Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 22:01:55 GMT
From:    Josh Pashman 
Subject: CSU 12/26/97

} 12/5/97 Cleveland State University Convocation Center
} Cleveland, OH
}
} Times are in paranthesis.
}
} Set I: Ghost (17) --> Wilson@ (5), Funky Bitch (6) Black-Eyed Katy (8),
} Sparkle (4), Runaway Jim* (14) --> My Friend, My Friend+ (7), Ginseng
} Sullivan (5), Limb by Limb (10), Character Zero (9)
}
} Set II:  %, Stash (13), Bouncnig Around the Room (3), Julius# (17), Slave
} to the Traffic Light^ (16), Lizzards (11), Loving Cup (10), Chalkdust
} Torture(8)
}
} Encore:  Axis: Bold as Love (7)
}
} I: 85 min
} II+E: 90 min
}
} @ Someone held up a HUGE (12 foot) Wilson tennis ball flag during this
}   tune which Trey acknowledged.
} * Runaway Jim included a Harry Hood Jam in the last minute and a half.
} + Trey motions to Fishman on "My friend, my friend, he's got a wife" and
}   Jon looks out at the crown with a big grin on his face.
} % Fishman teased the opening drumbeat to Buffallo Bill, then he and Trey
}   shot each other a series ofdirty looks...all in jest of course.  :)
} # Makisupa-Like jam in the last 3-4 minutes of the Julius Jam.
} ^ Slave included a heavy-metal jam
} lights went down...

So Josh and i headed out of Ann Arbor a bit before 3 and made
really good time on down while having intermittne flurries, blizzards and
attacks from salt trucks which later we were wishing to hae seen again.
AFter geting abit confused by the nicely unfinshed highways in Ohio we
found our way to Oberlin to caravan w/ some of his friends. From tehre
weheaded into Cleveland, easy time speed wise but josh cursed us and
there were no moer salt trucks to be found and cars were skidding
everywhere...even some chick lighting a smoke was about to run us off the
road.Nice try flicking her off josh!
Ok CSU... it was FUCKING COLD!  People were vending and they had
announcements of no vending, sold out show, no scalping, no
nitrous,etc,etc...we diod not really wait to check any thing out. IT was
cold and we were ready to get inside.
CSU Convocation center is a great mediuem sized arena w/ no superboxes.
ITs nice and smallin a sense and easy to get around both in the outside
and inner concourses. Security were not major dicks walking around but
seemed they might be if in the aisles..not really sure, more later... I
could tell the place wsa cool. I had a great seat, first row behind the
Soundboard and eleveated so the tapers werenot in my way, but i was lucky
to know some popele w/  GA floor tickets... We scammed the guards and used
the tickets and bracelets and i scored afloor seat... IT wsa great.
WAiting to get down while Scotty Howard came to get me and GHOST busted
out. Damn we ran hard to get in there...
 > > SET I: > GHOST...  GREAT operner. It really got me moving and it
started the funk and thickness i had been seeking . It was really nice but
not one of hteir best versions i am sure. Still very fun. I am sure i
heard delay loop somehwre in there.
  WILSON...  This wsa unexpected by me.
Just did not think i would hear it. IT was great energy but i think i
heard some flub somewhere early on but oh well... Off on page side was a
huge Wilson sign and really nice and funny.  It must have sucked to be
sitting behind there i thought..still i could feel a great set in the
works.
FUNKY BITCH...  I was pumped. I totally was loving this set to
this point as early as it was but this wsa not a great version of the
song. I remember a far better one in Maine, my last show... still great
song to get down to and mike really let out some long wails beforel eading
into the lyrics...  >
SPARKLE... i know its not one of everyone's favs but i love this song. IT
really gets me moving and shaking really fucking fast,. sometimes a bit
too fast, think i threw out my back on this one and was fucked the rest of
hte night. Good time and nice lighting... nothing great you know...
BEK.
I LOVE this GHOST LIKE jam.. really coll song and glad to know what
everyone is chatting aobout.... u o a n d O
RUNAWAY JIM...
I was suprised to hear
this after knowing about the WORCESTER JIM. I did
noit heare that one but herad of its feats so i was curiouse how this
would play out. IT really got a great jam, some space if i recall and
metal hamming. IT was great and Mike Siegel called itm iles in advance the
segue into...
MY FRIEND MY FRIEND... I definjatly wsa glad to hear this one.  Nothing
amazing or anything but i was just loving this set to this point. REally
strong set i felt.  MY first time hearing to so that was nice...
This really got people going nuts and phish needed to pause after so i
wass wondering what coudl, tehy possbily do to change it up[ and all....
GINSENG..
I love this tune but i am a bit bored w/ its continuous play like most
others.... I took time to just thinka bout shit a bit more i guess and not
go nuts... IT was fun but i could have used a MY SOULD perhaps..
LIMB BY LIMB...
great song, not a great vesrion but fun time...
Character Zero.. Intense song as always. Love it a lot and glad to haer
it. It always is a nice sendoff to set break.
SEtbreak was funny.. on teh floor schilling and grabbed some waters and
cokes.. the Budweiser guy cracked me up.
"So what year were you born?"
"uh, 76, yeah, 76 thta works..""
"Suyre you were, 3 bucks here ya go"
So when were you born?"
"62, definately 1962, under Kennedy"
"Yeah, that was my year too..funny how that works..here ya go".
ALmost made me want to buya  beer he was so lenient.."
STASH.... niec, i really thought this and hte set were gonna be crazy, but
i was dissappointe.d Not a STARLakE stash by any means... always nicev but
not as crazy as i had hoped.. nothing great..
BATR...
yeah, cheer, woohoo... lighting wsa nice, great cigarette too.. my friends
all lit up as well... fun! yeah...
ok back to business
JULIUS...WOW!@!!! this was the show for me i guess. IT realyl had intense
jams, lighting. They kept working up and down on the jams, some space and
metal if i recall and Fishman yelling YEAH and WOH i think.. IT ws colol
and it got into a sweet goroove that could have taken me the whole set.
Really great groove  I really wanted them to go on w/ it but then they
just segued into...
SLAVE...
this wsa the song i came for and was SOOOO glad to have heard. The jam at
the endwas beautufil as always but w/ a lot more noodling and work on
trey... not that totalyl serene jam i heard in MAINE. Then it got hard,
realyl hard and metalesque. They really ahve been doing that alot lately
igguess. IT was neat, but both myself and my friend mike hope they never
do that again. I just really wish the beauty of the song had not been
compromised...
LIZZARDS...
OK, nice song and beautiful ending andall but ir ealyl did not need to
hear this..tehy really could have done so much more...
LOVING CUP...
great versoin, fun time, but still i need a great jam, more of a type 2
hose, but not to be found..
CHALKDUST...
i expected LCup to end it but no, SWEET Chalk... i loved it and the whole
jam at the end for some reason really felt like a BOWIE. IT totalyl could
have ended w/ a BOWIE Jam at the end. DOn't know why but i jst felt that
way the whole time...
E: AXIS
First time and great song..

