This show was a very important one in my time seeing Phish. I had begun to feel quite disconnected from the band by fall '97. The increased reliance on groove-based jams and Trey's insistence on overusing his wah-wah pedal combined to leave a sour taste in my mouth. I'd nearly given up on the band during the Hartford and first Worcester shows (I even skipped Saturday's Centrum show to see Moon Boot Lover in Boston), but I thoroughly enjoyed the 11-30 show with the crazy-ass metal jam early on. So my hopes were up for these two Albany shows. This night, the 12th, was my 27th birthday, and I was excited to celebrate. The opening run of songs was outstanding and featured, as usual, superb light work. The second set, though, is pure magic. There is an intensity to the jamming that was palpable that night, especially in what is to this day my favorite Piper. Instead of concluding this version with the typical ending, they just let the jam go and go and go into a superb Swept Away>Steep. Prince Caspian, for all its simplicity, has always been a favorite of mine, so that felt a bit like a birthday gift. And it did nothing to diminish the intensity they'd begun. A ridiculously cool encore was a great cap on a terrific birthday celebration.

This is one of the shows that made me think of phish in a whole new way.
as a huge Pink Floyd fan I tend to like my music a bit darker. Do you like that kind of stuff? then this might be the show for you.

First set- funky bitch is a top version must listen. Good choice for a opener, until they step back into the smoke and let it all go,2001,now it was a great opener! This is when I knew we were in it deep, and this 2001 is fantastic 97 all the way. 97 was a good year for this jam, if you like funk then camel walk is for you. A great combo.Taste!yea i like this placement. a couple of cool down songs make up most of the rest of the set , it is a first set after all,But they did give us one more big jam, Tweezer this was a an unusual version, in a good way, with some great funk and echoes. the sound was amazing you could catch the effect bouncing from all directions. just the way i like it.

so on to the Darkness

The second set is all must listen 97. I SAW IT AGAIN IS THE SHIT.This goes to new places, and is way longer then normal . The piper is one of the best of all time. It was mixed with a llama jam/ birds of a feather jam all the way through. Llama Llama Llama! I kept saying its going into llama. wow!
then things get even more dark with Swept away> steep, I love this song combo. onto the gem of this show. Prince Caspian>llama jam>Prince Caspian. I kept thinking i am going to get my first Llama its going to happen yes, no , well Dont let the set list fool you, it is a Llama jam! Man this will change your opinion of Prince Caspian.Is it just me or was Fishmen going into Rocco Williams before trey changes the jam? what a show! At this point your mind should be mush, so they hit you with a Izabella. nice. and a Tweezer Reprise. OH SHIT
oh yea then a Guyute> antelope enc.
Fuck, what the hell just happened,
that is what most people were saying stumbling out of the place into -10 below weather. The next night blew the place up all over again. Add this show to 12-11-97 and 12-13-97 and you have a perfect end to the 97 east coast run. On to new years and a finish to a major year for this band.

I think this was one of those shows that lost the 91-95 phans that liked upbeat happy phish. but not me, i love it in the Dark.

Set 1: Funky Bitch -> 2001Also Sprach Zarathustra > Camel Walk, Taste > Bouncin'Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer > Train Song > Character Zero

Set 2: Saw It Again[1] -> Piper[2] > Swept Away > Steep > CaspianPrince Caspian > Jam[3] -> Izabella, TweepriseTweezer Reprise

This show is easily in my top 5 of the 97 fall tour. I wasn't sure what to excpect after a solid show in Rochester that was not like any other show from fall 97. Would they get right back to the funk after a night off? Affirmative!

They start thigs off with is with out a doubt the funkiest funcky bitch ever! Next up is a long, slinky 2001 that refuses to allow you to stop shaking your money maker. Good stuff. As 2001 comes to an end Trey brings out Camel Walk much to the delight of the crowd. I caught the Darien Camel and must say the Albany version did a little more for me. Mushrooms? Problably. The rest of the set is good but nothing like the opening 3 vollies.

Set 2 is simply incredible. Not a dull moment here folks. Each song is given a full workout especially the Piper and Caspian. Monsters I tell you. Everybody rags on Caspain but I personally love it (most of the time). The jam tacked on at the end makes this my favorite of all time. Double encore done deal.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a listen. If your short on time go straight to the second set. You won't be dissappointed!

