a little duet that was
just fabulous to behold.  THis went on for about 3-5 minutes and died
down.  After 7 seconds or so, we were all treated to the infamous

Harpua!- It's true!  Lighting really does strike twice!  THe reason I say
that is because last year, at 12/29/96, they played Harpua at one of the
precursor NYE shows.  I thought that might happen again this year, but if
so, at DC, not the night before NYE.  That's why I was completly taken by
storm when this Harpua came down the pipeline.  I won't go into the
details of the story, sufficed to say that this was one of the longest
Harpua's I've ever seen, with a very funny story and nice fucked up story
involving a pentagram and Poster Nutbag (for you Pentagram enthusiatists
out there).   Can anyone say, jinkies scoob?  Only thing one could nitpick
at would be flubs present in this, but who the hell cared?

Isabella-   At this point, the show was in the hour marker, so I thought
we were seeing the 2nd set closer since it was not unknown as of recent
for Phish to play an hour and 10 minute 2nd set, 4 songs total.  Boy, was
I wrong....  This isabella, while not as drawn out and funked as the
Palace Isabella (my fav. btw), definatly gets the award for the most rock
and rolled out Isabella.

Harry Hood- Wow, another song I thought at the time, Hood no less.  It was
here that I thought then that the set would have ended.  This hood
featured the glowstick war, which was nice, but hopefully this is a
tradition that doesn't happen everytime Hood is played.  Unfortunatly,
this Hood was probably the weakest of all the Hood's I've seen played this
year (Deer Creek's, Darien's and the Went's), for several reasons:  1)
It never at one point had the jam reach that peak moment.  I've heard some
people ridicule this, but I happen to prefer the Hood's with the peak near
the end.  ALso, this hood featured a really strange dissonant jam near the
end by trey that was very un-hoodlike.  THis went for about 30 seconds,
went back into hood for another 30 seconds, then segued into...

My Soul- Ugh, this was a buzzkill as far as I was concerned.  If there was
every to be any song I'd want to lop of the ending of Hood to in favor of
a segue, it would definatly *not* be my soul.  That, and this song, while
never doing much for me, seemed really out of place in the set here.  At
this point, it was obvious the set would continue on indefinatly :)

SLeeping monkey-  Now this placement I wasn't going to complain about.
After all the craziness of before, the Hood, Harpua, etc., a nice slow-em
down tune I thought was warrented. Especially if it was sleeping monkey.
Trey gave his little spiel about playing on till NYE, and said they were
going to play one more song which was...

Guyute-  THis guyute, unfortunatly, was just a mess, not nearly as nice as
Dayton's version. That, and this song just doesn't do much at all for me.

True, it's a composition that is very hard to nail, but if one doesn't
enjoy it, then, regrettably enough, one doesn't enjoy it.  Still, after it
was all said and done, who cared at this point? Besides, there was still
the encore to go....

E:  Carini- Wow!  I've heard this before on tape, but the last place on
this Earth I was expecting to hear it was as an encore.  THis song I think
is great, both for its jam potential, and the dark theme it has running
through it.  A so far.  But wait, more to come, they did a nice
funk/segueway jam into Black Eyed Katie, which wasn't too obvious at first
since it was kinda hidden in there.
And, not to mention the Sally Reprise, followed by frakenstein with a
vacuum solo.  This was enough to make one's head spin, and surely, mine
was.  Probably the best encore I've heard live, or on tape thus far
(except, with a big maybe, the Vegas '96 encore)

1st set receives a 5.5 (again, the extra .5 for the sally and the
tightness with which it was played after being on hiatious for several
years) and the excellent taste segue.

2nd set, plus encore gets a 9.5, balanced by both the mistakes made in
parts, as well as the new bust out jam in AC/DC bag, the great magrupp,
hood, and of course Harpua (not to mention a nice energy picker upper
Isabella) and the encore, which pratically warrents a rating by itself
(bringing 2nd set from a 8.5 to a 9.5).


Thanks all for reading thus far, and look for the next part of my review of NYE!

Cardinal
jcalde2@opie.bgsu.edu
Josh Calderonello

Comment of the day:
Wrapping tin foil around your head isn't always a good thing

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

Date:    Tue, 6 Jan 1998 11:51:27 -0800
From:    bertolet 
Subject: The Utter Ball, part 2 - 12/30 Review - LONG

Jenn and I arrived at Mustang Sally's right around 1:30.  Had a few beers
and reminisced about last night's show with Andrew and Charlie before the
crowds really started to pour in.  The Main Event was to have been an arm
wrestling match between KingMoron and the CLF, but CLF was rumored to be
hiding at some kind of Almanac Gathering.  Yeah, right.  Mike Terran
showed
with a CLF nametag...and after having seen the CLF, it's impossible for
anyone to look LESS like him.

We were only planning on staying until around 5, but got so engaged in
great conversation, we had to stay till 7.  There must have been at least
50-60 people there at one point.  At random, here are some recollections.

