"BACK ON THE WORM!!"

7/21/97 Virginia Beach Amphitheater GinStats: Set I Total Time: 21:32

This is no regular shot of Gordon's Dry Gin...no, nope, uh-uh...This epic version is pure GINiside!

After, ironically, GINseng Sullivan ends, the familiar strum kicks in, amidst some triangle action from Fish and then HOLY SHIT DOES PAGE EVER WIG OUT!

Page jumps in at 0:16->0:48. He may be silent in the morning but he's BALLISTIC IN THE BATHTUB! He's found his voice that brings soap-on-a-rope to utter shame, disgrace and embarassment. "Down with dicking around!" Page advocates by immediately going into a straight derivative of Rhapsody In Blue...Page is all for deranged derivative until'...

Lyrics Segment: 0:48 Trey sounds pretty glad to be singing about Martinis and Hot Tubs...

Page Fill 1: 1:18 -> 1:35 with some hyper-ritalin.kid-ADD-through.the looking.glass takes on Rhapsody In Blue. Okay, okay, this is no longer "through the looking glass," - this is through the chillum glass, kids. And our little "derangment derivative" of Rhapsody In Blue has become a pure derailment of it...and I like it.

Fill 2: 2:05 -> 2:21 If the word SPASTIC ever held any musical value, this would be it! Page is it! Page IS spastic! (R.I.B.ing)

Warm it up Page - he's about to. Warm it up Page - cause that's what he was born to do FAUCET: 2:37 Trey plays this lick staccato, as is the norm in recent times...botched so minimally that while it isn't a studio take, it goes so smoothly it doesn't matter...

SINGING W/THE FAUCET: 3:18 And like the 4/92 versions, Trey is spicing up the scat singing, adding notes in here and there...around 3:40 I swear Trey is saying something, but then again, W-TheFuck-ATSIYEM

WATER FROM THE FAUCET: 4:29 immediately staying put in the Classic Faucet Lick Region before Trey takes a dive to the lower regions of the 'doc, and Page continues the Faucet on piano. Fish spices up the rhythm, Trey plays a note-for-note CFL around the 5 min. mark, but with a completely different phrasing and continues to splash up the rhythm of the lick. Rhythm and feel do a complete switcheroo here.

Meanwhile, in the secret corridors of the Cactus, Mike funks out some butt-bottom but ever-so-perfect bass notes. Page chimes in happily on the piano. Fish keeps it solid, changing things up a bit now and then, dropping out a little and coming back in periodically. Around 6:09 the jam drops completely, almost like a '96 YEM jam, with Trey spurting out wonderful licks straight from a water-tap-dance, fire hydrant HOSE! At 6:37 Trey hits upon something not too unlike the Bonanaza theme. Whoa there cowboy!!! Some PORNO-FUNKING at the 7:00 mark, Trey continues tinkering with the faucet and related hot-tub jet streams, as he sends us down the slipstream. PORNO-FUNK!

At 7:19 we all must laugh as Page, the joker, breaks out this THING. (He starts on it around 7:12 but at 7:19 makes it prominent) Is it a moog? Is it a clav? I don't know what they hell it is but it's fuckin schitzo, and perfect! Loud, obnoxious, uncalled-for and damned is this great! Then he switches to some other sci-fi instrument of abuse...At 7:56 it sounds like Trey is teasing something, but not really. I think he just want to be a rock star, although Stretch maybe this is the Crosstown jam you heard? I'm familiar with MMW's cover of it, but only acquaintances with the real thing, so I can't really say for sure...It sounds more like a possible LLama segue than anything, to me... but who cares, by 8:33 Trey is back in the CFL regions, 8:47 Trey is definately hitting something here...sounds VERY SIMILAR to 12/28/95 pre-Real Me jam!!!!! But somethings a little bit different this time....Somethings gonna happen, CAN YOU FEEL IT CAN YOU FEEEEEL IT? OH BOY! HERE IT IS....