The first set actually has some real treats, including an opening Funky Bitch -> 2001 one-two punch that gets the show off to a good start (especially the Bitch, which lives up to its name). The rest of the set can't really live up to that start, although the Tweezer has a laid-back funk jam that slows down and opens up at the end for some really nice major chord jamming (to differentiate it from all the other Tweezer laid-back funk jams, I suppose).

The second set has what looks like a really pedestrian setlist, but rises above that handicap in fine Fall '97 fashion. Saw It Again (much like Carini tends to) rumbles and snarls and then morphs into a slower jam that lets Trey abuse his guitar during the solo. The jam then cools out, almost ambient style, before Piper rises out of the ashes. And this Piper is a upper percentile version, as the Piper jam gets fast and furious (you can hear Mike's bass, somewhat muddy in the AUD version, working double time), then starts peeling off layers and goes double time for a hot minute, then shifts back into hard rocking mode, *then* cools down and lets Page drive the car, THEN rips back into another ferocious jam before finally relaxing and heading into Swept Away. There's a lot going on in this Piper, and it should be heard to be believed; it's a fine companion to the beloved 7/6/98 version. Swept Away/Steep are a nice breather for both band and audience...and then they go into Prince Caspian.

Caspian is usually not my first choice for second set jam vehicle, but (like 9/1/12) it actually works out, as Caspian's usual jam leads into a gigantic big-rock-arena freakout and a Llama-style rockfest, but with more facets than Llama tends to have; much like the previous Piper jam, the group modulates the jam's energy between Llama-esque machine gun fire and rein-back-the-stallions slow burning, before a chilled out finale that mixes guitar noise and moody space. And from this space comes a segue directly into Izabella; no, it's not 12/6's segue (what is???), but it'll do in a pinch and Izabella is as awesome as it always is (plus Trey remembers more lyrics!). And the encore brings some heat, too, especially a quicksilver Antelope that maps no new terrain but closes out the show in fine fashion. This may not be in the upper echelon of Fall '97 sets, but it has a big must-hear jam, which alone makes it worth a download.

Show #2: I was only 16, but I think at this point I knew I was hooked. This show clearly gets overshadowed by an incredible Fall '97, including the shows the night before and after, but this one is by no means a sleeper. The 2nd set just has an incredible arc, variety and flow. Not my ideal setlist but nearly perfect execution. The contrast between high intensity psychedelic madness of Saw It Again, Piper and Caspian and the serene calming Swept Away > Steep in between is just perfect. Then to finish things off with balls to the wall rocking Izabella > Tweeprise. There are gems scattered throughout the rest of the show--Funky Bitch > 2001 bonkers opener, typical excellent '97 Taste, dark and story Tweezer and a monster 2 song encore--but it's the entire 2nd set that really stands out.

I was not at this show, nor have I ever heard it, but I'd love to give a shout-out to the severely-underrated J Willis Pratt and We're Bionic who opened this show.
Not only is Willis a good buddy of mine, to this day, from my glorious Goddard College years, but I had the distinct honor of "filling in" for Jon Fishman on drums for two We're Bionic shows. One was in the Design Center at Goddard. I was terrified, rightfully, that people would not accept me as a worthy substitute, but Willlis and the guys assured me. I did the best I could, and the people really seemed to enjoy it.
Willis has been working on his music for a long time, has poured his heart and soul into it, and is still working on it to this day. He deserves far more attention.

What a sick show... once they started playing they didn't stop!!!
super fun show! glad to be there!

Birthday show for me as well, one of the better encores ever, and they continued to lay the funk the next night, we had seats behind the stage awesome perspective, I got shitfaced though, 22nd B-day, hangover the next day was brutal, next show cured that

PHISH, FRIDAY 12/12/1997
PEPSI ARENA
Albany, NY

The delete monster reared its ugly on this one after I had finished a descriptive review. Oops! This one will be sparsely described unfortunately.

