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

Date:    Sun, 7 Dec 1997 06:47:33 GMT
From:    Josh Pashman 
Subject: 12/6/97 PALACE

SET I
Golgi, Antelope, Trainsong, Bathtub Gin -> Foam, Sample, Fee, Maze,
Cavern.
approx 80 minutes
SET II
Tweezer > Izabella > Twist Around > Piper > Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer
Reprise
E:
Rocky Top

Ok, so Josh drove us in to the Palace and thankfully we took
exit 83, ahh a nice back way in...no waiting in line, rigth in.  We got
ouit and damn it was cold and nothing doing where we were so we just
headed in after the secutriy patted down and ran a metal detector, i mean,
hey bombs are frequent at phish shows y aknow?
So we get in there and it was cool... had a bit to wait prior to teh show
and just got apretzel and water...hey no bottle, had to pour it in a cup
(such waste), i mean i might throw and kill someone w/ the bottle.. Yes,
Security were ASSHOLES! So i got to my seat, 8th row page side! Nice
seeing you finall Mark, Peter, and  Reilly.
Ok to the show...
GOLGI...
Nice fun opener. Really got me up and spirits into it as last night i was
really s\dissappointed. So the lights were already kicking and then...
ANTELOPE
Ouch, so early. Wow, i was surprised and this was a great song to just get
into. The jam was really funked out and then got normal seguing back and
into Marco, RUNN, RUNN. It was a better than average but nothign amazing.
I think there was some digital delay loop in there somehwere...
TRAINSONG
Nice break and good tune. I really like this mellow peaceful tune to get
you back a bit afte r some tight jams, plus its short so not too long of
peacefulnessss either...
BATHTUB..
I really had been waiting for this one and knew it was coming someetime
this weekend.   Great jam i recall, cannot really recall too well, but
really enjoyed it and then...
FOAM
WOW! My first foam ever and it was sweet. Just a GREAT complex song i
feel. Really tight and just got me really grooving...
SAMPLE
Nice feel actually. It is nothing too special but it fit this set i felt.
It was fine adn there were a few around me who decided it was time to
dance for a change and get out of their seats...
FEE
Well i herad Fishman kick it and i was like MAZE!, but nope, had to deal
w/ this. No need at all, the worst part of a SWEEET show... Again, some
people really wre happy and singing alot, blah blah blah..
MAZE.
Thanks for redeeming yourselves. Great version. really intense and the
last time i herad one was MAINE and DEER CREEK. I feel this mayt have been
better than DEER CREEK. Intense and great.
CAVERN
Trey did not flub, nothign great, but ended a tight and well done set.

Solid set, really strong, only weakpoint i felt wsa the FEE following
Sample, and then maybe Cavern..
I guess 6.5 perhaps...

Setbreak about forty minutes.. no way was i waiting for food, way tool ong
lines.Had time to chat w/ Josh ,reilly, Mark, and Peter at set. Really
solid set overall, really solid and i was totalyl psyched for second set.
SET II
TWEEZER
The shit really hit it now. It started out and stopped for some funked out
jamming,. OUCH!!! Then into TWEEZER that really layed a thick groove and
was great (this coming from a nontweezer fan overall...). It ended up just
rocking and really wailing. Really intense and strong. DAMN!!
I could tell it was gonan be a great fuckign set and more to come..
IZABELLA.
WOW...just went right into it and out of it and this set just was a long
jam all the way thru...Really strong
TWIST AROUND
I had never heard this before and really dug it. It was THICK and FUNKY!
Trey duriing the jam to follow got down, I mean he got DOWN!  He cut out
and all were laying it Down.. Mike, then Fish, then Page on the mino moog.
SWEET. All the while Trey ws dancing around and smiling. i have never seen
him like this before. it was SOOOO muchfun to watch...
PIPER.
Ouch! This song ahs taken off It really is strong and just builds up and
then jams and builds. It really aws reworked for the better since this
summer... GREAT overall. Really dug it..
Out of it wsa just a rocking jam that really build well and Trey was going
nuts. I really dug it. The crowd all the while love it..
SLEEPING MONKEY
HEE HEE HE! I loved it. Just great placement afer a quick but intense,
thick groove of a set. Fish stood up and really gave it too us. Nice jam
out of  it. Trey was lovign life and then
TWEEZ REP
Great ending to a 60-65min set. It was short but WOW!!! Just a long jam
anbd placement was totlaly on. No complaints at all. I thinkin it compares
to the second sets of both nights in Maine. I really loved it. Thick and
just great set...
E: ROCKY TOP
OVerall II/E was about 65 minutes i guess.
The second set was just so thikcn adn amazing. It erally was a solid set
and Trey was having the time of his life. I really have nevere seen him
dancing like this and having such a great time.. The lighting was FAR
beter then CSU. Chris was on. The coolest wsas his cirlcing of lights that
highlighted the whole crowd nad went aorund and around during TWEEZER REP.
GREAt set.
8/10.. I really thought it wsa a VERY STRONG SET. GET IT ON TAPE!!!
Then headed hom and listened to 90 washington Gamehendge as my friend just
picked up a upgraded q. Fun time..
Drive out was no big deal.
OVERALL...
7.5/10
I really feel this may have been one of the top 2 or 3 shows of the 11 i
have seen.  I felt the second set was just so strong...
Not too much to complain about other than security and thehard ass push i
received by a cop during SAMPLE... Floor was packed but luckily iwas by
the aisle and able to groove.
Well, gotta miss DAYTON due to an exam. :-( Tha was my final show of 97
and damn summer is just SOOOOOOO far away.. SPRING TOUR!!! PLEASE!!!!
Peace
 Josh