By 9:17 it's an out-and-out DROWNED jam. There's no turning back now! This is the Real Thing baby! This is Drowned! They've opened up such a hose, a hose so wide, so golden, so flowing, that they're now DROWNing in it! I'm getting fuckin' soaked here, that's how golden this hose is! No pansy panty hose here boy, no no -- this is 24K! Around 10:56 the DROWNED JAM is still going strong but finally breaks out of what could actually be the song and Trey veers off by means of some awe-inspiring licks, literally flying out from the chords under them....After the 11 minute mark Page picks up the pace and continues to go completely nuts....go ahead Page, we didn't mean to interrupt...don't just stand there - BUST A MOVE!

Page Trey Mike and Fish are mixing so perfectly at 11:56 that they are all four just one, simple, funky, Talking Head...with hair on fire -I swear- eyes wide, nose light...12:21 Page teases something on piano briefly, sounds like it could be the Real Me?...maybe Sea and Sand? Nah...just Drowned offshoots? Fuck - well, it's Who teasing, whatever it is. I know Who...just not What. (Craig, how could you, Who fan, miss this at the show?) There are Real Me references here, but the Drowned wasn't mere referencing - that was a full-throttle drowning, baby!

12:56 Page is on clav, Trey is funking out, Mike is appregiating scales in a funky manor....okay by 13:28 I can see how somebody would call this Real Me teasing...although I wouldn't call it that, but it could easily be a something-jam. Around 13:51 Fish yets out a "woo!" and I'm with you man, I'm with you - "woo!". ("Amen!", right Brian H.?)

This wha-hooing continues and Fish is more and more convinced that he knows James Brown and has picked up a bit of legacy...more on this soul thing later though, for now, we are in a funk ass sheick yer booty jam that has Page funking on piano, Mike going all over the place, Trey chording in a PORNO-FUNK FASHION....then STOP-ON-A-DIME pause at 15:37....at the show, Trey then held up four fingers at which time they stopped four times, bam-bam-bam-bam starting at 16:09 and then Trey held up all 14 of his fingers (I told you he has something extra going on) and which time they stop 14 times starting at 16:54 bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam

and then RIGHT back in the PORNO-FUNK jam as if nothin' happened, Fishman still faintly yelling out "whoo" and "huh" and "good god"'s from behind his kit. Dogs Stole Craig Delucia but nobody stole shit from Fish...but SHH! I'm ruining the surprise.

Around 17:57 Page goes serious sci-fi sweaty-tooth mad.

At 18:08 the jam drops for a Trey narrative that goes a little something like this: "Thanks everybody, welcome to the, uh, first show of the North American Tour. It's good to be back!" Then he chants, with fists pumping- "U S A! U S A!" Nobody continues chanting....Fishman says very faintly, "You can do better than that" but the problem at the time was that nobody understood what Trey was chanting...at least no one in my section (Front section, Fish's side). The other problem is that I'm not sure anyone would *want* to be chanting this...at least not at a Phish show. BUT by the way Trey laughs while chanting, it's pure humor and come to think of it, it would have been rather funny to see 20,000 or so phans chanting "U S A U S A." This is not a political arena here, so Amrit sit back down. The mocking is of arena-rock and not patriotica.

Anyway Mike funks along underneath, as does Page and Fish, Trey chiming in chords in between sentences --

"Yes, we do have a lot of new material for you - I know most of you probably know that already - but we did start off the show tonight with four new songs. Just so you get it right, and you make sure that you know all the names and titles of the songs, I, uh, I'm gonna tell you right now.

The first song was called 'Ghost'. Um, that was that funky thing that went into the long jam.

Ah yes, the second song was called 'Dogs Stole Things' so make sure you get that right. That was the, uh, bluesy number about, um, how your pets, your dogs and your cats, you know, during the day they're sleeping and they're feeling good and everything but at night they come and they try to Steal Your Soul. So you gotta watch out for that. Obviously by the way he is playing they have not stolen Fishman's soul yet!"