SET 1:

Funky Bitch: Great opener gets the energy flowing. No standard ending to this one – instead, Trey puts loops into play and this one segues into 2001 ->

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Awesome placement! Clear intent has been delivered from the band to the crowd that they mean business tonight! In between the first climax and the second climax – it is very spacy, sparse and ambient let by Mike thumping away. Would recommend this version, dance party USA with nice length. Segue into Camel Walk. >

Camel Walk: Another funky tune! Very nice.

Taste: Another notable version but this one is known more for Page’s section than Trey. Would recommend. 1997 was THE year for this tune! Would recommend. >

Bouncing Around the Room: Standard.

Tweezer: Out of the composed section this one is slow, funky and deliberate. It marches along in this vein until the mid-11 mark when Trey shifts this into a hard rock overdrive. By the late 12’s they dissolve this into an ambient section with loops and then three minutes later segue it into Train Song. Really good stuff here, would recommend. Not as good as Hampton, Denver, Auburn Hills, or Hartford but there is a place for this one in the replay value halls of fall 97 >

Train Song: Standard. >

Character Zero: Sir Wanks A Lot.

SET 2:

Saw It Again[1] - The one an only jammed out version ever which I always found so odd. This tune has potential to be a jam vehicle, but this is the only time they took it out there. This one rocks out hard for 5 or 6 minutes and then has an ambient section and then segues neatly into Piper. Would recommend. ->

Piper: The best Piper of the tour ever at this point. Alternates between hard rock and roll and quieter moments. It goes back and forth like that throughout its length 19 and a half minutes. Great stuff. Would recommend. >

Swept Away > Steep: Standard. >

Prince Caspian: Trey seriously puts on a clinic in the jam section. He truly rips this one. >

Jam Very cool quirky jam, and then a hard driving rocking jam and then into beautiful ambient space – this section is gorgeous - and then segues neatly into Izabella. Would recommend. ->

Izabella: Another rocking version of Izabella >

Tweezer Reprise: Standard.

ENCORE:

Guyute: Standard.

Run Like an Antelope: Fairly straightforward but it does get the blitzkrieg treatment. Long encore selections! They just didn’t want to get off the stage.

Summary: Really cool and unique show. Atypical for this tour. Less funk and more ambience than was the norm. Very unique setlist. They were saving the tour closer to throw down a greatest hits type of show. I agree with the current rating on .net of 4.286/5 (203 ratings).

Replay Value: Taste, Tweezer, Saw It Again, Piper, Prince Caspian, Jam

[1] Extended jam.

Trey teased Super Bad in 2001. Saw It Again contained an extended jam. Antelope contained a Buried Alive tease from Trey. The opening act was J. Willis Pratt & We're Bionic.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.286/5 (203 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Taste, Tweezer, Saw It Again, Piper, Prince Caspian, Jam
TEASES
Buried Alive tease in Run Like an Antelope, Super Bad tease in Also Sprach Zarathustra

PHISH, FRIDAY 12/12/1997
PEPSI ARENA
Albany, NY
SET 1: Funky Bitch -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Camel Walk, Taste > Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer > Train Song > Character Zero

SET 2: Saw It Again[1] -> Piper > Swept Away > Steep > Prince Caspian > Jam -> Izabella > Tweezer Reprise

ENCORE: Guyute, Run Like an Antelope

[1] Extended jam.

Trey teased Super Bad in 2001. Saw It Again contained an extended jam. Antelope contained a Buried Alive tease from Trey. The opening act was J. Willis Pratt & We're Bionic.
SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.279/5 (201 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Taste, Tweezer, Saw It Again, Piper, Prince Caspian, Jam
TEASES
Buried Alive tease in Run Like an Antelope, Super Bad tease in Also Sprach Zarathustra