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

Date:    Mon, 8 Dec 1997 00:53:58 GMT
From:    Jdp677 
Subject: **Cleveland and Auburn Hills Comments**

golgi opener at the palace was standard.  good to hear due to its relative
rarity these days, though.  antelope was fantastic in the song two slot.  i
really dig hearing this tune in a non set closing position.  in fact, i think
some of the better antelopes have occurred as non set closers: 6-11-94,
7-16-94, 11-2-96, 10-24-95,
8-12-96, 12-31-96 . . . . . i enjoyed this antelope, and the early part of the
jam seemed to stray a bit from the usual antelope pattern.  need to hear the
tapes, but my first impression was a good one.  extra points for the cool
placement.  i'm not a huge train song fan, it seemed standard.  the gin was at
least as enjoyable as the first set gin we got in champaign.  again, no wah
wah bullshit, but instead a lot of smooth and groooovy melodious playing from
trey.  a very patient and non-chaotic jam that clearly could have gone on to
even much greater things . . . . however, i can't think of many things greater
than my first foam!!!!!  i've been waiting three years for a foam, and it
segued out of the gin in glorious form.  i was ready to *walk* back to chicago
after getting my first bold as love and first foam in one weekend ;-)  the
sample was nothing special, and it got everyone psyched up for fee.  i'm sure
this will offend some people, but i thought this placement was terrible.  the
maze was nice, but i need to hear the tapes before saying it was anything
truly out of the ordinary i.e. on par with some fall '96 mazes.  trey forgot
most of the lyrics to cavern, and the set was over.  my main problem with this
set was that it seemed to have a 50/50 balance of great jams and short crappy
crowd pleasers.  i thoroughly enjoyed the gin>foam and antelope, but i could
take or leave the rest of the set.  interestingly enough, set two was
***unreal*** . . . . .

can you say "tweezer>isabella>twist around>piper?"  that's exactly the way it
went down last night, kids.  i can't forget sleeping monkey and tweezer
reprise to wash it all down with.  despite the relatively short length of the
set, it was incredible.  the set was all substance and no bullshit.  the
latter part of the tweezer jam was not cohesive at all.  the band did not
sound together, and they certainly were not working on any kind of groove.  it
sounded "muddy" with trey quickly running up and down the scales for several
minutes.  i was getting confused as to where the jam was going.  the segue
into isabella was sweet and silky smooth.  once they made the transition, the
tweezer jam made a lot more sense to me in context.  does anyone who was there
understand what i'm trying to say here?  on its own, the ending minutes of the
tweezer hardly stand out as noteworthy in any way.  however, the jam yielded a
perfect transition into isabella.  despite the fact that i didn't enjoy part
of the tweezer, i was still jamming my ass off b/c it was great to hear the
band *jamming* (even if not very cohesively) rather than playing golgi/
sample/fee/cavern/train song in one set ;-)  they just kept on jamming after
isabella and a oh so funky breakdown melted into twist around.  this was great
to hear again, tight and not too long.  twist melted nicely into piper, which
kept up the fast pace and high quality of the set.  the build was blissful and
the ensuing jam was .  sleeping
monkey was unexpected and a perfect cool down.  tweezer reprise was powerful
and fun fun fun as usual.  trey was dancing around ala chuck berry going nuts
during reprise.  the boys were clearing loving the second set.  they were not
alone ;-)  rocky top encore was standard.  i don't hate the song, but i
thought it was poor placement.  awesome second set, crappy encore . . . . .
that's all for now, thanks for reading

peas,
jonathan

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

Date:    Mon, 8 Dec 1997 22:56:23 GMT
From:    Aaron Elliot Rosenthal 
Subject: ** 12/6 Auburn Hills Review **



Hello everyone, this is DJ Saul T. Nutz, posting from fellow netter Aaron
Rosenthal's account in Ann Arbor MI.  Just caught the 3 midwest shows, & I
am going to refrain from commenting about Cleveland, not because it
wasn't a good show -- it was -- but because it has been COMPLETELY AND
ENTIRELY OVERSHADOWED by the Auburn Hills & Dayton shows.  My rantings and
ravings about Dayton will follow shor

My first GOLGI opener was fun; I've always wanted to see this tune as an
opener for some reason.  ANTELOPE in the second slot was a surprise, & it
raged.  They all rage these days.  The GIN was quite large, and the
jamming was excellent.  I am having a hard time recalling anything
specific, given the monstrosity of the second set.  In fact, I'm going to
skip the rest of the first set, because I feel a pressing need to comment
about the second set.