FINAL WORDS...
GOod show, fun time but not waht i was expecting... really a rocking show
and all, not the thick groove i was hoping to hear. Good show , but not
great.... 6/10 i guess...
OH yeah,...
I have about 150 hoursa nd have seen 10 shows now and heard lots more...
Thanks
Josh

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 19:42:06 GMT
From:    aLi 
Subject: Cleveland 12/5/97 Review

Hey all-
        I saw the Cleveland show last night. It was the first show i've seen
this tour, and let's just say that i hope the other shows i'm planning to
see are better than what i saw and heard last night. My little preamble to
this review is that this was my 18th show, i've been seeing Phish since
1994, i've heard almost 700 hours of Phish on tape, blah blah blah... my
point in saying this is that i've become horribly jaded and picky, so please
take what i have to say with that in perspective. (Also, i'm a guitarist, so
if this seems Trey-centered, that's probably why.) That in mind, here we go.

The Scene: The second my friends and i got out of the car, it started to
snow. (Welcome to Cleveland. ;) As we walked around the many small lots
around the Convocation Center, trying to find the one lot that actually had
people in it, it started to REALLY snow. Aside from the fact that it was
super cold, i have to say that the snow was an unexpected touch that made
the scene kind of fun. There weren't a lot of people outside, but i think
that was because they had GA tickets and wanted to get a good space on the
floor, and not because of the snow.

Pre-show music: Monk. Cool. :)

Set One:

GHOST - I was surprised they opened with this one. The first and only other
time i heard this was at the Went, and i have to say that i hated this one
significantly less. :) I could hear Mike REALLY well, so that's always a
plus. It was nice to start the show out with a cool funk groove, but there
just didn't seem to be a lot of energy coming from the band. And that was
only the beginning.

WILSON - "And now for something completely different..." Not much to say
here, except that someone in the audience had a huge "Wilson" (as in the
sporting goods company) banner. I saw it during the song, but not before, so
i don't know if the band played it because of the banner or not. Trey
pointed it out to the guys after the song was over, though.

FUNKY BITCH - Interesting placement in the set. Trey was funking it up a
little, but the jam wasn't anything to write home about. (Note: when i say
"jam," i guess i'm not really talking about an all-out crazy jam, ala
Tweezer or Bowie, but i refuse to use the term "solo" because i feel every
improvisational thing Phish does is a group effort. So you all know what i
mean. :)

BLACK-EYED KATY - My first time hearing this tune. I like it a LOT, but it
seems to be this tour's Cars Trucks Buses, if you know what i mean... i'm
really into the funk groove the band has going on these days, so i hope they
keep it on the list. The jam itself was cool, but Trey started out his solo
with a lick that sounded way too rock n' roll for the groove. Maybe he was
still caught up in the Wilson/Funky Bitch mode.

SPARKLE - Sparkle. That's all there is to it.

RUNAWAY JIM - To be honest, i was elated when they started this one up,
because i thought, "Wow, finally. A jam they might actually get INTO!" Jim
has definitely taken some different turns this tour, from what i've heard,
and while this version wasn't stellar, it was different from any other Jim
i've heard. The jam started out in its usual cool Jim way, but then the boys
brought it down, and even spent a few measures in a 6/8 groove. As soon as i
noticed it, though, they were back in 4. It was pretty cool, actually.
Still, i felt there was something missing. The band didn't seem like they
were all on the same wavelength. Normally by this point in a show, there's
been at least one thing that makes me jump up and down with joy, but last
night, it hadn't happened yet.

MY FRIEND MY FRIEND - Again, not much to note about this one. I didn't
expect to hear it, so that was cool. It ended with a brief yet terrifyingly
loud scream from Trey.

GINSENG SULLIVAN - I don't know why this happens (maybe it's just wishful
thinking), but i always hear the beginning of this tune and think it's
Nellie Cane. Am i the only one? I mean, i know it makes no sense for them to
be playing Nellie Cane, because they haven't played it since '94, and
Ginseng is in pretty heavy rotation these days. Maybe it is just me. At any
rate, i'm always up for a bluegrass tune, so it was good to hear. And i have
to say that Trey's solo was GREAT. It fit the song really well - the first
time i've ever heard him sound genuinely bluegrassy.

LIMB BY LIMB - I don't know how the rest of you feel, but i really like this
one. And the jam on it last night was decent; longer than i expected it to
be. This song is not only cool now, but has a lot of potential too. I can't
say if this was a particularly "GOOD" version, because i'm not familiar
enough with it yet. But i can say that i enjoyed it.

CHARACTER ZERO - This is a song i could live without, so that taints my
vision of it from the start. They took it a little slow, and it started to
sound really metal-like. I wish i had more to say about it, but i really don't.

This set seemed very disjointed. I don't think the band was very together on
many occasions, and they attacked so many styles in such a short amount of
time that i think it created some confusion (like Trey's rock n' roll solo
on Katy.) So i hoped they'd take a break, regroup, and play a killer second set.

Set Two:

STASH - Wow, this was the night of Bizarre Set Openers. I didn't time it
exacly, but i'd say Stash was between 11 and 14 minutes long, and it wasn't
great, wasn't horrible. They didn't drag it on too long, as IMO they do
sometimes, but there wasn't anything to note about it either. At points, it
became strangely melodic, which is interesting for Stash.

BOUNCING - At the end of Stash, i thought, "Hey, they must be getting pumped
up. I *know* they're going to do something cool now!" But alas, i was wrong.
At the risk of letting my opinion of this song get in the way, i thought it
at was a bad place in the set. I consider Bouncing to be a "break" song. By
the second song in the set, who's ready for a break??