{Trey turns to Mike and Fish, not directly into the mic.}- "What was after that? What'd we play? [back into the mic.] What was after that? Ah yes, song number three was called 'Piper' and that was that one that build way up, um - 'The words were the words I sailed upon' - This is the last time I'm going to say this, by the way, so those of you who are travelling from show to show make sure you remember this 'cause I'm not going to say this again. I'm only saying it 'cause it's the first show of the US tour...

And the fourth song new song you, um, which is one of my favorites, is called 'Dirt' and that was the slow one which is about 'I'd like to live beneath the dirt'. And after that you knew the names of the songs.

So we're gonna do one more....and then we're gonna take a break. So don't go away...don't do anything I wouldn't do...or you might end up on the back of the WORM! On the back of the WORM!! Okay, so after this next song we'll see you in about fifteen minutes with alot more music. Thanks."

"Popcorn" things at 20:15 or so from Fish...mocking the unability of the Dogs to Steal Things...Fish has been doing James Brown throughout this little song introduction section...after which there is another second or so of the funk and then - bam! Jam ends at 21:32. Nanosecond pause before a jammed out Character Zero starts up.

WE'RE ON BACK OF THE WORM, BABY!!!!

"BATHTUB GIN" REFRAIN: none, leaving this Gin unfinished in a way.

Rating: N/A. This Gin is more potent than Grain, perhaps more pleasing to me personally than RUPP ARENA's 11/7 and easily one of the Greats. But, as Craig Delucia said on the car ride home, "You can't rate that Gin you know." And he's right - I can't. Trey talked over the ending jam, making it essentially a background jam for his li'l "Here's the deal" stuff, and then ended without any return to the Faucet whatsoever. Instead this is more of a pure funk jam than a Gin jam, which seriously effects the Gin....where does Gin really end? Does it end in SET II when, in the WOLFMAN'S BROTHER, Page plays the Bathtub Gin riff ("the faucet") again? Does this signify a reprise? Not really, it's just a tease. Does it end before Trey even starts talking? Not really...so where does it end? Does it ever end? Or is it just unfinished? It doesn't really matter... Let's just say that if I were to rate this, it'd be somewhere above a 95 proof (A -> A+). And that ain't bad (fwiw, only a precious few Gins have attained a rating of this caliber....) But then again, we're BACK ON THE WORM BABY!

"And after that, you knew the names of the songs...."

Walk with light my friends,

Benjy

This show kills!

Ghost comes out of the gate hot. The new batches of songs are all played very well. And Gin is absolutely fantastic and although it's no 11/23 it is one of the best of the year.

The whole 2nd set is a fun time. Wolfmans is clean and the Magilla bustout comes out of nowhere. Bowie has a nice stretch to it and the Theme>Jam is pure mayhem reminiscent of a Late 80s Early 90s dead jam.

The whole show is very solid and is Jamtastic!

This is a very fun show. back in the U.S. after some very hot playing across the Atlantic. rumors were swirling that they were going to either open up with a complete set of new music or even a whole show of new music. while, this rumor was not true, they did eat up the good first half of the first set with new tunes making their domestic debut.

ghost gets things off to a nice funky start. this one had a nice jam tacked on, letting all the U.S. fans know what time it was. page and trey were really strong on this opening jam. dogs stole things kept that little funk vibe going. piper, while not as explorative as it would be, comes out strong here. this is a nice loose version. eventually, it peters out into a nice version of dirt. after four straight new tunes, ginseng bops the crowd back into familiar territory. then comes a very nice, well-jammed gin. this one is a rocker, with some drowned teases tossed around here and there. also, trey cranks up a pretty funy usa chant during this one. zero ends the set in standard fashion.