TWEEEEEEEEEEZER opener is one of the best things that could happen.  This
one started off really slooooowly, just like Hartford, only after Trey
played the opening vamp once or twice, he stopped, & then started tooling
around.  Mike joined in.  This lasted for about 1.5 min, & then Fish
started building really slooooooooowly -- just lijke in Hartford -- until
it exploded into Tweezer.  It was pretty clear from the start that this
version was going to be a monster.  The jam got really hard-rockin' & kind
of spacy, until it segued perfectly into ISA

Isabella was jammed out HARD, & quickly progressed into a wn rocker.  In
fact, my setlist is labelled as Isabelle > Funk Groove.  This Groove was
damn funky.  In fact, this jam was so damn good, that it made me feel
dirty.  From this point on, everything that was played was licentious.  I
felt like I was doing something wrong.

The jam segued into TWIST AROUND, which was much funkier than the other
ones I've heard.  Once again, I felt like I was doing something illegal.

The best PIPER ever came out of Twist.  It was longer than the summer
versons, & apparently was quite similar to the Hampton one, in its
incipient stages.  From the moment it started, it had that "special"
feelig.  The momentum built & built, until I thought I was in heaven.
This Piper was nothing short of glorious.  This is when my marbles started
falling out of my pocket, & began to scatter all over the Palace floor.
When the band was singing the vocal portion for the second time, Fish let
out a yell, & shortly thereafter, the crowd began to realize that shit was
going down.  The jam progressed into something that can only be construed
as a MUTHA FUCKIN THROW DOWN.  Once again, everyth licentious.  I
felt like a Porn Star, it was so damn hot!!!  Trrey started to rage out of
control.  This jam quicly progressed iunto the unknown.  This is when I
copmpletely lost all control of my mind and body: I jumped into the air,
screaming.  I really did not choose to do this.  This jam is so fucking
intense, I thought I was going to have cardiac arrest.  Rosenthal was
concerned that I was going to spontaneously combust.  If anyone reading
this was on the floor, anywhere near 10th row center, & you were annoyed
because you saw some long hair gettin down like no tomorrow, please
forgve me for yelling, it really wasn't my fault.  This jam had no regard
for accepted rules, standards, or moral guidelines.  Be very afraid of
listening to this on tape.

Much like after the Woosta Runaway Jim, I felt taken advantage of.  PHiSH
ignited hidden powers, & nearly caused me to have a heart attack.

On the ride to the Palace, I was talking about how much I love Sleeping
Monkey.  Anyway, the jam out of Piper finally slowed down, & I collapsed
in a heap in my chair.  Then SLEEPING MONKEY started up, & that was the
final nail in the coffin (or so I thought).  I was so happy to hear this.
What perfect placement!  Trey's solo was marvelous.

REPRISE threatened to destroy the Motor City, although I must admit that
it is more enjoyable from further away from the stage, because then I get
a better view of the lights spinning around at the end.  Anyway, during
this Reprise, I was rocking out like Jimmy Page used to.

The Rocky Top encore was forgettable & forgivable.

This second set is truly unbelievable, & is one of the best that I have
ever seen.  To recap:

Tweeeezer > Isabella > Licentious Funk Groove > Twist Around > Piper >
Mutha Fuckin Throw Down, Sleeping Monkey, Tweeprise.

Good Gawd!  In case you're thinking: "Gee this guy must have had a head
full of all sorts of things", let me tell you that I was 100% sober at
this show.  And maybe you're thinking, "He could be exaggerating; I'm sure
he hasn't heard the tapes yet."  Wrong again.  I am currently listening to
the tape right now.  I'm in the midst of the sleeping monkey, & have been
typing as I listen to the set.  GET THIS SET AT ALL COSTS!!!  The fact
that not only did I see this perfect set from 10th row center, but that I
am also listening to an amazing copy from Neumann 190i right now,
definitely qualify me as an asshole.

Sorry for the typos & formatting problems, but this computer is wacky.
Please cc any comments to me at <102665.2104@compuserve.com>.  If that
address doesn't work, send it to <6827742@mcimail.com>.  I'd love to hear
any comments about the show &/or this "review", although I won't be able
to respond for a while, because I am on tour for the haul.