JULIUS - This was THE BEST Julius i've EVER SEEN! (Just kiddng. ;)
Seriously, though, the Julius jam was the first thing that made me think
they guys were starting to get it together. First of all, Page took the
first solo. Trey did some cool vocal improv fills during the last "don't
take another step" part. And then the jam started out in the usual Julius
way, but then they brought it down to a mellower, quieter, bluesy type
groove. For those of you who weren't there, imagine a jam/solo/whatever you
want to call it over the first verse of the Hoist Julius. Bluesy-rock feel,
but quieter than the gospel-induced frenzy that's normally at the end of
Julius. After that segment, they brought it back up to the crazy Julius
level, and i thought it would end there. But no! It went back down again!
This time it was a little more funky. I dug it because they took some
unpredictable turns with this one. Maybe it was confusion over where to take
it, maybe that was the way it was supposed to be, but either way, it sounded
good to me. Out of Julius came...

SLAVE - The beginning was a little slow, but i only mention that for future
reference. It sounded pretty good altogether, as did the beginning of the
jam section. It started out nice and mellow, and i have to say that Page was
doing the coolest thing. Forgive my lack of knowledge, but he was on the
keyboard on the left, and he was using this effect that made what he was
playing sound kind of like bells. It was beautiful. He and Trey played off
each other really well, i thought. The only thing was, the tempo got slower
and slower as it went on. Right when i thought we were going to get those
wonderful, high soaring notes, Trey started hitting these low, distorted
chords. That lead to what i'd call a MESS. There were a lot of effects, and
for a minute i thought it was '95 or something. ;^) I think Trey realized he
had to take it in a different direction, because ending Slave that slow
would be awful. It would have been almost in half time. It was _that_ slow,
trust me. So i think he was trying to make things better, but in doing so,
only made it worse. There was no definable ending. Lizards just surfaced out
of what seemed like nowhere.

LIZARDS - I think playing this song was a shot at playing something that
essentially can't go wrong, in terms of musical communication within the
band. And it went well, but i don't know if (for me at least) it made up for
the trainwreck that was Slave.

LOVING CUP - The harmonies sounded good. That was one thing about last
night's show: everyone's voices sounded pretty good, and they nailed most of
the harmonies. (Forgot to mention that before.) Anyway, the jam at the end
of this one is getting longer, isn't it? I like that. And it was along the
same lines as Jim in that it sounded good, and nothing horrible happened,
but nothing wonderful happened either. Still, Loving Cup always makes me
smile, so it was good to hear. (Sidenote: my dream is to someday hear the
Giant Country Horns play with them on this tune, and do the horn part that's
on Exile on Main St.!!) I thought this one would end the set, but i think
they realized they could finally get it together for one last tune, so we got...

CHALKDUST - This was the only jam during the whole show that not only got
every ounce of my attention and appreciation, but really got me dancing too.
I can't think of why it was especially good, but i can guess it was because
the energy level was FINALLY up, for band and audience alike. I wish the
show could have started right then. I wish Chalkdust could have been the
first song instead of the last. (Hey... isn't that normally how Chalkdust
works: as an opener rather than a closer? Hmmm....) Anyway, at least the
second set ended with everyone really pumped. (Even though they ended it
with that damned sustained chord.)

BOLD AS LOVE - I was happy to hear this tune, because i haven't seen it
since Philly '94. I'm glad they brought it back into rotation. It just seems
so short! But even with that factor, it was an enjoyable encore and i left
in a good mood. And by the way, kudos to Chris for the red, orange, yellow,
and rainbow lights in accordance with the lyrics. :)

OVERALL IMPRESSION: It seemed like the boys were trying to get something
out, but couldn't. (I think someone said that about either Worcester or the
Spectrum, didn't they?) It wasn't that they were playing badly. It was just
that there was literally nothing about this show that reminded me of why i
love Phish and feel the need to see them all the time. It was fun, but not
spiritual. (Yes, i suppose i have high standards. ;) There wasn't a lot of
spontineity, and i think that's due to the fact that they just weren't very
together. So it was an off night, IMO, and it'll get better. Highlights of
set one: Jim. Highlights of set two: Julius, and possibly Chalkdust, but
that may be a "you had to be there" kind of thing.

I think the new funk direction has helped the band as well as hurt it. It's
helped the band in that their "voices" are becoming more equal in the jams,
and they're getting really good at laying down a solid groove. But it's hurt
it in that i think they're trying to make everything funkier, and that's why
a lot of the songs are so slow lately. It's a matter of sheer opinion, but i
think there are some songs that just need to keep a fast-paced tempo.

I hate to add anything more onto this post that's already too long, but if
anyone reading this wants to do some trading, let me know. I've been out of
things for a little while, and i'm ready to jump back in again. Source and
gen info help, but i won't be too picky. Or at least i'll try not to be. :)

See you on the 28th and 31st...
peace-
aLi :)

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 18:56:01 GMT
From:    Mark Hutchison 
Subject: Mark's Review of 12/5/97 Cleveland

12/5/97 Cleveland State University Convocation Center
Cleveland, OH

Times are in paranthesis.

Set I: Ghost (17) --> Wilson@ (5), Funky Bitch (6) Black-Eyed Katy (8),
Sparkle (4), Runaway Jim* (14) --> My Friend, My Friend+ (7), Ginseng
Sullivan (5), Limb by Limb (10), Character Zero (9)

Set II:  %, Stash (13), Bouncnig Around the Room (3), Julius# (17), Slave
to the Traffic Light^ (16), Lizzards (11), Loving Cup (10), Chalkdust
Torture(8)

Encore:  Axis: Bold as Love (7)

I: 85 min
II+E: 90 min

@ Someone held up a HUGE (12 foot) Wilson tennis ball flag during this
  tune which Trey acknowledged.
* Runaway Jim included a Harry Hood Jam in the last minute and a half.
+ Trey motions to Fishman on "My friend, my friend, he's got a wife" and
  Jon looks out at the crown with a big grin on his face.
% Fishman teased the opening drumbeat to Buffallo Bill, then he and Trey
  shot each other a series ofdirty looks...all in jest of course.  :)
# Makisupa-Like jam in the last 3-4 minutes of the Julius Jam.
^ Slave included a heavy-metal jam

I heard someone say that they heard 2 Camel Walk teases and a Mike's
teased in the first set.  I think he was on crack... but the Hood tease
*is* there, though, I swear.  If you happen to have the tapes already
check at about 12-13 minutes into the Jim Jam and please confirm my
sanity...