while not a new song, wolfman's certainly had become something quite a bit more since their european touring. this gives the u.s. fans their first taste of the reworked funky wolfman's. after going through some bathtub teases and some other funkier realms, they find themselves in a pretty fun magilla. they eventually get moving into bowie. page has some very well defined bird land teases in the intro. once this bowie gets cranked up, they explore its spacier realms very nicely. while many people think of 97 as a very funky year, phish was also pulling off some very nice exploratory space jams in 97. they boys really loosened up on this one, with trey really leading the jam before moving back around into the bowie coda. after a very nice jamming opening sequence, the boys mellow out with velvet sea. theme from the bottom really picks things up. leroi moore comes out for the theme jam and funky bitch, and this gets everyone going on a "multi instrument jam." leroi gets rolling on two saxes, page playing with hands/feet, trey on 2 guitars, etc. i'm sure this was entertaining but it does not really carry over to tape/disc really well. the slave to the close the set sure does though. nice rollicking loving cup closes this one down.

what a summer u.s. opener. there are some nice domestic debuts, some odd moments, and some damn good playing.

highlights:

set 1:
ghost, gin

set 2:
wolf>magilla>bowie, theme, bitch, slave

This is a solid start to the Summer '97 tour. Most importantly it has the fun factor that, while constantly present in the shows from the earlier years, was sometimes missing as the band matured. Look especially at the Europe 97 tours, the last week of the winter tour not withstanding. However, this show, while never getting into the "bliss" or out-there type 2 jamming that 5 star shows deliver in spades, is a consistently rewarding listening experience.

Set 1: The Ghost, while not nearly as impressive as what was to come, is still a fantastic way to start a tour, not to mention ballsy! However the Gin is the highlight of both the set and the show. While it's not an all-time great, as mentioned earlier, it's just plain-fun. It hits the major Type 1 highlights, dives into some Type 2 porno-funk fun, and then features a great Trey speech as well. I don't even know if it's worth downloading as an all-time keeper, but in the context of the show it brings a smile.

Set 2: Magilla is always fun to hear, especially for Phans like myself that are more jazz-oriented. Bowie is standard great but not must-hear. Theme has Leroi Moore from DMB and devolves into a noise-jam, while Leroi jams out more traditionally in Funky Bitch. Both are fun but not must-hear. Slave like Bowie, is standard great but not must-hear.

Rating: 4/5

I remember talking to a girl before the show that just came back from the European Tour. She said: "Did you go to Europe?" I replied: "Europe? No way in hell could I afford that!" (I was 20 at the time). She said the tour was hot and the U.S. was in store for good summer run. After seeing 7 shows on this Summer Tour, I would have to agree.

We didn't get in that night, but I remember hearing the new songs outside and thinking we were missing a special moment. When we heard Trey's voice explaining the new songs and the excitement to be back we knew this show was going to be a good opener.

We did well in the lot that day which was pretty nice during daylight hours. Once night came along it got bad. There was a fight and some tear gas was released. We hit the road early for Walnut Creek. This was one of the first times I noticed the lot culture changing.

My second show. Rain followed by a huge rainbow just before the boys came out. It was cool. Good music too. 1st set Gin plus the 2nd set...and all the multiple instrument hijinx were fun.

Hot off the heels of a European summer tour that arguably defined the trajectory of the band forever, Phish returns stateside for three consecutive nights with enough gusto to each merit an official Live Phish release. Immediately the band introduces the Yanks to four new tunes: Ghost, Dogs Stole Things, Piper, and Dirt. As with other debuts (I know not technically a debut, but new to many of the fans in attendance) of songs that are now staples, it is crazy to miss the roar of the crowd upon recognizing the first notes of Ghost. Beyond the novelty of this show as marking several firsts, Bathtub Gin seems to flick a switch that turns the band on for some incredible work throughout the remainder of the night (and the nights to come). A lot of highlights here