Also, I am desperately seeking 2 Rochester tix, as well as one second
night Albany.  If you can help, I will be willing to pay face, as well as
spin tapes.  Please call Aaron Rosenthal at 313-677-3053.  Call as late as
necessary, although we'll be leaving for Penn State tomorrow morning.  Any
help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Take Good Care...
sauldude AKA Disco Saul



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

Date:    Tue, 9 Dec 1997 16:43:43 GMT
From:    Chris Barnes 
Subject: 12/6/97 auburn hills review

hello all,

Set I: Golgi Apparatus, Run Like an Antelope, Train Song, Bathtub
Gin->Foam, Sample In A Jar, Fee, Maze, Cavern

Set II: Tweezer->Isabella, Twist Around->Piper*->Sleeping Monkey, Tweezer
Reprise

E: Rockytop

where to start?  this was my last show of 1997, which has been a great
year for me personally, and for phish's music, so i was hoping for a hot
show to cap it all off.  i was more than satisfied, with most of my mind
being blown completely out of my head several times.  we drove up from
chicago, which wasn't too bad, and gave us a chance to see some real snow
for the first time this year.  got to the venue at about 6:30, and drank a
couple of beers before going in at 7:00.  i gotta say that i like the
interior of the palace, and i was all ready to hate it, because of its
association with the detroit pistons.  the seats were comfortable, the
sound was good, for a sports arena, and it was surpisingly small.  i was
thinking it would be comparable to the united center in chicago, or the
kiel center in st. louis, both of whch have steep upper decks that are
wayyyyy high and far from the stage.  the palace didn't have any
sound-trapping nose-bleed section, which was refreshing.  so, we had seats
directly in front of the stage, 13 rows back from the floor, which was a
good perspective to see phish from, so i was super-psyched once i had
gotten settled into my seat and all.

golgi - i was glad to hear this one as the opener because it always has a
lot of energy, and the boys usually play it when they're feeling
particularly good, which bodes well for the rest of the show.  i was happy
when this song kicked, and they started up

antelope - this version of antelope was one of the strongest versions that
i've ever heard.  the jam, which comes before trey says all the marco
esquandolis stuff, was out of control.  very spacey with a lot of random
beeps and whistles, and a lot of funk.  this lasted for a while (5 min. or
so), and then antelope finished off in the normal way, that is to say that
it finished with a burst of high-energy ass-kicking.

train song - was well played and well placed after the high-energy output
of the first two songs.  i was ready to sit down, and this song gave me
the chance.

gin - this wasn't the epic gin that i've been wanting ever since i heard
the 11/2/96 gin, but it the groove it was in was definitely satisfying
with an astonishingly good segue into

foam - i was surprised to hear this tune, and pleasantly so, because i
love the end jam.  about this time in the show, i got the feeling that
this was going to be a _long_ set, which it was, and i also got the
feeling that the rest of this show was going to be amazing, because they
were on fire.

sample - always fun to hear.  even though they play this song the same
every time, i always like to hear it, because trey's solo is really cool.
he shreds hard on this song every time they play it, and the lights are
neat.

fee - i was happy to hear this tune, even though it was another repeat
from the champaign show (of which there were a few in the first set).  i
really wanted to hear the new jam that they were playing on the end of
fee, to see what it was that fishman was singing, but he never started
singing, because they faded it into...

maze - the distinctive opening to maze was obscured a bit by a lot of
spacey digital delay fun by trey and page.  i was sure that this maze was
going to be destructive, which it was.  every time i hear this song, it
takes me back to deer creek '96 when i almost lost my mind to it.  this
maze didn't compare to that one at all, but it was a _good_ maze
nevertheless.

cavern - when i heard the opening to this song, i knew that the first set
was definitely over.  the energy of the first set came in two packets.
one was golgi/antelope, which set the energy high from the beginning, and
the other was maze/cavern which set the stage for the crazy 2nd set.  i
love the ending of cavern, it gives me goosebumps every time i hear it,
even though i know what's going to happen.

this fun first set left me with a taste for a bit more jamming, a bit more
craziness, and a lot more funk, a mood that, apparently, phish shared, as
evidenced by the MONSTER second set.