ROADTRIP:

We meant to leave Ann Arbor at noon, but it quickly became nearly 2 pm
before we got of town (you know how those things go...).  The drive to
Cleveland went really quickly; I think we made it in just under 3 hours
listening to some Bela and the Flecktones. The stop for gas featured a
bizarre exit on US Route 420, and Reilly's Gatoraide and junk food purge
rang up to again the mysterious total of $4.20.  Hmmmmm... We met up with
2 friends, Elizabeth and Elizabeth at their apartment in Cleveland.
Elizabeth #1 was an *excellent* cook, and made us a tasty dinner of beans
and rice and baked chicken.  Elizabeth #2 had a pair of pet lizzards...was
this a sign?  :)

PRESHOW:

It was butt-cold outside, but that didn't stop a good number of people
from setting up outside just across the street from the Convocation
Center.  Snaps to whoever made that Meatball Sub...it was great!  I met
Aaron outside of will call as I was waiting to drop off tickets to a
friend who never showed :( and I met Sauldude there, good to meet you
finally!  But it was freezing and we had to get inside and warm up.  The
Convocation Center itself is a really nice building, it seemed really
small but I overheard someone saying that it held 1,000 more than Assembly
Hall in Champaign.  We found ourselves a good spot on the floor, about 20
feet directly in front of Fishman.  We were sitting next to some nice
people from Notre Dame and, despite the rivalry, they were great people
after all. ;^)  We chatted and listened to some nice Jazz and then
something with more of a clubby-bass feel to it.  But at exactly 8:00 the
lights went down...

SET I:

GHOST:  Bold opener, in the words of Steve Williams.  I was happy to see
this right off the bat.  No throw away here, just unadulterated jamming.
This Ghost was nice and funky, like they all are, a healthy 17 minutes.
Trey stareted doing the Digital Delay Loop stuff that he's been doing a
lot more of (see 8/9/97 Alpine Valley SOAMule and Mike's Jam) this
Summer/Fall and at about 14 minutes into the jam it turned really dark.
Like I said, it was a good jam.  Nothing stellar, but a heckovalot nicer
than a lot of openers they could have done.  This segued nicely into...

WILSON:  Trey forgot to do the second verse right off, and went directly
into the "I must inquire..." section, but quickly recovered.  Nothing
crazy here, but toward the end of the song Trey did acknowledge a couple
of people on the left side of the building that had one of those big
Wilson tennis ball flags that you would hang up at a baseball game or
something.

FUNKY BITCH:  This tune was average at best.  Mind you, average is a good,
rockin' Bitch, but having just heard this in Champaign and before at the
Went and before that at Darien, it didn't get me as pumped.  No complaints
thus far, though...

BLACK-EYED KATY:  This tune is as good as everyone has been saying.  When
they first hit that rhythmic pattern of double stops, I got the famous
ear-to-ear show grin that happens when you just heard something you know
you liked.  Katy is like a slice of a really good Ghost jam restructured
and given a better build and more room to experiment.  Trey used the DDL
again here, and Page had a (new?) keyboard to the right of his Baby Grand
that he did some cool swells with. This might be (not counting Sampson,
which seems to have vanished like a Leprechaun) the first completely
instrumental funk jam tune.  I think that this tune will be the one to
watch for the next, say Tweezer.  Katy will go places...

SPARKLE: well, the lights were nice...

RUNAWAY JIM:  This was a great first set Jim.  Nothing like the 58 minute
Jim of a few days ago, I'm sure, but there was some solid playing
nonetheless.  about 8 minutes into the jam it again turned really dark...I
was really conscious of the darm jamming today because on the way down
someone mentioned that Phish likes playing the dark, brooding jams more
that the happy, get-everyone-on-their-feet jams. Toward the end of the Jim
jam, though, it turned quickly back into a happy jam, and at about 12
minutes into Trey began the chording of the Hood jam.  They played the
Hood jam for about 1.5 to two minutes before segueing (technically a > and
not a -->) into...

MY FRIEND, MY FRIEND:  This is good tune to hear every once in a while.
Trey looked over at Fishman for the line "...he's got a wife" and Fish
kind of looked out at the audience and smiled.  Fish was very active
tonight...a lot of little fills (more than usual, I think) and lots of
yelling (esp see Set II Julius) from him tonight.  During the crazy build
section toward the end, Trey crouched down and played his guitar on the
mic stand.  Trey was all over the place tonight, bopping and churning and
rocking hard.  After MF^2 was done, they kind of hung back and talked for
a minute or so about what to do next.  They ended up playing...

GINSENG SULLIVAN:  well, the lights were kind of nice...  Seriously, I
don't particularly care for this song anymore.  It's a good blugrass tune,
but I think I've heard it too much.  I could have used a My Soul, Beauty,
Uncle Pen, or Old Home Place.  Oh well...

LIMB BY LIMB:  This was a good version, not as good as Champaign, though.
I think they pulled out early at the end, and that they could have gone
elsewhere, but the jam stayed pretty basic.  One *small* complaint as a
singer, though: when Fishman started his solo "Limb by Limb by limb by..."
on the outtro, he was a bit flat.  Just an anal singer's thing, sorry.

CHARACTER ZERO:  Our companion said it lacked the intensity of Hartford,
and it was definately not the most rocking version of Char0 I'd heard.
Chris did not seem "on," in sync with the band throughout most of the
first set.  Of course it had it's moments, but the set was pretty weak,
IMO.  There was too much "whatever" music...songs that you just say "huh?
Ok, whatever." when they start up.  At setbreak Steve and I talked briefly
about being slightly dissapointed, but were were psyched to be hearing one
more set before going home.


Setbreak: 44 min


SET II:

Fish sat down and immediately played the opening beat to Buffallo Bill,
and Trey shot him a look-of-death (in jest, of course), to which Fishman
replied with his own look-of-death, and they went back and forth a couple
of time, it ended with both of them laughing and Trey saying "Stash" about
50 times.

STASH:  Not bad for a second set opener, but it did not get very far out
there.  This was a straightforward, good Stash.