Benjy Eisen is a dead ringer for Chuck Mangione, and Craig DeLucia is a
dead ringer for my Deadhead/WellHead friend Neil Cherry.  Not one of Dean
Budnick's facial hairs move in the same direction.  Ryan Stroud kind of
looks like Tackleberry from the Police Academy franchise, but is more
handsome and far more intelligent.  Heidi Mann is a ball of energy, very
sweet, and brought me phat Detroit tapes courtesy of Greg Starks (thank
you!).  Jenn thought Yance Davis looked like John Cusack, and I sort of
agree, but it was just great to hear that Maryland twang again.  Mike
Lerman is a jolly guy who looks like he should be 70 pounds heavier.  He
kicked down a set from Albany because he says he's "concerned" about my
tape collection.  Exree Hipp (Andrew, I think your name is Hitz, but I
can't remember) is a truly great guy beyond his meager years, an
accomplished conversationalist who already knows he doesn't want to make
tampons or mukluks.  Charlie Smith (who already wrote a great review of
this show) is shy but fun to talk to.  Paul Chung's mother wants him
to get
married and he's only a junior in college.  Did we talk you out of it yet,
Paul?  BTW, congrats on the Rose Bowl.  Saul Wertheimer is fixing
motorcycles in Canada until he figures out what he wants to do next, but
until then he's wearing bad-ass disco suits.  Dan Nooter is a soft-spoken
guy w/ a great mind.  For those of you who hadn't heard already, Jen
Marshall is the stealth babe of rmp.

Although CLF did finally show, the great arm wrestling duel never took
place.  In fact, Corey Hellon Wheels was way kicked back, to the point of
being a little disappointing.  It's almost as if he's not meant to be seen
face to face, almost like the Wizard of Oz in a Beastie Boys lid standing
6'5".  We also had great encounters with Marcie, Hal, David, Becky Morin,
Chris Glushko (who called a segue into a Who tune but unfortunately didn't
get one), Ellen Kasofsky, Jeff (jekat@aol) and others.  It was a great
time.  Thank you.

 On to the show.

SNEAKIN SALLY.  I was one of the first in my section (338) to hear the
Sneakin Sally, and one of the only ones to know what the fuck it was.  I
like sitting amongst knowledgable fans because they're usually also the
most considerate and you can ask them questions.  I know, you too.  But
we're geeks.  Anyway, I was not jumping out of my seat, because I'm
not the
type that gets all tingly about hearing old songs for the sake of hearing
old songs.  Usually when they come back, they're pretty rusty or pretty
perfunctory.  Not this one.  It didn't take long to realize that the band
had remembered that they had a song in their bag with a lot of funk
potential.  There's no way they would've whipped it out if they didn't
think they could beat it dead, and they did.  It was really juicy, a rare
treat from the past that at the same time fit like a glove with
Phish2000-style funk.  It may enter the rotation a la Cities.  I'd be
glad.
There was a meltdown into

TASTE.  Oh, my.  The only notorious Taste I've yet to hear is Raleigh,
but
I can tell you that this Taste put both the Gorge's and Darien's to
shame.
Just when I start to believe they can't take this song any higher, they
blow the top off it.  Page had several problems, and his climax wasn't
what
it should have been, but Trey made up for it in spades.  The jam was
similar in structure, wrapped around that Norweigan Wood-esque theme, but
it just soared higher and higher until its roaring climax.  It felt
like a show closer to me.  Great omen.

WATER IN THE SKY.  I like this tune.  May have let others down.

PYITE.  I don't recall any mistakes.  Landlady was ripped, fast.  Again,
a tune I love not for its jam, but for the energy it provides a set, much
like Guyute.  Nice boost after WITS.  A swirling wall of sound crashed
down into

STASH.  This Stash started out extremely, extremely dark and forboding.
I was really effected by it and taken in, to the point where I felt a tinge
of emotional despair.  Before I got too lost, they switched into a major
key.  The jam that ensued was pretty and somewhat majestic, but never
quite gelled into anything I'd call Hose.   It didn't match the one from
Ventura
this summer (which sandwiched the progression from Hood into the middle
of the song to great effect), but it was still solid.

CHALKDUST was a great dancing song.  Maybe I was spoiled by the Ventura
version, but this wasn't really that adventurous.  Nothing type-II in
here at all, just typically awesome boogie Phish.

ADITL came out of nowhere for me.  For a while there it was the whore of
the tour, but it's been (gladly) a lot more rare.  The lyrics were
terrific in the New York setting.  "Found my way downstairs...found my way
upstairs..."  I was really happy to hear it, but overall a little
disappointed in the lack of exploration in the first set.

I can't smoke cigarettes or cloves anymore, so I bit my fingernails
through the setbreak.  If I'd have know what would come next, I'd have
screwed my
head on tighter.  Much of what I remember I'm getting back slowly through
my sparse notes and reading other reviews, because the set that followed
was soooo unexpected.  But I'll give it a shot.

AC/DC BAG had been missing in my shows for a long time, and this was a
Phenomenal welcome back.  I've seen honest attempts to describe this jam
that have failed, so I'm not even going to try.  The adjectives I can
apply, though, are varied, layered, textured, brave, sloppy, weird,
funny, deep, and glorious.  There were several teases through here, as
there were
through the entire run, but the one with the most potential to come
through
clearly on tape is a Slave tease.  Unfinished Bag.  Hear at all costs.  I
think it didn't exactly "segue" into'

MCGRUPP.  Hey, whoopee!  This was my first, since I missed Shoreline this
summer.  Great fun, even though there were a few mistakes, and much
better live than on tape (like all that Gamehenge-related stuff,
imo).  Page's
solo was pretty, but in terms of the musical content, that's all I can
say...Oom Pa Pa, Oom Pa PaaaaAAAAA.