Setlist Thoughts
- a long Ghost without too much exploration, but plenty of funky sauce from Page's clavs, Mike's bass, and Trey's octave-pedaled guitar. Ebbs and flows in Mike/Fish energy, some movement between keyboards/synths from Page, and plenty of effects toggling from Trey keep this long, straightforward jam engaging. Trey hits that harmonizing effect and brings in some riffing that alternates between something reminiscent of the Route 1 theme from Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (something that shows up again in subsequent shows) and some more dissonant tri-tone play supported by Page and Mike.
- Piper starts with some unfamiliar strumming and is then kept on a tight leash here without as much of the springboard energy into Type II territory that we now associate with this tune. A tame introduction to what will soon become a fan-favorite jam vehicle
- Page makes it known right off the bat that this Gin is gonna be special. Fun "drunk" playing to start the jam with plenty of rhythmic and melodic deviations and some fun percussive capitalization from Fishman. The jam quickly picks up pace and evolves into a Drowned-tease jam before settling into upbeat Suzy-like funk. Page gives us some tasty piano riffs, the band syncs up for some super fun stops, and Fishman brings out his inner James Brown American pride.
- Blazing hot Character Zero to close out Set I. Trey wields the wah pedal with no reservation
- Wolfman's Brother is fairly standard until the energy slowly descends and we pick out familiar noodling that takes the shape of...Magilla! The whole band kills this rarity .
- Oh, poor David Bowie. Too often does this song take off into distant Type II jamspace, and as a result gems like this get overlooked in the jamcharts. With Radar Love and Birdland Teases and Trey's ambient background swirling, this 4-minute intro is especially ominous. Infallible footwork through the composed section is followed up with one of my favorite Bowie jams ever. Trey's tone starts out with some heavily reverberated tin-canniness to it, as if something is lurking out there just beyond the reaches of your vision. But it's there, you know it is. And after several minutes of careful, quiet soloing, when Trey deploys the whammy pedal, you know it's arrived. The last 4 minutes of this jam are perfect anarchy.
- Wading rounds out 5 songs to get some pretty great US debuts this show. Great control over the tempo while bringing the energy and emotion
- Probably my favorite Theme from the Bottom ever, this jam descends from it's chaotic jam section into a lovely funk jam, deviating from the familiar formula for peaked soloing taken by other coveted versions such as 12/7/97. In a jam band crossover event, LeRoi Moore steps in to add some juicy sax playing over this jam before the whole band becomes harmonically unhinged over Fishman's playing. A lot of fun interplay between Page, Try, and LeRoi.
- Super fun to hear a sax on Funky Bitch.
- Fairly standard, but beautiful Slave to close the second set before a well-played singalong Loving Cup encore.

Although the tapes I have don't give the audio it's best, Gin is one to be remembered. Page is on fire. Certainly a show to have in the books.

Hello America, we learned some stuff in Europe. What an opening statement to one of the most epic runs in Phish history. Check out the whole show, but definitely the Theme jam! Highlights:

1) Ghost: Can you imagine hearing this for the first time and being like, "what is this neat little new song"? Sure, the Irish had already heard, but I'm willing to bet tapes didn't cross the pond that quickly back in the day. Anyways, might as well debut '97 Phish proper with some funk! The funk party eventually morphs into the zany dualism of toon town smiley sun to killer evil sun from mario bros. 3. Mike's bouncing bassline and Fishman's snappy drumming keeps us happy while Trey's cat gurgle guitar tone drives the dissonant dualism. Page can't decide how to keep everyone happy and opts to sprinkle chaotic baby grand cheeriness before settling into electric plunko mode. The balance of funk and adventure is chef's kiss. Great energy to cue up a well-placed and played Dogs Stole Things

2) Piper: The frenetic buildup on this version is notable

3) Bathtub Gin: I feel like a hero has ascended and we are watching the sunset on a forever good day. Hosey feel good vibes, pure electric energy. Page is giddy, Mike is assured bop, Fishman is kinetic, Trey is riffing like a man clawing his way through the jungle vines to that golden sunset vista over the waterfall on bliss island. Then, as the sun sets on this hosey bliss, the James Brown funk sauce is poured on the jam to close out. Slick finish to one hell of an opening statement for Summer '97 USA

4) Wolfman's -> Magilla: The Wolfman's jam is a slinky, sneaky little funk romp, with Mike and Fishman creating spacious rhythms for Trey's deep slinky ton. The jam lasts just long enough to make the THRILLING sneaky, slink transition to Magilla a SunnyD Delight! The Magilla is playful and spry, played with the cohesion of a band that is ready to double down on their first set statement.