Set One Notes:
Funky Bitch gets things off to a funky-bluesy start, Page taking control on the organ before the jam fades into a floating groove, leading into 2001. This is a great placement for the 2001, here at the almost-hometown dance party, with Mike getting that super-flanged bass bumping going, especially after the first “chorus”. We get slithering synths, wah-chucked Superbad Trey, a ’97 2001 if I ever heard one. “This set has won me over already!” a friend comments. Camel Walk is the next call, opening up a chill groove with clav and wah’d-out lead guitar action in this loose rendition, staying on the rails but definitely getting the Fall ’97 treatment. Taste, next, gets that (in my eyes) perfect mid-first set placement, bringing the energy and peaky-ness through Page and Trey’s features. Bouncing settles things down a bit before Tweezer drops. First set Tweezers are always a great time, and this one holds to that rule. This one starts out a bit sparse, spacious, just bumping as classic cowfunk. Soon, Trey gets his wah-spotlight moment, leading into some low-geared, torquey Tweezah action. Trey takes control to build this one up to a peak, before fading into calm ambiance. Train Song follows, playing its role as the perfect calm interlude well, as always. Character Zero, closing the set, is another strong ’97 version, a total Hendrixian rave-up engulfed in wah-vortex shred.

Set Two Notes:
Saw It Again kicks things off as a novel, rare choice for second set opener. As the jam space develops, looming wah growls hover over churning, rolling, crashing rhythms. Soon, the music breaks free from the SIA structure, Fish pounding away. The space opens into a calm molten musical flow, liquid heat rolling down the mountainside, before lightness emerges, and the jam floats up into atmospheric melody-making, a real Type-II version. Piper, next, is very patient in its entry, a classic slow-builder. Soon, though, the band takes the song beyond its standard frame into some wah’d-out shred-jamming, soon coming to settle in a calm siren-space for a bit. Trey gets plucky with chord hits as Mike plays a little lead, before everything starts to build back into a bit of a musical tangle. As the energy builds, the Hendrixian raging emerges, giving way to some high-tempo bump-groove cowfunk. The peak troughs-out as clav-floating chord space, giving Swept Away>Steep a chance to emerge. Steep is interesting here, with some lilting delay loop effects. Caspian next, and man, Trey loves his Caspians. The Type-I section here is liquid fire soloing, then the big rock ending hits. As it turns out, though, this is no ending at all. Instead, the jamming keeps rolling and raging, lulling, then raging more, then lulling, then raging more… tension and release, turning the valve up and down… before dissolving into a puddle. A standout Caspian in a year of great Caspians. Izabella then gets laid down one more time for this tour, a tour whose sound seemed heavily inspired by the original composer, and this version is as energetic and triumphant as it should be. At this point, I definitely thought that the set was over, until Tweezerprise (Tweezreprise? Still don’t know…) hits, reminding me of the fact that they laid down that great cowfunk-reeking version of its parent song in the first set. Coming out for the encore, Guyute leads the way. That dissonant, heavy middle section is especially anxiety-inducing here, very intense, forming a highlight in a great, solid version of the song. Antelope sends everyone out with one more chance to get down. Mike really gets grooving as the jam heats up, leading to many rolling peaks, light/dark, tense/loose action, for sure, with that distinctly liquid ’97 flavor.

Best of the tour? No way. Five star, highly entertaining show, worthy of all the Fall '97 associations and accolades? 100%. I really loved it. Give it a listen, if you haven’t. You scrolled all the way down here reading reviews of it, anyway. Happy travels.

Not my favorite show of the tour but it's got some nice bits and surprises for sure!

The segue into 2001 (in a bizarre slot) is perfect and shows meaning to the opening duo of songs. Tweezer (also in a weird spot) has a nice little jam to it. It's basically the same cowfunk jam you get all year out of Tweezer but still nice to listen to.

2nd set has a surprising Saw it again opener with a nice stretch to it. Piper has a surprisingly mellow jam, and I'm assuming one of the first real jams out of it which is very significant considering the damage it will do in the future. Caspian has a nice little jam after that is very bipolar. At first it sounds similar to the 11/23 Gin but then it cools down, only to go back to a thrashing conclusion.

The only other highlight from this is the Antelope to close out the show. It is great on every possible level that Antelope can be. Great execution, nice little stretch, fantastic conclusion. That's how it should be played always!

3 Stars

the one and only phish show i ever got shut out of, but despite the phrigid cold temperatures i managed to have phun and help a phew phriends phrom getting busted by under-covers. The police horse dephinitely kicked my phriend Dogger in the head that night and he managed to sneak into the venue and run down to the phloor phor a song or two...wasn't a total Waste; however, it made the next night that much more special when i got in!