BOUNCIN':  Hmmm...the lights weren't even cool... ;^)

JULIUS:  17 minutes.  This was a _very_ healthy Julius.  Page had some
nice B-3 work throughout the song, in at least 2 different occasions.
About 15 minutes into the jam, everyone dropped out but Trey and he just
kept chording on the downbeats, while Fishman started screaming "yeah!"
with him.  This jam had gone Makisupa-style a few minutes earlier, and I
was almost certain they were going to do it (even though they just did it
in Philly).  This also had a nice segue into...

SLAVE:  This was the highlight of Set II.  This Slave was great.  There
was a heavy metal jam starting at about 11 minutes in and lasting a good
5-6 minutes.  Right at the end Trey again (for the fourth time??) used his
DDL to layer guitar effects, and the jam got a little spacy.  But when
this jam was up, it was rocking.  The spacey jam disolved into...

LIZARDS:  Fun song, especially for the glitter laden twirler girls next to
us that decided that now would be a good time to flip their hair in my
face...actually, I was suprised and impressed that nobody screwed this
song up.  Of course, they play it enough...

LOVING CUP:  Yes.  Now this song I'll take any day.  Hard rocking and most
of the crowd gets into it.  Trey was loving it up on stage, crouched over
his guitar and playing like a madman.  I love this tune. :)

CHALKDUST:  I was actually really impressed by this song this time around.
I had sarted to grow a little tired of it, but it had the energy of a '93
machine gun Trey, with the musical prowess of 1997. (aka Phish 2000 - for
Sauldude)


ENCORE: AXIS: Bold As Love:  My first live, and I actually mistook it for
Amoreena from the 8/13/97 Pittsburg show...I don't know why.  Oh, I forgot
to mention Page's beard...it's huge!  I know know if anyone else has
mentioned it but he looks like a hippy now!  Axis is a good tune.  That's
about all I can say for it.  It sort of seemed like they wanted us out of
there.  Security was not very cool about letting us take our time getting
out...

Oh, one thing that was hysterical was when they were inbetween Set II and
the Encore, the guy infront of me said "Did you hear?  Cleveland gets a
special treat of a really spectacular ending!"  In case you didn't see,
Phish ran a series of "Phish destroys America" ads and for each city they
put a the bottom something like "A New show with a Spectacular ending in
[enter city] only!" Go Phish.  :)

OVERALL:

I'm glad I went tonight, but I'm more glad that I am going to two more
shows this weekend.  I would really have to give Set I a 4 on the Scott
Jordan Polls, I have heard much better from these guys.  The Jim was
great, and I really liked Katy, but there was too much "whatever" music
like I said.  Set II earns a good 6 from me.  It was a decent set, and
solidly played.  The Slave was just great, and will warrant (at least for
me) multiple listening when I get the tapes.  The Julius is something
special, too, but nothing groundbreaking at this show.  Hopefully,
tonight's show will be completely overshadowed by what's going to happen
in Detriot. :)

Take care, and I'll see you tomorrow!

 - Mark

----
GO BLUE!
http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~markah

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 18:59:54 GMT
From:    Josh Woodward 
Subject: 12/5/97 Cleveland: First show thoughts.

Finally, my first show! I was introduced to Phish over the summer and
fell in love with the level of talent showing in every jam (they're
very interesting in particular since I've been playing guitar for 10
years). I'm obviously interested in getting a tape of this show, being
my first. I have about 50 hours already, so if by odd chance a taper
is reading, please respond!

At any rate, because I flubbed my mail order, I ended up with tickets
for the very back section, third row from the top. Bit of a bummer at
first. After the horrible drive in the snow and a late start, they
come out and start me out with a great jam on my favorite of the newer
songs, Ghost. As I had expected, the live concert experience was
amazing compared to even stellar sounding tapes. Wilson was a great
second. Runaway Jim is what sold it for me -- a very trippy jam at the
end sent me into a virtual trance. The light show with this was
excellent. Then, the segue into MFMF was quite nice. Limb by Limb
kept the trance going stong. I had been expecting an end-of-set for
several songs, but once again, they pull into yet another song, Char 0.
Long set, and a great one at that!

The second set was cool, though not quite as powerful for me as I. At any
rate, they kick off with my favorite Phish song, Stash. Not a bad jam,
but I've heard better. Bouncing gave me a chance to sit down and
relax. Julius wasn't all that hot, but the ensuing jam was wonderful!
Slave was next, a song which I didn't fully appreciate until last night.
And then, Lizards! I love Gamehenge, and this is a favorite song of mine.
Great! Loving Cup I don't remember much of, but Chalk Dust was a great
way to close the set. And then the Hendrix encore was great.

A great intro to Phish for me. Tonight comes Auburn Hills, but sadly,
doesn't look like Dayton is in the cards for me. Sold out. *sigh*
Ohwell, I'll have my share for the weekend of great music, wonderful
people, and unforgettable memories!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Josh Woodward, Comp. Sci, BGSU                     joshw@mail.bgsu.edu
Web Site and Tape List:                 http://www.dc-adnet.com/joshw/

  "Everything I need to know, I learned from IRC: 1. The entire
   world is from Rochester and Bowling Green.  2. "licks" is spelled
   with asterisks and capitals.  3. Hail Murray, full of bass."
                                - Sirilyan, #MoxyFruvous

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 17:39:21 GMT
From:    Scott Silton 
Subject: 12/5 mini-review

An average show IMO but VERY fun from the 2nd row!!

>I: Ghost, Wilson, Funky Bitch, Black-Eyed Katy, Sparkle, Runaway Jim >
>My Friend My Friend, Ginseng Sullivan, Limb by Limb, Charazter Zero (85
>min)

Highlights:  The Ghost had some great jamming.  15 strong minutes except for
the very end.  Funky Bitch was nice to hear but didn't take off for me.  BEK
was a first for me and I LOVED it!  All the previous reviews talked about the
Funk, which was there, but I didn't realize there was so much composed music
as well.  Great Great.  Limb by Limb was also fabulous.

Lowlights: Sparkle.  The Jim was going well and then just kinda died; I wonder
if the band saw/hear the girl in the front row who fell over and smashed her
head.  Granted, it happened right in front of me, but the sound of her head
hitting the floor was louder than the snare drum (like a melon - Splat!).  It
really shook me up and ruined the Jim for, which ended shortly thereafter
anyone.  People, have fun, but people, please be safe!  Bonus points for set
placement of this Jim, however.  Very nice to hear when it isn't beginning the
set.