tweezer! - i LOVE this song live.  my first one was at the went, and i was
a bit disappointed in its sloppiness, even though i was happy as hell that
they played it.  there was no disappointment with this tweezer, because
phish played the _shit_ out of it.  trey started playing the tweezer
theme, but then stopped and started tapping the muted strings of his
guitar to make a knocking noise in rhythm with the rest of the band.
eventually they started playing tweezer, which was tight, funky, and
energetic, and led seamlessly into some extreme funk jamming.  at first
the jamming was tweezer-tinged funk, and then just pure funk (the same
kind of funk that's been around all summer and fall), and then lost its
form altogether and became more aggressive and heavy, which led to a
beautifully smooth segue to

isabella - i don't know if this is a new song, or a cover, but it rocks.
i found myself getting into the groove of this song, without knowing what
the groove was.  whatever time this song is in, it's crazy, because i
couldn't get it down.  anyways, i kept thinking that it was a hendriz
cover, for some reason, and wrote it down as such in my tourbook, before i
knew what its name was.  they jammed this tune for a while, and then the
jam started getting spacey and funky again, and the tempo started slowing
down, and this segued into

twist around - i didn't recognize this song at first , because i had only
heard it once before at st. louis on summer tour.  i liked it before,
because of its sparseness (not a whole lot of different sounds happening
at once), and it's deep deep funk.  the whole song is a deep funk jam with
a cool chorus (i wouldn't twist aroooouuuund that way).  this song emerged
out of the funk for a few minutes (7 or 8 maybe) and then descended back
into the groove.  this is where i start to get really excited thinking
about this.  the jam after twist around was slow and very funky, and the
lights were complimentarily slow and funky (can lights be funky?), when a
weird sort of intensity started growing out of the funk, and they started
jamming harder and harder until they were going all out, balls to the
wall, as hard as they could jam.  i thought this jam was all part of the
end of twist around, but it turns out that it was...

piper - i really don't know what to say about this song.  it's a very
intense jam (though i can't quite remember the tune anymore), with each
member of the band singing very loudly out of time with each of the other
members about something that i couldn't quite make out.  they sang a verse
of this strange whatever it was, and then jammed out the tune of the song,
which pushed the intensity up to the breaking point, and then began
singing again with more energy than before.  i was definitely in the zone
at that point.  that place where the music is controlling my body.  if
they had abruptly stopped playing, i probably would've died of some sort
of heart malfunction, 'cause i was really in the groove.  so, piper ended,
and i caught my breath, and then the boys started playing

sleeping monkey - which was another nice cooling-out tune, in the same
vein as the first set train song.  nice version, with a hard jam at the
end, reminiscent of the monkey jam on 2/20/93, but not nearly as intense.
this gave way to...

tweezer reprise - i get goose bumps every time i listen to this song,
regardless of how many times i've heard it in a row, or where i'm at, or
what i'm doing, or whatever.  it's pure ass-kicking intensity, with no
reason or rhyme to it.  needless to say, if there had been a freezer for
me to step into, i would've been in that motherfucker and boogying my ass
off.  i'd never seen this song until the great went, and it blew my
fucking head off.  i mean, damn, this song is awesome on picture of
nectar, and better on the tapes that i have it on, and even better
outdoors with 70,000 people jamming along with me, but this tweeprise was
more intense than any other phish moment i've ever had.  i was totally
blown away by the lights.  they were flashing and spinning wildly,
throughout the song, but at the last part when the band was singing rounds
of 'step into the freezer', this thing with all of these strobe lights on
it started spinning around and going off.  the regular lights were all red
and white, and the spinning strobe lights just set the entire thing off.
they must use this spinning strobe light thing only for the end of tweezer
reprise, because i've never seen it used before, and i've seen a fair
number of indoor shows, and a more than fair sampling of phish's
repertoire.  the whole place was going fucking nuts.  my friend dean
summed it up by sayin, "that was the most excited i've ever seen that many
people be."  i concur.

encore: rocy top - i was hopin for something longer and slower to cap off
the intensity of the 2nd set, but i can't complain, because i really dig
the shit out of this tune.  i'm a big fan of bluegrass, and phish does
this song right.  i love the line that goes, 'that's why all the folks on
rocky top get their corn from a jar.'  heh, that's funny.

anyways, i don't really get into giving shows a number on a scale to rate
them.  what i will say is that this show was very intense, and well worth
the drive from chicago, and the large bite out of my meager budget.  if
you have a chance to see phish on this fall tour, FOR GOD'S SAKE DO IT!
both shows that i've seen on this tour have been totally intense, and out
of control.  i'll put it this way, if you go to see phish this fall, you
have nothing to lose except your mind.

peace,
chris

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

Date:    Thu, 11 Dec 1997 19:08:38 GMT
From:    Christian McKee 
Subject: 12.6.97 review and other stuff

hello netters,
        my first post in months and months, no news at school, and i just
found benjy's digest.  a big thank you to both rosemary and benjy for
helping people like myself stay up to date.
        on to thoughts about the palace.  the lot was pretty boring, passed
on nugs and shrooms, but couldn't find any interesting food (burritos,
grilled veggies.)  oh well, we didn't come for dinner.  i met up with my
friends, who had much better seats than i, and after a half hour of standing
about smoking cigarettes, we went inside.
        SE-CUR-ITY.  wow, did they ever have something lodged sideways where
it wasn't supposed to be.   set they were running around with flashlights
well into the first telling people to put out their smokes (of all kinds.)

