This week at Phish.Net, we're going to be counting down the twenty best shows of 1997, as decided by members of the Phish.Net team. If you're just tuning in, you may want to start with the Honorable Mentions and Shows 20-16 linked below. Now, without further ado, Shows 15-11 after the jump... [SP]

Previously:
Honorable Mentions
Shows 20-16

15. 8/10/97 Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN (Dan Mielcarz)

This show opens with a short but strong “Bathtub Gin” that veers into Type II territory at the end of the jam. “Down With Disease” is a pretty straightforward version leading into a very Set I sequence of “Dirt,” “CTB” and “Billy Breathes.” The “Split Open and Melt” that follows however, is phenomenal. An epic version, it contains a full-on “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” jam and a re-emergence of the “SOAM” riff that kicks all kinds of ass. “Bye Bye Foot” is a pleasant novelty in this reviewer’s opinion, and “Ginseng Sullivan” one of my preferred bluegrass tunes (YMMV quite a bit on those two). But everyone can agree that the “Harry Hood” to end the set was a spectacularly beautiful version that capped off a pretty great Set I.

Set II starts off with what I believe to be the best “Cities” ever. An amazing journey into type II land, this “Cities” covers a lot of ground. Funk, rock, beautiful melodic playing, and a great segue into “Good Times, Bad Times.” A spectacular jam that secures this show’s spot in the top 20. Okay, so maybe the “Rotation Jam” into “Rock A William” isn’t exactly the strongest musical moment of 97, but give it some points for novelty (or don’t, which would put you in concert with most of our panel). The set-closing “David Bowie” is polarizing - some people (myself included) love the extended intro in which the band is screwing around with sound effects and pedals, faking out the audience, taking a quick journey into space, and seemingly having a great time, but other listeners take a dimmer view. If nothing else, Fishman should earn points for his ability to keep a beat on the hi-hat for as long as he does. “David Bowie” proper begins about 8 minutes in, and provides an explosive finish for one of the most interesting front-to-back sets of 1997.

14. 12/3/97 CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (Eric Wyman)

For any show to be considered great, in my opinion, the first set counts. Fall of 1997 is blessed with amazing first sets and this show is no exception. Any time you have three quality jams before the lights come back up, know you are in a special place. 12/3 puts forth the trifecta of “Drowned,” with another amazing funk journey, “Gumbo” > “2001,” a space-y transitional jam that slows the tempo of the set only to crash back in with the party anthem, and a set closing “You Enjoy Myself.” While this version probably sits last amongst the versions from previous shows in the tour, the string of YEM’s over this stretch are top notch.

12/3/97 Set II -- Philadelphia, PA

Having said that, there’s still that second set. 1997 is unique in that there are several occasions where the first set is analytically better and this show may just be one of those instances. And while the first set contains the memorable jams, the second is consistent. The set opening “David Bowie,” begins with the extended intro, rich with teases and anticipation, and blossoms into a very strong Type-II jam. Following the ensuing “Possum,” Trey kicks the band into an impromptu funk jam, which is an indicator of how much he enjoyed playing these riffs. Compositionally, it is no different than the other ‘jam(s)’ of the era and would have been significantly more impressive had it morphed directly from the “Possum,” but none of that can take away from the groove. Both the “Prince Caspian” and “Harry Hood” provide wonderful moments of bliss and the “Crossroads” encore signals a raucous conclusion to the evening. Certainly a great show, but lacks the brilliant fireworks found on other nights.

13. 8/17/97 Loring Commerce Centre, Limestone, ME (Jeremy D. Goodwin)

This legendary show is all about the second set, but that’s quite enough to land it solidly in the mid-table of the year’s best 20 shows. It’s essentially a non-stop love-a-thon between band and audience, and (arguably?) the moment when that relationship was first stated so explicitly from onstage. But that moment comes after an absolutely monster “Down With Disease” (a perfectly good call for best version of the year, and certainly one of the top three) and a spine-tingling “Bathtub Gin” (aka “the Went Gin”) with an intensely driving peak that holds a unique place among the gallery of classic upbeat Phish jams. The second version of “Also Sprach Zaranthustra” (following 8/13) to get taken for a ride at length provides a delirious dance sequence near the middle of the set, the ambient “Art Jam” offers an advance peak of the “Ring of Fire” set at Lemonwheel the next year, an epically poetic “Harry Hood” closes.