>II: Stash, Bouncing Round the Room, Julius > Jam, Slave to the Traffic
>Light, Lizards, Loving Cup, Chalkdust Torture (80 minutes)

>E: Bold as Love

Highlights: I'm not a big Stash fan, but I *really* enjoyed this jam.  A lot.
The Lizards was fun, the Loving Cup _rocked_ and the Chalkdust Smoked.  Many
rock and roll tunes at this show, eh?  And I happen to enjoy BAL a great deal;
nice choice for the encore.  So many Hendrix tunes this tour, makes you wonder
about the NYE theme... maybe since no Halloween, we get a 2nd set of Hendrix?

Lowlights:  The Julius->Jam (or should it be "Julius - unfinished"?) didn't do
anything for me.  And the Slave was my least favorite version ever -- it was
also unfinished... for a while the jam soared, then it just fizzled.  No
glorious, uplifting end to a Slave and IMO you don't have a Slave.  Bouncing
was OK, but poor set placement after the super Stash.

Overall, this show was very nice and long (2 hrs 50 minutes of music) and had
a few nice jams.  But, the setlist wasn't to my liking and a few songs went
nowhere fast (Julius and Slave).  I give the show a 4.5.  Your milage may vary.

Disclaimer:  I often have different impressions from a tape than I do at a
show.  But I have been to 49 concerts now so I can tell a stellar show from a
good show from an average show.  See you all in Dayton!

Scott
silton.1@osu.edu



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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 19:00:05 GMT
From:    Ryan Larosa 
Subject: thanks phish-cleveland

let me start this review with a little background.  i had tickets for the
cleveland, detroit and dayton shows and was really looking forward to
them for a while.  back in august i broke up with my girlfriend of 2
years and have been down ever since.  music has always been my escape
from everything else going on, and phish is my favorite escape.  so this
weekend was going to give me a chance to just let go and enjoy the music
and the great people i always meet.  unfortunately, thinks only got
worse.  my grandmother passed away yesterday, and i will be in cleveland
with my family for the weekend.  i wasn't even going to go to the
cleveland show, but i figured if i ever needed an escape with phish, it
was now.  so i wanted to thank phish for making the beautiful music that
for many of us, lets us forget about everything else and enjoy the
moment.

now, onto the review.  i was hoping for a killer show, since it  will be
my only show this fall.

set I: ghost, wilson, funky bitch, black-eyed katy, sparkle, runaway
jim>my friend, ginseng, limb x limb, character 0.  1:22 min.

set II: stash, bouncin, julius>slave, lizards, loving cup, chalkdust.
1:20 min

e: bold as love

the first set started good with a nice Ghost.  it wasn't as jammed as
other versions i've heard, but it built nicely and kept a nice groove
through out.  as usual, chris's lighting was great.  during a dark
sounding jam in ghost, he flooded the stage in red, creating an eriee
mood.  next was Wilson and there isn't  much to say here, fun as usual.
Funky Bitch got things moving and had some nice work by page on the
hammond and trey taking his outro solo.  i'm guessing that the next song
was Black-eyed katy, because i've never heard it before.  i loved this
song and i can't wait to hear it develop after a couple years.  it
started with a slow funky groove and then it shifted into a jam segment.
this song was similar to ghost because it had a slow and patient build
towards the end of the jam.  next was Sparkle.  after that i heard trey
softly playing the beginning of Runaway Jim.  i was very excited
considering what transpired the last time they played Jim. this Jim was
more jammed then what i've seen in the past, but nothing spectacular.  it
was a little longer then your average Jim, but certainly it was no match
for the 11-29 version, which i'm dying to hear.  the ending jam of Jim
segued smoothly into MFMF, which was the first time i'd seen it live.
the beginning composed segment was played pretty well, but i heard a
couple flubs here and there. i thought the set would end on this next
song, but when i heard ginseng start up, i knew there would be at least
one more song.  Limb x Limb was solid, but it seemed like all night they
couldn't generate any real energy.  after they closed with a typical
raging character 0, i figured they were saving all the fireworks for set
II.  overall, set I was played solid, but it didn't contain any real
exploratory jamming.  I would give it a 5, maybe 6, but that's because i
haven't seen them since deer creek.

there was one song i was hoping to hear tonight, and that was Stash.
when the second set open with it, things were looking up.  the ending jam
was beautiful, but it had hints of the usually dark and dissonant stash.
this tension is what made it so great.  it felt like at any minute, trey
or page could have grabbed our ankles and dragged us under to the nethers
regions of hell, but they never did.  it just slowly built up to a smooth
 final jam.  this was definitely the highlight of the show for me.  and
at this point of the show, everything fell apart.  they followed this
great stash with bouncin'.  there should be laws against second set
bouncin's.  i figured they owed us a great jam next, but all we got was a
long Julius that never went anywhere.  this was longer then any Julius
i've ever heard, but it was still just Julius.  slave started right after
this, and i thought there was hope for salvation.  Slave started slow and
beautifully as it usually does, but near the end the tempo sped up and it
became very dissonant and distorted.  whoever commented that trey is
playing with his pedals too much recently was right on.  imho, they
absolutely ruined this song.  lizards was next and i thought maybe it was
still first set.  i mean, this is always fun to hear, but the setlists
i've seen from this tour had me expecting much more.  what, loving
cup...i thought this would definitely end the set and i was rather
disappointed with the set.  but wait , one more song (at this point, they
would need a YEM, Mike's or Gin to save this set) but it's only
chalkdust.  i love trey and phish, but tonight they let trey play the
70's guitar hero too many times.  maybe it's because they were in the
rock-n-roll hall of fame city.  oh yea, they closed with trey wailing on
bold as love.  this second set is a 3-3.5.  no real jams, except stash
maybe, and too many songs that just wailed and didn't go anywhere.  they
never caught a collective groove as a band.  who knows, maybe somebody
was sick or maybe trey won a bet and his prize was to rock out all night.


none the less, it was still phish and it put my mind at ease for 3 hours,
and for that i thank them.