HARPUA.  I'm looking forward to Yance's review, because I have mixed
feelings.  This was when I started thinking for sure that Trey was fucked
up tonight.  Not that this is any of my business, but it seemed like he
was slurring his words and skipping over details in the story as he went
along.
What I got as a result was less a story than a series of random images
that together supply a mood, sort of like watching a strange French movie
without subtitles.  I did like the part about Lost in Space a whole lot
because I grew up on that stupid show, and in retrospect it seemed a
little
bit like the whole story was recalling a dream he had the night before.
This was cool after having had the Possum experience at the first show.
But the high point was Tom Marshall, who did a bang-up job on 500 Miles.
It's a catchy as hell song, and I'm not sure how it fit into the story or
why (if at all) they were slamming it, since it wasn't recorded in 97 at
all.  I just dug it.  As for the rest, I'll wait till I hear it on tape.

ISABELLA caught me by surprise.  Really nice as I recall, though I didn't
see fit to write anything.  I think I was still a little on my heels
after
the Harpua.  The set was a little long already by this point, and I was
thinking they were going to end with this and encore with Guyute.  Heh
heh.

HOOD came charging out of the gates.  By this time I had stopped writing
shit down altogether, because I couldn't keep up.  It's like Tetris when
you get two or three pieces from the top and they're coming so fast you
just say, "fuck it."  But it's always nice to hear Hood, and this one was
nice to hear.  I won't say anything else.

MY SOUL.  OK, I thought, this is a shitty ending to a wild, out of
control
set.  They can't possibly end it with something this straight-ahead.
Thank
God they didn't.  Not that this was bad, or that any of them are bad.  It
just didn't fit the set at all.

SLEEPING MONKEY was another first for me in a show full of them.  This
wasn't a particularly smashing version of this song at all, as a matter
of fact rather weak as I recall.  Not that I cared, as we were now
squarely in the middle of Bonusville.

GUYUTE was completely unexpected until I figured out it would be the
encore
(heh heh).  It got even messier, frankly, but the band was having so much
fun up there, I didn't care one bit.  I just wonder now why Trey's having
more trouble with that tricky part he was ripping to shreds back in '94.
They got really messy into the dark part of the jam, but built it up to a
frenzy before hitting the end Perfectly, just an orgasm of music.  I love
love love the release at the end of this song, and as much as I wish the
whole song had been performed better, the ending was the shit.  I was
ready
to pack it in, until the band came back.  The announcement that they were
going to play until midnight blew the roof off the place....

LUCY was terrific, although I don't have very many versions to compare it
to.  This is a mean-spirited song, though, and I love that about it.
Bringing Carini onstage was a nice little touch.

BLACK-EYED KATY.  I'd never heard this song before, and it blew me away.
I love hearing new Phish songs, especially ones that are this surgical and
mighty and make such a strong impression.  I'm looking forward to seeing
where this goes, but was perfectly contented that this one went BACK INTO

SNEAKING SALLY.  Wow.  This was a real statement to make, I think...it
made me feel like they had really given their all to craft something special
this night and had been thoughtful enough to put the cherry on top.
Great move, into

FRANKENSTEIN.  Uncle.  Please, UNCLE ALREADY!  A Fishman vac solo in the
middle of Frankenstein?  I know four musicians who got blow-jobs before
the second set!  Fish's vac work was nothing out of the ordinary, but I
always love to see the Greazy Troll play to the crowd.  Great ending.

IN SUM...

Many people have said, and will continue to say, that this was the best
show of the run.  At the risk of being charred by flames, I disagree.

Though it was a real joy to see Sneakin Sally done such justice, the
first set was all downhill after that awesome Taste.  The Stash was
nice, but nothing matched the Taste, I'm sorry.  Yes, the second set
was amazing. Yes, you could have pulled it right off one of the
fantasy setlist threads.
Yes, the Bag will go down in Phishstory as one of the best ever, I
think.
But much of the set was occasionally incoherent, and focused more on
kitschy moments than real hard-core jamming that holds up on tape.  If
there's a setlist I think people will compare this to, I think it's
Darien '97, set 2.  It has the insane narration (Harpua vs.
Forbin->Mock at Darien), it has a decent Hood, and it has one
tremendous shining moment of type-II Hose (the Bag vs. the Tea Dance
on Jupiter Jam right before Hood at Darien).  Granted, it was longer,
because I think the boys were, um, amped,
and I feel blessed to have seen it.  But as the end-all-be-all of Phish,
they tried mighty hard, but I just don't think we saw it.

FIRST SET:  5.0

SECOND SET:  8.0 (would be a 7 if not for incredible effort)

ENCORE:  9.0 (with an extra two points for being rebels and playing to
midnight).

OVERALL:  8.0

One more review left.  I'll post that one tonight.

--
Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the
basic building block of the Universe.  I dispute that.  I say that there
is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block
of the Universe."  --  Frank Zappa

Chris Bertolet

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

Date:    Tue, 13 Jan 1998 17:33:00 -0500
From:    "Lipman, Brian" 
Subject: 12/30/97 Most Overated Show Ever?

....well maybe Amy's Farm or 12/30/95.

Many people are calling this show the "best ever"  one for the ages..etc.

I wholeheartedly disagree.  Now don't get me wrong, I had a great time at
this show (like I do at all shows...except the 96 holiday run)

Plus don't think my opinion is jaded from having some wookie puke on me, I
was in the front row and trey didn't look illin.