I:  Golgi Apparatus, Run Like An Antelope, Trainsong, Bathtub Gin > Foam,
Sample in a Jar, Fee > Maze, Cavern

    Golgi was, well Golgi-licious.  i like this song, and i've not yet heard
it or seen it enough to get annoyed when they play it.  bouncing is almost
another story.
        i was a little surprised when antelope took slot #2, as they had
played just three (?) days before, that's ok by me though :)  fish got some
nice licks on the woodblocks during the intro, but the rest left me cold.
when the jam began, trey took a bunch of time to feed some sound into the
delay loop, and page stopped playing all together.  i was a ways away, but
it looked like there was something wrong with his setup.  regardless, the
jam was very mellow and did not really go anywhere interesting.
        trainsong was a pleasant surprise, it's one of my favorite BB songs.
mike did a bang-up job on the vox, and trey was not that bad himself.  i
really liked it.  i was a bit worried that they might spend the rest of the
set dong boring stuff at that point, but NOOO!
        i had been crossing my fingers, praying to icculus with sweat
pouring down my brow to hear a bathtub gin that night.  WOO-HOO!!!  the
opening was nice, no tomtoms from fish, but page was doing crazy glissandi
up and down the keys.  loved it.  now, i've never heard bathtub live before,
(or 8.13.93) so i'm a bit biased, but i enjoyed this a lot, the end had
something to do with it.  the jam started to peter out, fish was keeping the
beat, but the others slowly dropped, than all of a sudden there was
syncopation in the snare, and more tomtom sound.  i yelped for joy that they
were now playing foam, but all the people around me didn't hear it yet, so i
got lots of strange looks.  when the rest of the band came in, i felt
vindicated ;)  really a nice segue, typical of jon's work that night, he was
playing really well.
        we had heard sample in the car before the show, and had a lot of fun
singing to it.  if i recall, trey took it around once more than usual :)   a
nice version, with vox all round fairly solid.  i recall wincing once at a
flub from page, but that's about all.
        fee, like golgi, was fee-diddliumptious.  i also like this song, and
it was neat to see it live.  the last time i saw it (10.24.95) trey busted
out with the megaphone.  not tonight.  sad day.  
        now, the official set list says fee>maze.  mine does not, it really
was a weak seg, if one at all.  tapes will tell, oh well.  maze was
definately the low point of the show for me.  i've seen it at every show
i've gone to, and i really *don't* like it.  last time was champaign
(11.8.96) which was interesting, but this version was the regular, straight,
repetitive, pounding stupid maze that bores me to death.  sadly, page's solo
wasn't anything to write home about.  oh well, you takes 'em where you can
gets 'em.
        cavern closed the set, hour and twenty minutes give or take.  nice
set with some good moments; trainsong, tub>foam and sample was nicely
played. needless to say, i had high hopes for the second set.

II: Tweezer > Isabella > Twist > Piper > Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer Reprise.

        first, read that again.  mmmmmmm, tweezer goooood.
        for the second set, my friend noah, who walks with crutches, was
sent to the handicapped seating, along with his 'escort:' me!  this meant
coming down from the upper deck, and having a perfect view of the light show
and band.  sound was better too.  mmmmmmmmm.
        at the opening tweezer chords, we went nuts.  nuts-O!  the intro had
some hints of what was to come; da funk.  tweezer proper was good, great
screaming from the crowd during Uncle Ebeneezer.  the jam was really nice,
mellow and funky.  lots of small moments for each of them to shine.  before
last night, the most recent show i had heard was the flynn show in march.
now, i had read the talk saying that phish was getting funky, but i had *no*
idea!!!  these guys were *grooving* as a whole, which i had not heard them
do often in the past.
        after a time, and some really beautiful melodious solo licks from
trey, the jam started to get a little chunkier, and heavier, and louder, and
harder, and crunchier until: HEY!  WHAT ARE THEY PLAYING?  isabella was new
to me, but what a great song.  maybe it was just me, maybe it was the
chemicals, but it felt as though it had a character not unlike frankenstein.
i'll have to listen to the tapes.
        the segue into twist was just as smooth and buttery as the seg into
isabella.  this was my first time with this song too, what a great way to be
introduced :)  great playing all around, jon was taking some solo-ish licks,
after trey pointed at him about six times, neat stuff.  things went back to
being funky and groovalicious, and piper emerged out of the haze, again,
what a seg.
        piper was new to me as well, nice to meet you, i said.  this song
didn't sit with me quite as well as twist had.  it seemed really
"sing-songy", if you get what i mean.  still, i loved it, more great licks
and interaction from *all* players, somewhere in between twist and piper,
mike got some big fat bass bombs...
        the seg into sleeping monkey was in keeping with the established
trend: smooooooooooooth.  this version was *really* slow, and it was
complete with a lyrics flub by the whole band. oh well.  i got such a kick
out of seeing fish take his solo.  cute, very cute.
        twee/rep was played with passion, but i really don't think it segued
out of sleeping monkey, i'll have to hear the tapes.
        if you could not guess, i was blown away by this set.  what a way to
cap off the academic year (i finished with finals the day before.)  i could
not even dance for much if it, it was too beautiful.  at one point during
the twist jam, i started to cry.  such wonderful playing.  i was crushed to
learn that we would not hear a divided sky, but three songs i had never
heard before, all wrapped up in a lovely tweezer more than made up for it.
        if you read this far, and you have less than five tapes, send me
email about B&P tapes, i've got them, and you need them.
        also, if anyone has this show (obligatory grovel) i will be more
than thrilled to weed this out to at *least* six people.  thanks for the
time, i'm jealous of you all who are still on road.
Taboot, Taboot,