"Bathtub Gin" -- 8/17/97 Limestone, ME

Apparently spent, the band came out for the third set firing blanks (after a red-herring breakout of the ultra-rare "Buffalo Bill" to open the set), and the first set is really notable only for one of the U.S. tour’s only two “Tweezer”s and a delightful opener of “The Wedge.” But that second set is a candidate for greatest non-stop musical sequence of the year, and has remained an unforgettable listen. On its own, it provides enough highlights to outclass many of the year’s very good and excellent shows.

12. 12/2/97 CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (Brian Levine)

The virtual unanimity of love bestowed upon Phish’s 1997 fall tour makes it awfully difficult to argue that any of its 21 shows is underrated. At the very least, it would take somebody profoundly ignorant to make that claim of the 11th-ranked show (as of press time) in its equally-lauded year, right? If so—well, then consider me that ignoramus. Both nights of the ’97 Spectrum stand have been overshadowed by numerous other shows: Denver, Hampton, Winston-Salem, Auburn Hills, and Dayton to name a few. In the fourteen From the Archives shows, ten Live Bait volumes, and countless Live Phish releases since that tour, not even a single second of either Philly show has been included.

Unbeknownst at the time to the band or its fan base, night one at the Spectrum marked Phish’s 14th anniversary. An extremely enjoyable set one—featuring the first “Buried Alive” opener in over a year, the lone “DWD” -> “Makisupa” pairing to date, and yet another incendiary ’97 “Ghost” dance party—merely served as the opening act to one of Phish’s finest hours. I could go on babbling for days detailing the virtues of set two’s opening, 65-minute “Mike’s Groove,” but with his Jam Chart entry, @Icculus said it best and most succinctly: !@^#$!#$%^@#$#$!&$#*(^&%#@!$%&@#$!@*&*#$@!!!!!

11. 7/31/97 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA (Dan Purcell)

This mild Thursday night at the Jamband Landfill ranks with the most generous and wall-to-wall outstanding full-show experiences of Phish’s career. Just like 1997 itself did, the show starts with a “Ghost,” creeping low-key urgency that lulls you to sleep and before you know it it’s changing keys on the fly and motoring aggressively to a big middle finger of a peak. The band was in no hurry, but they came for business. The ensuing “Ya Mar” would get insanely surpassed in Albany in December but it still has about 12 fake endings and a weird little Type II excursion before rattling to a standstill like a dying engine. “Limb by Limb” is extended and chaotic and the Italian suit-clad Jon Fishman is playing so good that he won’t let go of the beat at the end, prompting Trey to sing his praises afterward. There is some other outstanding content -- a hot “Maze” and 1997’s only “Glide” -- but the meat gets brought by the “YEM” set closer, which shows up an hour ten into the set. It’s the best “YEM” of the year without reasonable question; for God’s sake, even the dadgum vocal jam is worth hearing in its entirety.

The band was loose enough at the start of set two to do a short full-band tease of “Sweet Home Alabama,” which is hilariously tracked separately on the internet. The real set opener is a sprawling, patient “Runaway Jim” that goes 20-plus without getting boring. The middle of the set contains positive setlist choices like “Vultures” and “McGrupp,” both played very well, like everything at this show. The set-closing orthodox “Mike’s Groove” may just be a A-/B+ and is not in serious competition with Philly or even Raleigh, but for me it kicks the ass of many (great) versions from this (great) year, including Vegas and Alpine and the extremely dozy Hampton opener. They can’t play the “Cinnamon Girl” encore at all, but they’d just re-learned it during the three-minute encore break from a CD they’d sent Brad Sands out to pick up at setbreak.

Photo courtesy of Expressobeans.com

So why doesn’t it rank higher? As you might be able to guess, I personally think it should. I was at the show, so maybe that’s why. Other members of our panel disrespected the “Jim,” arguing it’s merely good not really a top-tier jam; some undervalued the “YEM.” Maybe this is part of our regular tendency to undervalue performers who are very good at everything but maybe not great at any single thing, Like the fact that Ozzie Smith is in the Hall of Fame but Lou Whitaker never got a sniff. Even if this show lacks the height of the Denver “Ghost” or the “Tweezabella,” it’s easily the widest show of the year.

Read more...