First the setlist (necessary background)

12/30/97
Madison Square Garden, New York NY

I:   Sneaking Sally Through The Alley > Taste, Water In The Sky,
     Punch You In The Eye, Stash, Chalkdust Torture, A Day In The Life

Fantastic opener, especially with the high traffic alley coming into MSG.
 It was well jammed and fun, the band was diggin' it.  The taste that
followed it was mediocre-poor by 1997 standards.  The Stash cool and mellow
but ended prmaturely without peaking (like the YEM and possum the night
before)  Punch, a frequent inhabitant of 1997 setlists, was well performed,
as was the chalkdust.  Day in the life was a worthless way to end the
set....at least they wouldn't play on new years and make me even more upset.

This set was poor, even as far as first sets go.  Very little meat.  12/28
had Cities, Funky Bitch, Melt, 12/29 had Theme, Fluffhead, and that MONSTER
Antelope.  This had a weak stash.

Scott Jordan concery  rating= 3.0

II:  AC/DC Bag*, McGrupp and The Watchful Hosemasters, Harpua >
     Five Hundred Miles** > Harpua > Isabella > Harry Hood***, My Soul,
     Sleeping Monkey, Guyute****

What it comes down to in this set is how much value do you assess length?
 (I thought it's not the size but what you do with it that's important ;)

The bag opener delighted even the most die-hard carnivores.  This is the
action I was looking for.    The McGrupp charted some new territory and
melted nicely into the Harpua.

Harpua is definitely a treat but is definitely not the type of Worm-town
funk goodness the band's been tossing about.  The story was entertaining and
the pentagram action was a plus.  Defintely one of my favorite harpua (after
vegas & sugarbush)  It would have been nice to have the band break out into
something rocking....can't Tom do a Jimmy page impression?  Or some funky
dancing?  1974 was being bantered about by trey...how about KASHMIR?  Or
CHAMELEON?  Now we're talking.   This was lots of fun but will I want to
listen to it on tape?  No?

Isabella was a well played rocker, hopefully one day Trey will sing it
right,  The Hood was weak (nice to get it out of the way) The glowsticks
were scary, I really thought I was going to be hit.  This is going to get
problematic soon, folks.
This was the only my sould which has ever made me happy...it was a bonus
tune and thus disqualified for NYE.
The Monkey was sub-par and didn't include any of the gratuitious wailing the
12/28 Axis did.  The Guyute was sloppy but fun as always.

When rating this set...how much credit do you give to the Harpua?  A decent
amount, but besides that and the bag, the whole set was terribly mediocre.

Scott Jordan ranking:  6.2

E:   Carini# > Black Eyed Katy > Sneaking Sally Through The Alley (reprise)
>
     Frankenstein##

This encore was fantastic....nothing to say about it...lifts a 5.2 show to a
7.0

Too many people seemed swept away by this encore to use it to characterize
the show.  But in that respect...was 12/13 Set II, and thus was the whole
fall tour horrible because it ended My Soul, Coil?

Most of the fall tour shows had snippets of awesome jamming, 11/23 Gin, DWD,
11/26 Zero->2001->Cities, 11/28 YEM, Ghost, 11/29 JIM....etc....

This show had very little jamming and much more novelty (Sally, Harpua, &
Length)

If anyone can convince me that thsi was the best show ever, or even just a
top 20 show of all time I'll spin the a 1st gen FOB copy of it.  Better have
a law degree or something.

Happy New Year!


Chico


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

Date:    Sat, 17 Jan 1998 08:49:09 GMT
From:    Jeremy David Goodwin 
Subject: reformatted REPOST: *Sloppy Joe* (REVIEW)

*Sloppy Joe*



375 hours 23 shows 21 years 96 tears



12/30/97 Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY

Again, I'm just replying to Charlie's review because it's easier that
way.


Charles A. Dirksen wrote:

}I love the Sally > Taste opener, but

First, let me say that Sneaking Sally Through the Alley is a song I like
a whole lot. I like to play it (original version) and dance around my
room. Often, I play along on tennis racket, venturing forth into funk
jams hitherto unimagined by Western man, and heard only in my head.
Going into 1997, my wish list of songs I'd like to see come back
although they never ever would consisted of Sneaking Sally Through the
Alley, Cities, and Fuck Your Face. Song For Carini got added to the list
after Benjy declared it "not a song anymore" at the Great Went, via Mike's
assertion at Deer Creek.

It took about three seconds of performance for the song selection to
become apparent, and I don't know if it's even sunk in yet for me. Shaggy
Dog, my toe. *This* is the breakout of the ages.

I like to show my enthusiasm for a jam through a nice hearty yell, but I
greeted this opener with the best sound one can hear or produce at a
Phish show: uncontrollable laughter of joy.

I am, however, enough of a curmudgeon that I was disappointed the tune
didn't jam long enough. I'm sure on tape it'll be enjoyable, but I wasn't
nearly as inspired by this as by the Emotional Rescue in Hampton.


        Segue into Taste, blah. Maybe this was the greatest Taste ever,
maybe it sucked, I have no idea. It's honestly almost impossible for me to
pay attention to Taste at  this point.  I've always championed this song,
but enough already. If it's going to be played so often, the content of
the jam should vary enough to justify it. Please,  Phish, don't settle for
turning this into another Maze.