                        xoxoxo
                        the
                        wild
                        llama

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 22:50:53 GMT
From:    turner's 
Subject: 12/5/97 review

-review of 12/5/97 at CSU in Cleveland, Ohio.

well, I heard this has been a great tour so far and there's no better way to
find that out than to be right up front on the floor for the CSU show.

The security wasn't bad at all, in my opinion.  The place had it's share of
vending, but cops were everywhere.  I didn't see them doing anything though.
We had floor seats and waited outside in the FREEZING cold for a a half hour
which wasn't fun, but ya know it makes it all the better when you get
inside..am I right?  Well, anyway, we were just about 10 or 15 feet from the
middle of the stage which was a great place to be. Nice venue, big, but nice
and great vibe before the show!

It was a great feeling seeing the boys come out and they really didn't mess
around, they got right to the point with Ghost which was beautiful, I
thought, but not quite as good as the 8/13/97 Ghost at Star Lake. (the only
other version I've heard live) Nice and funky and, as I said, to the point.
When Trey started Wilson, I was a little confused, and unexpecting, but
hell, it's nice to hear.  Standard (which is killer) and great lights (not
surprising)
Funky Bitch was good, I kinda missed some parts and didn't realize the turne
until they were halfway through it ;)  I hate when that happens.  However,
it was groovin and everyone seemed happy.
Black Eyed Katy is a great new tune (not like you haven't heard that before)
but I expected them to jam out a lot maore to it and it seemed short.
Sparkle is always a winner, I think the girls in front of me enjoyed it.
Runaway Jim! yes, I love this song.  It is so simple and I know Trey was
just itching to play it.  Unfortunatly, it wasn't quite as long as the
Worcester Jim, but I sure loved it.  However, they never slowed down at the
end and it segued into a familiar opening that I couldn't quite place at
first....oh duh my friend, my friend, never heard it live and enjoyed it
ginsing sullivan was good, by this time that whole place was groovin down,
and I was groovin hard.
I expected them to end the set on limb by limb, but along came old Character
0 which I'm not a huge fan of, but I liked mainly because of the explosion
with the lights and distortion on "I I long to see the man..."
End of set I- nice set.  The general vibe was that it was very rockin'
(perhaps because a tribute to the rock and roll hall of fame just down the
road) and this was later confimed after the second set.

Set II:
I was in the mood for a nice, long jam at this point (as everyone is) and
stash relieved my urges.  Beautifully played stash and I think they were
slightly teasing something I couldn't place my finger on..but I think it was
just me because no one I asked had a clue what I was talking about...oh
well.  Anyway one of the best stash's I've heard
Bouncing...ehhhhh....pretty standard and dull although I did enjoy the nice
vocal harmony.  I was severely hoping for a YEM, but along came Julius.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of this song, but this was absolutely a killer
version. The fam they went into was out of my mind.  This rock style jamming
reaffirmed my belief in the previously mentioned theme of the show.
slave...some guy behind me said that he thought this tune was lame, but I
thought it was placed perfectly and Page played a great solo to slow things
down a bit.
Lizards! yea...a nice old timer and just a great, happy tune.  It's hard not
to get a big smile on your face during this one.  I realized how cool and
simple the bass line is too. Glad to hear it and a nice treat.
Loving Cup was a thriller too.  The boys were really getting into it and I
certainly had a beautiful buzz! :)
During the applause after Loving Cup I heard the begining to chalkdust and
was absolutely psyched.  I didn't really know that I wanted to hear that
song, but once they started it was great.  Trey got really soft on verses
like "and watch what I say..." and then just EXPLODED!! By far the best
chalkdust in a while.. and the best I've ever heard live or on tapes.
Encore: Axis:Bold as love...powerful and excellent choice Trey!

Well they sure knew what was up last night and played another tremendous
show!  Once again, very rockin and definetly pleased everyone I talked with.
oh yea...gotta grovel for tapes  (do you really expect me not too?)

The mind is it's own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell
of Heaven.  - John Milton

-by Brian Turner - turns@bright.net   :)   :0   :)

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Dec 1997 18:30:30 GMT
From:    simon cohn 
Subject: Cleveland, 12/5/97, Setlist/Review

Howdy,

Just got back from the show... all in all it wasn't the best show i've
ever seen, and i wasn't totally blown away by it, but it had some good
points. Here goes...

** Disclaimer **
I've seen around 10 shows, and heard about 350 hours of Phish... take
that with a grain of salt.

*********************************************************
12/5/97
CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, OH
*********************************************************

1: Ghost, Wilson, Funky Bitch, Black-Eyed Katy, Sparkle,
   Runaway Jim-> My Friend My Friend, Ginseng Sullivan,
   Limb By Limb, Character Zero.

2: Stash, Bouncin', Julius-> Jam-> Slave-> Jam, Lizards,
   Loving Cup

E: Bold As Love


First set was very solid, i thought... pretty characteristic of 97
Phish. I walked in midway through Ghost (it was *impossible* to park
if you got there too late), but it was a pretty standard... just a
funked-out Ghost jam--nothing like the structered Ghosts of Atlanta
and Starlake 97 (the two best so far). Maybe something inspired
happened in the first 6 minutes i didn't catch... Wilson was standard.
Funky Bitch was great, Page *owned* this version, he was just tearing
it up during the opening minutes of the jam. This was my first time
hearing Black-Eyed Katy, and i loved it! For those who haven't heard
it, it's basically just a funky instrumental (with structure, tho)
that could have come out of any Ghost... it's a great jam, this is the
best example of "Phish 2000." The future sounds pretty good :) Sparkle
was standard, and it got the crowd off it's collective butt. Jim was
very interesting. I got the sense that it was a kind of like a
mini-Worcester, it was a very good jam (one of the highlights of the
show for me), with different sections. It started off as a normal,
rockin' Jim, then the jam got very dark/evil, then mellowed out to
just Trey melodically soloing with Fish laying down a soft highhat (i
think), and then segued *seamlessly* in to My Friend which is one of
my favorite Phish tunes (love that beat change, and the psycho jam
after "lights the fuse." Ginseng was pretty standard. It's always
funny to watch the hippie-chicks twirl around in the ailes to a
bluegrass tune like Ginseng, or Poor Heart :) Limbz was cool, i don't
particularly dig the lyric section, but the jam was great, with
everyone contributing equally (Trey did lay down some Fiery licks,
though). Zero was pretty standard for this tour i think... just a
great jam, like Limbz... Trey sort of went off a little more in this
one. I could tell it was the last tune of the set.
Setbreak was ***long***