5) David Bowie: I love when the band plays around with the hi-hat intro to Bowie. Mike has Nightmare on Elm Street vibes while Trey is adding great atmospherics as usual before riffing on an extended Birdland tease that grows more sinister with each repetition. The rest of the Bowie is pretty standard, but solidly executed. Slow cooker tension building with auto-fire releases.

6) Theme: Funk peppereed with some sweet sax-o-ma-phone?? Damn yes. LeRoi meshes with the band so well on this jam, kudos. The best part is, this jam gets way out there! Mike and Page are the trailblazers, developing a wall of sound din that leaves the funk behind and brings the venue to the the nether regions of outerspace. Really fun and adventurous time

SET 1: Ghost: Awesome, intense version. Unlike many from Europe, this one is laser focused. You can tell the band was very intent on showing off for the US contingent, they were not messing around. Tons of shredding and intentional playing here. All timer version to open the show that opened the tour. Think they meant business??? Over the last two and a half decades I have often wondered what seasoned fans that had not heard any of the tapes from the two 97 European tours that attended this show - what was their reaction? Because the band in many ways reinvented themselves. >

Dogs Stole Things: Standard. >

Piper: Standard.

Dirt: Standard.

Ginseng Sullivan: Standard. >

Bathtub Gin: The 2 and a half minutes of Drowned type jamming is exquisite! Killer all time jam. Trey introducing the new songs while everyone continues to play is great and the banter is funny. >

Character Zero: Ripped up the front and down the back.

SET 2: Wolfman's Brother: The funk is strong here as the US contingent of the fan base gets their first funky version. Very strong jam and likely a bit underrated. ->

Magilla: Killer segue out of Wolfman’s. Trey and Page take turns taking solos. Awesome version. >

David Bowie: Smoking hot Bowie. Why this isn’t jam charted is beyond me. This one is a must hear version. They keep it interesting throughout it’s 18 or so minutes. I love this version and would highly recommend it. The Birdland stuff in the intro is so, so choice. Trey gives the David part of the David Bowie a couple of different names in the intro.

Wading in the Velvet Sea: Beautiful.

Theme From the Bottom: Standard, until… ->

Jam: Chaos, just pure chaos. Doesn’t translate to tape. >

Funky Bitch: Fun with LeRoi.

Slave to the Traffic Light: Brilliant version, an all timer. Strong, strong climax.

ENCORE: Loving Cup – Rip roaring closer.

Replay Value: Bathtub Gin, Magilla, David Bowie, Slave to the Traffic Light

Absolutely killer show, huge, huge highlights. Many tunes that did not make my replay value list were played exceptionally well too. I think the current Phish.net rating of 4.571/5 (359 ratings) is right on the money.

DMB and SIMPLE needing saxaphone i get the irony of not playing simple on this night but the better show between this and 1998 sorry to say is 1998 i know this one got the higher rating slightly and both are epic Phish shows but i have now been to 3 DMB shows sorry to say Leroi already died and Boyd the pedophile gay dude was already taken out two of their best members but my best and favorite drummer is NOT Fishman sorry Fish but the best Drummer on earth dead or living is Carter Beauford always will be but you are a close 3rd or 4th for me and in the the best band ever so you are 1/4th of the best thing ever and Trey named it after you so forget what I say listen to what Anastasio says I guess what do i know i am just a stupid fan . . .but I am asking for an official release of 1998 Virginia Beach because that was the show that changed my life that one and Portland when they came home from Europe I love 1998-1999 my favorite Phish years 2012 13 15 17 are also epic and that means they still have gas in the tank and then 2021 was amazing also but because of being cooped up due to Covid but 2022 was lackluster and disappointing i must say i can only hope 2023 will be better than 2022 and i went to the best show on that tour and am still saying that maybe i am just the realist ok pessimist at times Blossom was amazing but the tour was not