}otherwise, the first set was fairly straightforward.  Stash contained
}a dark, eerie, evil, sinister, wicked groove, but ended with a WHIMPER
}so enormous that it trivialized the version imo (it isn't nearly as


Loved the Stash! Full of clashes and chaos, not the mesmerizing hypnotic
kind of Stash. Definitely petered out...sometimes they just slink into
those closing lyrics as if they're embarrassed. I'm sure that's not the
effect they're trying to convey, but...
Nevertheless, an outstanding first set Stash, plus the very thick Sally
jam....plenty incentive to seek the set out. Or at least hang out with
someone who has it.



}The Bag opener contained a huge JAM that >segued into McGrupp's.  This
}jam was, at the time, the highlight of the run for me, but having
}since heard it again on tape it is Just Another Beautiful Piece of
}Improvisation from Phish and isn't even close to being One of the Most
}Awe-Inspiring Phish Jams Ever, as I hear it.  Still, loved it at the
}show.


Look how fucking spoiled we've become. Would it ever have occurred to
anyone in the past to even mention (much less complain!) that a particular
 AC/DC Bag *is  not* the best Phish jam ever?!?


}To say that there is a "Crosseyed and Painless Jam" in this JAM
}out of Bag is, again, bullshit, in my opinion.  There is perhaps a

Yeah, I agree that people have gotten out of fucking control with the
setlists this year. Obviously I need more important things in my life,
but it does infuriate me when I see  "DWD->space jam->blues jam->Page
sneeze->space jam->Mike cough jam->Fishman  burp tease->jam" on a setlist.
Grow up, people. You don't need to describe everything that happens in a
show on the setlist.  Use an (*) if it's so damn important.

HOWEVER, I heartily encourage everyone to check out the blatant and
thorough C+P  jamming in the 11/28/97 Worcester YEM! The jam that
(basically) opened the New Year's Run's alter ego, the Thanksgiving Waltz!



}McGrupp's
}actually JAMS, for a change, and is easily the most unusual version
}I've ever heard.


Very interesting McGrupp. At the very outset of the Page solo, I was
consciously thinking about how the "solo" is actually controlled by Trey
and not a solo at all, and how I wish  Trey would "allow" Page to
improvise. Then I noticed that McGrupp was getting very strange. Another
example of the Trey-Page interplay, exhibited previously at Landover and
back in Philly (not to mention day two of the Went). The rest of the band
joined in, an a very unexpected two or three minute jam (in total,
approximately) petered away into the now-usual between-song odyssey of
shuffling silence.



        I wonder how much of the Harpua was improvised. Trey did say at
the very outset, "Before we get on with the Harpua thing, I want to tell
this story". Of course, the Harpua thing never got underway, and Jimmy was
just tossed in perfunctorily at the end. BTW, I think each and every
section of the song itself was horribly mangled, to  the extent that I
initially thought the opening was being played in 4/4, ostensibly to
accommodate an impending guest (!). I mean, the thing was just a mess. I
just want to be sure this is noted, amid the very deserved praise this
version has been getting.

        Also btw: if you want to see an example of Phish totally
restructuring a song  to do very different things with it in recent years,
look at Harpua. I know it's lyrically and not musically, but the words are
the heart of this song. I think it has literally been at least two years
since Harpua has actually been about an old man and his dog. I was
particularly gratified when Trey acknowledged this fact at the Philly
New Year's Run Harpua last year ("you know it already" or whatever): it
was something I had been thinking about at the time.



}Harry featured a glow-stick
}war, which won't translate to tape (and which was the highlight of the
}version for me).


I now firmly believe that the Went and Albany glowstick sessions were
impromptu and the result of spontaneous fan ingenuity...contrary to rumors
I had heard that they  were actually handed out at the Went. I did really
like the glowstick session at MSG...when I saw the Albany setlists I felt
a pang of disappointment for missing out on the first indoor one.

The feel-good sentiment during the glowstick stuff is so potent and
sticky than I can definitely see a cynical outsider interpreting it as
sappy. Who cares; it looks great, and it's touching (sometimes your
head!). And don't forget, the band's favorite line from the Pharmanac is
"juice from a glowstick landed on my head and I liked it"!!!



        Meanwhile, this Hood was just ferocious. The opening segment was
filled with  the little doodads and diddleywumps which really mark
specific versions as better than others for me, to a large extent. (Listen
for Page's hilarious gothic organs on the 11/22/97 version!)  The closing
jam was very intense in its own right, before romping off into uncharted
jamming. I quite look forward to hearing this again. I definitely prefer
a spontaneously unfinished Hood than a lameass 97 ending.




}I think Phish should play Slave and Harry more rarely in 1998, even
}though I love these songs.  I'd love, for example, to hear Sally come
}back more often, not to mention Brother, with more of DA FUNK. My Soul

werd. Charlie, you say a lot of astute and wise things with which I
wholeheartedly agree. You're a nice guy. How was your Christmas? [I'm
feeling silly and I won't deny it.]

By the way, could there possibly be a sweeter setlist notation than
Harpua->Isabella-}Hood?!?#!?


        My Soul brought me WAY DOWN at the show. Like, to complete antsy
unhappiness.  I guess it must have partially been my very weakened
physical condition...I quite possibly reached the low point of my Phish
show history (I'm about to forever embarass myself...) by actually
vomiting in the MSG bathroom before the first set. I couldn't believe I
had actually become THAT GUY who's throwing up while you wait in line for
a piss. But now you know: THAT GUY is not *always* a drunken hipster
tripster who saw too many melting hands that night... sometimes it's just
someone who hadn't eaten all day, and foolishly swallowed a hamburger at
Pinky's across from MSG on the way into the venue. By the way, I
absolutely cannot write this review without thanking Kristen for showering
upon me the magic (but not "magic") chocolate chip brownie at setbreak,
which nourished me like manna. It absolutely revitalized me and better
enabled me to enjoy the second set. (I ate most of it during the Hood,
btw.)