Christian...

"The grass may be greener on the other side,
but it's still just as hard to mow..."

        -Margy Belchak

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

Date:    Wed, 10 Dec 1997 01:31:18 GMT
From:    Jonathan Shedletzky 
Subject: 12.06.97 Auburn Hills Review

I'd like to start this review by saying that I'm infatuated with Phish, and=
 that no one should care how many shows I've seen or hours I've listened. T=
hat is irrelevant. This is strictly my opinion of the 12.06.97 show in Aubu=
rn Hills.


To begin, the lot scene was absolutely non-existent. Due to shitty weather,=
 I guess, everyone, excluding myself and Yarissa (we were jonesing for a ce=
rtain substance that was nowhere to be found) headed on in to the show. I w=
as still high off the Cleveland show from the previous night and was psyche=
d that I was about to do it all over again. I figured Auburn Hills would be=
 a better show (not that Cleveland was bad -- it was great)because we had g=
otten Sparkle and Bouncin' out of the way on Friday.


Security was absolutely terrible. I actually didn't get patted down or anyt=
hing, but they were bitches regarding smoking butts, grooving in the aisles=
 and whatnot. People around me (Floor section F) who had puked and/or passe=
d out were getting booted...


The Palace is a nice place. It's big but the acoustics are really nice.


12/06/97 The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI

I:   Golgi, Antelope, Train Song, Bathtub Gin > Foam, Sample, Fee, Maze,

     Cavern

II:  Tweezer > Isabella > Twist Around > Piper > Sleeping Monkey >

     Tweezer Reprise

E:   Rocky Top


GOLGI: I pretty much missed Golgi because we couldn't find the floor entran=
ce. I heard it from the hallway, though. It was a good opener, but I enjoye=
d the Cleveland Ghost opener better. It was nice to hear this tune which is=
 slowly becoming a rarity.=20


ANTELOPE: Just while settling into our seats, the beautiful opening trills =
of Antelope filled my head. Again, I don't remember too much this Antelope =
as I had just gotten to my seats at the time. As far as I can recall, it wa=
s a standard version. The usual Trey-dominitated jam that gets you going. A=
ntelope is continually making its way to this secong song position and I th=
ink it's nice for a change. Trey had some Delay Looping going on here. I wa=
s disappointed that I didn't get that customary spinal chill that I usually=
 get from the Gearshift. I enjoyed it, though.


TRAINSONG: I didn't mind hearing it, although I truly think playing this tu=
ne live brings no justice to it. I like the BB version, but it's a throwawa=
y in terms of performing it live.=20


BATHTUB GIN: I was expecting a Gin sometime this weekend and was extremely =
glad to get one. It contained a pretty phat jam but nothing I'd call epic. =
It was pretty much a melodic, listenable, groovable jam. At first it sort o=
f meandered around the Bathtub theme, and never really strayed to far from =
the normal Gin Jam, until towards the end when the boyz really started to f=
unk it up. They brought the funk jam down until it was just Trey fiddling w=
ith muted wah-wah strums (scratches). Soon after, Mike kicked in with a bas=
s line that we all know and love...


FOAM: Surprisingly enough, I was the only person in my section that freaked=
 out when Mike initiated the tune. Oh well, I don't care if no one knew wha=
t it was, because it was thoroughly enjoyed by myself. My cousin had wished=
 for this one before the show so my thoughts were with him at the time. The=
 jam preceding the much-loved composed section was quite good. I recall tha=
t Page did some really nice work. He took an extended turn leading the jam,=
 compared to most Foams. Hence, Trey's jam of rising intensity was shorter =
but I was still pleased. Overall, great Gin>Foam.