}and Monkey

It's really cool (for me) to have first timers at this point, and it was
kinda surreal watching a Sleeping Monkey take place in front of me. I
just know I'm going to finally fall in love with this over the winter
and be pissed for not relishing it enough on this night.


}Guyute was easily the
}worst version I have ever heard.  Nearly every section was botched.
}Just a sloppy mess.


My impression was that it wasn't nearly so bad as that.  The Harpua was
MUCH worse, I thought. Although I did actually throw my hands in disgust
towards the stage at one point (during Guyute) while saying, in a whiny
voice, "Come on!".



        Very important:  After Trey said the thing about wanting to play
until New Year's Eve,  I started yelling (from my seat in Section 84)
"Carini! Carini! Carini!". This is true. It just came to me in a flash,
spontaneously...I saw it clearly: Phish should play Carini now.  I just
wish someone in my fucking row knew what the song was, so I  wouldn't
have had to explain to them that I had just called for it. [Although
I've been known to yell out "Oom Pah Pah" (or "Bring the dog! or some
variation) on occasion, please don't think I do something like this
*every* show. This is a genuine cosmic occurrence.]


}This encore is faaaar
}more interesting musically than the 12/6/96 Vegas encore, but isn't
}perhaps as pretty as the setlist may suggest.  Still, one hell of a

My impression at the time was that it was indeed as pretty as it looks!
I was happy to note that it included the "scared the shit out of the
rail" part that was not present at the song's inception in Amsterdam, but
appeared for Stuttgart a week later. There  was an added section to the
song as well ("Carini had a lumpy head!" about a dozen times). Trey had to
ask (and curl his finger) several times before Pete Carini did come
onstage, which makes me think the appearance was indeed spontaneous.
There was VERY heavy BEK teasing during Carini, before the segue (or maybe
it was really a loose and sloppy segue that I mistook for a tease...BEK
still confuses me when it happens). Then the unfinished BEK led into the
Sneakin Sally chords...when they actually started the lyrics, it surprised
me. And then they played the entire song! I'm pretty sure it was the
entire song again. What a nice way to open and close the show, I
thought...then Frankenstein was gratuitous and unnecessary, I whined at
first, before that ultra-bizarre section. First, Fisherman leaves the
drums, stands at center stage, and wiggles his torso vigorously. He
returns to his drums, and then comes out and does it again. The Trey
wiggles.

        By the time Fishman  started playing a long, static tone on his
vacuum, the Frankenstein was already uniquely bizarre. I'm glad I was
close enough to vaguely make out Trey as he stalked the stage, picking up
glowsticks, but we could basically just see a clump of lights moving
through midair mysteriously by some guitar-wielding phantom. Trey threw
the glowsticks, one by one, back into the crowd. I had already affixed the
(*) for "unfinished" to the Frankenstein in my head before Fisheman
started the drum roll which led the band back into the last part of the
song. This was truly a spectacle to behold, and will no doubt confound
(and bore) future tape-listeners who don't know what's up.



}Certainly one of the most intense
}shows of the year to have been at, I'd bet (musically it was excellent
}in parts and OK in parts -- it wasn't as consistently awesome as
}Shoreline 7/30, Imo, and several other 1997 shows).


        Sure, this second set wasn't nearly as spellbinding as Raleigh or
the Went (the best sets of the US Summer imo). Jam-wise, it was all about
the Bag. There was jamming at the end of Hood, and Isabella *might* have
been a little more thorough than other versions (though to say that, I'd
probably just be falling into the Julius Syndrome which Charles, the
author of the fine review upon which I am staking this  house of musings
and cards,  has identified elsewhere). The second set is so consistently
satisfying, but after a few listening of the Harpua I think it will yield
little to sink your teeth into, compared to the other mammoth sets of the
year.



        All in all, a great time --- I liked the crowd, although I spent
more  time explaining song names/origins than I would have liked...though
I concede that's the price you pay for getting two *muthafucking
breakouts*!#@!--- and a great inaugural visit for me to Madison Square
Garden! Considering that I didn't know for sure I'd be attending the
show until a few scant hours beforehand, it was a great night.




                                indeed,

                                   Jeremy



                "I'm going in for debauche" -- AR
-****************************************************************************-
"Black, black, black is the color...of my rhombus. And people throwing
three, three hooked instruments of, with rope. Three hooked instruments
into the air. Onto the, this edge of the rhombus." --Trey Anastasio
_****************************************************************************_
"I can do wheelin', I can do dealin', but I don't do no damn squeelin'."
                                            --James Brown

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

Date:    Fri, 20 Mar 1998 14:20:01 GMT
From:    Mathias A Loertscher 
Subject: 12/30/97 AC/DC Bag Review

AC/DC Bag 12/30/97 set 2

I don't know if anyone has reviewed this monster before, but upon listening
to it today, I felt inspired to give my own analysis and interpretation of
it. I am not in the habit of ranking jams as the best or as better than,
this just happens to be my favourite jam of maybe all time. I was lucky
enough to witness it in the flesh and have vivid memories of the emotional
peak it brought me to. I have started the timing when Trey begins with the
chk-chk (approx 10 secs before the actual song begins. Why? Why not) The
times are even then not 100% accurate. This is my first major review of a
jam. I hope you enjoy it and I appreciate any feedback.

 After a little muted rhythm by Trey, the tune opens authoritatively. The
crowd responds nicely, and th boys settle into what can be described as an
solid Bag groove. Not too fast, not too wild, but solid. Mike's playing is
right on, with little lilt here and there, esp. at 0:36. Trey is keeping
things nice and open. Lyrics start at about 0:50. So far this Bag is nothing
special, but it feels right. As Trey begins the second verse (Time to put
your money where your mouth is), Page switches up to the Clavinet (I have
noticed a little confusion amongst this newsgroup as to which is the Clav
and which is the Moog. The Clav is Page's main funk keyboard, and is also
featured in Gyute. The Moog has a more electronic sound is the one he uses
in Frankenstein). He funks it nicely for the rest of the verse, giving this
Bag a little more edge. He switches back to the piano for the chorus. The
rest of the pre-jam Bag is nicely played. Solo starts at approx. 3:40. After
a little normal Bag-style playing, Trey settles into a very very rhythmic
and repetitive pattern at about 4:10, playing very staccato. Page has
already moved up to the Clavinet and is complementing nicely, not taking too
much of the focus. Mike varies the bass line a little, yet keeps implying
the chord progression. At 4:35, Trey moves up the 'doc and continues the
rhythm, this time with more vigour, yet with equally short and staccato
notes. Page has changed the sound on his Clav, giving it a little more
twang, probably playing a bit with the wah wah pedal he's got hooked up to
that thing. He is soloing very cautiously, yet melodically. By about 5:15,
everyone has become a lot more active. Trey is subtleing playing around with
the rhythm he's been laying down. Mike is still implying the chord
progression, but has taken a few liberties here and there, filling in all
the spaces nicely. Fishman has all the while been keeping the beat simple,
restraining himself. He sounds so solid though. He and Trey have hooked up
tightly. Page begins soloing with a little more emotion, giving the jam a
little more direction. By 6:10, Mike has abandoned the Bag, and is providing
a very up beat bass line, propelling Phish 2000 into what now sounds like
its going to be a sick jam. At about this time, Page starts playing higher
up in the range. He begins exploring a very nice theme, almost spacey
sounding. Trey responds at 6:30 by unleashing the first space sound digi
delay. More follow. Mike is simplyfing the bass line a little. Fish follows
Mike and lays down the groove in a more restrained manner. Trey begins anew
with the staccato rhythm at about 6:55. At this point, Page changes his
sound to a real down home twang. It almost sounds like he's playing a
guitar, or a lap steel. Trey begins playing chords by 7:15. Mike's bass
playing has picked up again and now he's gathering steam, taking Fish along
with him. These two have locked up tighter thn Fort Knox. Between 7:30 and
8:05, Trey and Page really start playing off of each other. Trey is sparsely
playing a lot more chords. I really think that Trey has successfully managed
to integrate himself more into the collective playing of the band this past
year. I know that he wanted the jams to be less guitar solo orientated and I
think he's managed this quite nicely. Not taking the focus, but being part
of the whole, that's what the boys are about when they jam, which is
something none of the other jam bands I've ever heard have really
successfully done. They all rely on a soloist. Anyways, by this point, Page
is really playing with some urgency, milking that twang for all its worth.
At 8:10, Trey starts with some wah wah funk chords, adding to the fire that
Mike and Fish are laying down. Page speeds up his playing, toying around
with a very bouncy theme. By 8:35, he settles on a repetitive pattern. This
allows Mike and Trey to refine what their already playing. Everybody is
showing lots of energy by this point. Mike sounds like he's pounding that
bass fast and furious. I can see Fish sitting back, riding the groove and
playing in a sweet trance. At 9:05, Page starts playing a lot of notes,
giving the jam a more textural feel. Trey has kept the wah wah chords going,
probably as tranced as Fish is right now. At 9:35, Trey varies his playing a
bit, filing in more. The jam, although it has retained the flavour it
started with, now sounds a lot more full. Mike's emphasising the peaks and
valleys a lot more too. They continue on this groove for a while, until at
10:40, Trey unleashes another spacy digi delay. Fish man breaks it down
nicely, and Page calms down a lot. Mike follows Fish, and Trey comes in with
a new rhythmic theme. He has changed the effect on his guitar, sounding a
lot harder and rougher, like he's getting ready to kick ass and take names.
He prowls around for a while, almost like a tiger or something. The jam has
a much more gritty feel to it, and yet is more subdued as well. By 11:40,
the tiger is getting restless, sounding more and more like a chain saw.
Whatever remnants of the more positive, happy jam remain are in Page's
keyboard work. Page is still on the Clav (which I would argue has replaced
the B3 as his second keyboard, piano remaining #1), and his playing sounds
less extroverted than before. At 12:15, Trey is ready to go. He starts into
a nice meaty theme, although it sounds like he's still holding back. Mike is
completmenting very nicely, as is Fish. Both have found their own niches in
this new road. Page is getting a little more vicious as well. By 12:35,
their rocking. Not too hard, but rocking. At 12:45, Trey switches back into
some wah-wah chords, still sounding rough though. The rest of the boys keep
it going, and Page switches down to the piano at 13:00. As Trey battles with
the wah wah, sqeezing all the rhythmic variations he can out of the 'doc,
everyone else gets down to business as well. Fish is now flying, filling in
like a champ, making extensive use of his various cymbals. Page has hunched
down and giving the sound a really nice full warm texture, yet not venturing