SAMPLE: I was glad that we got Sparkle and Bouncin' out of the way in Cleve=
land and I figured we were out of the woods and could expect a plethora of =
jamming in Detroit. I forgot, however, that song called Sample. Don't like =
it, but the kept it short. Even Trey's soloing at the outro was weak. Tunes=
 like this are great for having a smoke.


FEE: I also forgot about a Buddhist prodigy named Fee. D'OH=21 It's weird h=
ow I was the only one standing around not grooving during this tune and one=
 of the only ones in my area getting down to Foam.


MAZE: The set had lost a little momentum at this point but Maze brought it =
back up. When Fish kicked in with the drumbeat I was hoping for a Bowie, bu=
t I was aware that Maze was a possibility and would be ecstatic whichever t=
une it was. I love this kick-ass tune. It did not disappoint as Trey really=
 stepped up during the jam and showed us his chops. Again, there was the sa=
me Antelope Loop occuring here. The climax of the jam and the building-of-t=
he-wall-of-sound (for lack of a better phrase) outro made up for the lack o=
f chills in Antelope.


CAVERN: Why does this tune, Fee, Sample, Bouncin' and Sparkle follow me to =
nearly every show I'm at. Short and sweet. Poor set closer.


Overall, I enjoyed this set but was disappointed by the high concentration =
of throwaway tunes. Nonetheless, Antelope was good, but Gin>Foam and Maze w=
ere definite highlights.


The following set changed my life....;=5E)=7E


TWEEZER: As soon as Trey kicked in with the Tweezer lick, I had a feeling t=
his would be a crazy Tweezer. Tweezer kicks arse when opening a set (it usu=
ally kicks arse anyways). This one did not disappoint. The ensuing jam bega=
n quite melodically, and continued as such for a bit. It's hard for me to r=
ecllect what went on thereafter as it was just nuts. I'll attribute Fishman=
 with excellent work in this jam. He constantly changed the tempo and textu=
re of the said jam. I guess, what happened was, the brought down the melodi=
c, funked-up jam, which Fishman then proceded to toy with, repeatedly bring=
ing it up and down. At one point, he came up with this mind-blowing beat. I=
t was fast and jazzy, yet the rest of the band was ripping shit up in a slo=
w, anthemic manner. A very nice contrast. Following this, they all brought =
the jam down one last time, during which they all traded solo phrases while=
 everyone else dropped out for a bar or so. Page went nuts on the Moog, Fis=
hman with a nice solo....after what seemed like 20 minutes, a truly mind-bl=
owing Tweezer, that must be heard to comprehend what I'm trying to say, seg=
ued into.....


ISABELLA: Two Hendrix tunes in two nights for me. WOW=21 Phish totally brin=
gs justice to this tune with their own unique brand of funk. I was expectin=
g a rocking jam but instead we got an extremely funky jam. This was beyond =
funky, and beyond great=21 They jammed on this for a while and segued into.=
...


TWIST AROUND: I like this new tune, and it's outmost capabilitied were expr=
essed during this version. Just another seminal jam. I can't remember too m=
uch about this, other than its segue into...


PIPER: The reworked version (the intro and vocals are extended) isn't much =
different from before. That is, unless you include the ensuing jam. The jam=
 was possibly the best out of the four tunes played.=20


I cannot begin to accurately describe what went on in the aforementioned fo=
ur songs which spanned close to an hour. In fact, every minute of this run =
of tunes was beautifully jammed, groovable, listenable and just hosed-down,=
 totally. I can only recommend you get these tapes. I don't know why but th=
e brothers next to me sat the entire 50-someodd minutes, while I dance my a=
ss off with an presumably insane smile on my face.


SLEEPING MONKEY: Contrary to most setlists, there was no segue between Pipe=
r and Monkey. I was psyched to hear this tune. Straight up, I've never real=
ly liked it but they could have played nearly any tune at this point and I =
would have loved. Fishman was hilarious as he stood up to take an acappella=
 verse. Believe it or not, trey ripped shit up in the outro. WOW=21


TWEEPRISE: It was suitable that Reprise this insane 6-song set. Listening t=
o this tune on tape brings no justice to it. It must be heard live to be fu=
lly appreciated.


Encore:

ROCKYTOP: I like Rockytop but they needed another tune after it to make it =
an all around phat show. It is weak as a lone encore.


The first set was good, standard excluding the exceptionally phat Gin>Foam.=
 Get tapes of the second set. It's frickin' unbelievable=21 I can't describ=
e how good it is so just do me a favour and get the tapes. Better yet, IF Y=
OU'VE GOT THE TAPES HOOK ME UP, YO=21 Like I said, the 2nd set changed my l=
ife.


Page played great both nights this weekend, but Fish was the cat's meow, im=
o. He was the cock of the walk....I truly obtained a newfound respect for h=
is playing and effect on jams. This is something I've never really noticed =
before, but I'm glad I did.=20


ALBANY AWAITS