too far into happy land. At 13:12, Trey lets fly a hell of a wah wah run,
lasting a full ten seconds. The first time a friend of mine heard that run,
he got very upset at Trey for being so damn good. At 13:30, Trey lets
loose!! Enough is enough, its time to rock and roll!! The theme he starts
playing sounds a lot like Psycho Killer to me, expect this is like a Psycho
Killer on amphetamines. Page is playing high up on the piano, with lots of
energy. Fish is driving the rhythm, hitting a lot of splahes for
accentuation. Mike is laying down the groove, making sure no falls behind.
The continue this theme until about 14:15, when Trey kicks down a big fat
power chord, jumping off that train. The rest of the band pans out the rest
of the way, until Page starts hitting some high notes repetitively with some
urgency. The boys have been battling long and hard with this groove, and
now, in their greatest hour, they will show what true warriors are really
made of. At 14:30, Trey unsheaths the 'doc of its effects and plays straight
from the heart. Everyone is playing dynamically, refusing to fall into a
simple groove yet not deteriorating into a mess. Trey's solo is one of the
greatest I've ever heard. Cliche free and without restraint, he proves
himself a mature guitarist with original and energetic things to say. Page
compliments him incredibly well, obviously listening to the development of
the solo, playing more when needed and restraining himself when Trey needs
more space. Mike proves here why he is the most solid bass player around.
Not drawing too much attention to himself, he nonetheless retains his own
sound and provides the band with its drive. Fish proves here why he is the
most improved member of the band. Dynamic. That is the adjective I'd
attribute him. I can only think of some jazz drummers who play more
musically. By 15:15, Trey settles on a repetitive pattern, laying on a few
effects. The band switches down out of turbo. Page heads up to play some
mellow Clav, and Fish's rhythm eventually mutates into something that sounds
a lot like the Runaway Jim rhythm. Mike is playing a little more bouncy, but
switches to create a thick warm texture. At 16:15, Trey still has the
pattern going, although it sounds like its modulating a bit. It dies down at
16:30. Trey starts noodling softly. Page goes to the piano, playing a very
cool descendo at 16:57. Mike has started to play between Fish and Trey,
finding a nice groove between them. Trey plays more chords, eventually
settling on some very light and pretty ones. Page is also playing very
beautifully as well. Trey's chords sound like someone riding a horse
bareback through a beautiful green field on a day when the sky is the color
of blue jeans. Fish's rhythm is the galloping feet as they meet the soft
ground, leaving it perfectly trampled in its wake. They keep this gloriously
chill and free groove going for awhile. At 18:30, we start to see some cloud
coverage. Not enough to ruin a beautiful day, but enough to let ya know it
might be time to find shelter. Trey and Page both create a little tension
with the chords they play, very intermittendly. At 18:45, it breaks down to
pretty much just Trey. He plays a very different pattern. Although it
contrasts with the previous mood, it sounds very logical. Sort of like going
from yellow to purple. Their very different, but they create a strange and
wonderful effect when placed side by side. The rest of the band follows him.
They are all playing a little more disjointed now. Fish however gets the
same rhythm going. Mike sounds a little more sinister, reflecting the darker
mood.  At 19:22, Trey starts to solo again. Quietly, and sounding a little
more cooly dangerous. He gets more passionate as time goes on. By 19:45, he
settles on another repetitive pattern, building the energy, until he finally
unleashes some more rock and roll!!!! Fish follows him and gets equally
tempremental. Mike and Page can do nothing but join the flow. At 20:15, Trey
lets loose with a yowl!! A little machine gun follows. At 20:40, he lays
down some power chords. Page complements nicely, although sounding equally
pain stricken. Trey lets loose again at 21:00, this time soloing with the
wah. The rest of the boys keep up nicely, everybody playing heavy. At 21:20,
Page has a really nice crescendo that really emphasizes the strangely
organised chaos or hell the boys have found themselves in. At 21:50, they
settle down quite a bit, letting the groove take over. Fish is playing
beautifully as is Mike, who sounds really dark. Page is onto to the Fender
Rhodes now. chhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllll. At 22:30, Trey wah wah chk chks
out a few mutterings. He turns on an effect (the one which I think overlays
an octave on what he's playing), and solos very quietly. Page is over on the
piano now. The jam is still rather erie sounding. Effect switch at 23:30,
and Page gets a little more active. Mike and Fish are just laying it down
smooth the whole time. Trey sounds a little more grimy now. The energy
begins to build. Trey noodles for a bit, often playing some very interesting
lines. By 24:30, Page has switched over to I'm not quite sure which synth
(Not the Moog, Clav, Rhodes, or B3), and is giving Trey some spacey backdrop
to work against. This continues for a bit until Trey ends it with a one off
chord. Page and Mike also die out immediately, but Fishman lets the rhythm
ride out for a bit until Trey starts up with the McGrupp opening, at which
point he fades out very nicely.

All in all, I think this is one of the finest musical moments in Phishtory.
I have heard some (not nearly all) of the jams from 97, and have to say that
this one, in terms of magnificence, complexity, and originality is the best.

Hope that everyone has fun at the Spring Mini Tour.
Mathias
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"Smoother than scratch-free Formica and cooler than a Frigidaire."

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Mathias Loertscher, DEC.

"Smoother than scratch-free Formica and cooler than a Frigidaire"