I still don't know what to make of the second set. It was weird. I
usually don't like to put "JAm" in a setlist, but it seemed to have a
place in this set--the jams out of Julius and Slave were totally type
II, and got completely away from any semblence of what they came from.
It didn't really have anything to hold it together (no major tune like
YEM, Mike's, Tweezer, Bowie, DwD, etc.), but it did have a couple of
MAJOR jams. Stash was wwweeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiird. Didn't sound like any
other version i've heard... that's about all i can say about it :) It
was pretty long, too. Bouncin' was Standard. The weirdness that
started in Stash continued in to Julius, and carryed over in to Slave
(all three of these songs sounded completely different than any other
version i've heard). Julius was standardly great until when it was
supposed to end. The boys just continued with sort of a mellow jam,
which sort of built up in energy, until it started to RAGE... then
mellowed out again, and segued ( i think) in to Slave.
This Slave was *epic*, i mean that. Awe-inspiring. Spokane 95 Hood
times ten. It emerged from the haze of the Julius JAM. In the opening
minutes, where it's usually Trey/Page melodiously noodling, Mike was
suprisingly prominent. He was actually doing most of the noodling, and
it was damn melodious! It waTrey and Page were also in on it. It was
like a "whole-band-melodious-noodle," and it soudned really cool. It
steadily built up in momentum, as most Slaves do, and peaked (or so i
thought) in the regualr Slave fashion, but the peak just kept going:
Climbing and soaring, and carrying everyone with it. This was pure
HOSE (as was the Julius jam), and we all got **soaked**. After the
craziness ended, the jam quited down, and Trey played the opening of
Lizards. I was in shock by this point, and just sat down for the rest
of the set. I haven't heard enough Loving Cups to comment on it,
except that it seemed much more fired up than normal, and the jam
seemed to be extended farther.
Axis is the **perfect** song for an encore, i don't care what anyone
says. This could close every single show, and i'd never get tired of
it. Well that's it.
If anyone taped this, i'd be happy to send blanks for it, obviously :)


simon
s_cohn@skidmore.edu

--

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

Date:    Mon, 8 Dec 1997 02:28:21 GMT
From:    Jeremy Welsh 
Subject: Cleveland Thoughts

Well, this was my first and only show of the tour, and although I was a tad
disappointed on not seeing an amazing show (can't be picky) I had a great
time.  Since some pretty thorough reviews have appeared, I will just jot
down some comments.
The arena still seems nice and new (I guess it has been open for over two
years) and had a nice intimate feel to it.  My seats were really good;
though not floor, I was third row up, Fishman side, even with the board.
Maybe the highlight of the show was my ability to watch Kuroda do his work.
As was mentioned, he was a bit off, but it was still great to watch.  Maybe
he was side-tracked by the girls who flocked to him, giving kisses, during
set break ; )
Ghost was a nice opener (my 3rd Ghost in 4 shows - including Star Lake and
Shoreline) - around 16 minutes long, with Page doing some nice stuff on the
piano at the end.
Wilson sounded a little sloppy to me, but was a nice compliment to the huge
sign.
Funky Bich was a lot of fun, gettin' down - so great to hear Mike as well,
throughout the show.
Black Eyed Katie - first time hearing it, and although I liked it, I didn't
think it was as amazing as everyone keeps saying.  Really cool seven minute
instrumental, that, IMO, sounds like Cities in the beginning and the end.
Sparkle.
 It was great to hear my favorite song, at the moment, Runaway Jim (again,
3rd in 4 shows).  I was not expecting much, after the last one, but hit a
little spaciness at about 11 minutes and took off for a bit . . . and it
went into My Friend!  My first since last year Buffalo, it put a great
smile on my face.  I actually was hoping/expecting it.  Scream at the end
did not seem that big to me . . .
Ginseng was alright.
Limb by Limb, one of my favorite new ones, was nice.  Did not seem too
different from the summer (this was also my 3rd in 4 shows)
Character Zero's lights, played off of that little triangular screen
reminded me of a slot machine.

Break was about 45 minutes long, and they played Luscious Jackson over the PA.

Stash was a great suprise opener (I was expectin Timber Ho!)  Nicely played
- at about six minutes, they completely dropped out of the Stash theme, and
slowly made their way back to it as it lasted for a nice 15 minutes.
Bouncin' was started by Trey signaling to Fish with his hand moving up and
down - that was kinda cool I guess . . . one thing about Sparkle and
Bouncin' in the same show - Trey looked to be having a blast, dancing
around and almost Berry duck-walking; the band seems to have fun playing
these songs, so I won't hold it against them - I guess.
Now Julius - I was pretty bummed at the beginning, thinking to myself -
Julius after Bouncin'!  I kept looking for horns or something to make it
cool . . . little did I know!  It just kept going and going . . . fattest
Julius I have heard!  Just a nice jam all the way through, going off at
about 20 minutes.  It was about 26 when they entered Slave to the Traffic
Light.
Slave, in my opinion, is Phish's prettiest song.  And Cleveland was no
exception - until about 10 minutes or so, when Trey slowly moved his hand
across his body and the distortion fuzzed rock jam ensued for about five
more minutes.  Although it was no longer pretty - it was kinda cool.  I
remember telling my girlfriend What the Fuck? ; )  About three minutes
before Lizards, Fishman started a drum beat that I first thought was Maze,
but it ended up being a nice . . .
Lizards.  Well played version of this song.
Loving Cup just makes me so happy!
Chalkdust was not expected at all, and just flew out of Cup - blitzkreig
version of Chalkdust; really fast!

And Page did a really nice job with Axis: Bold as Love, which I though was
a cool encore, Trey going off a bit at the end.

Aol in all, I wish I saw more this tour and wish I was a little luckier -
BUT, it was a fun show, and am really glad I went.

-jeremy

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

Date:    Mon, 8 Dec 1997 15:09:55 GMT
From:    Jason Frankhouser 
Subject: cleveland review, page was hot!

OK folks I figured it out,
This was number 34 for me, and 14 for Andrea. *although her first was in
90 mine in 92)..Anyhoo Page was the MACK daddy, taking solos in every song
and mostly on the piano, not some freakaziod noise machine, tho those
"toys" were not neglected". I think most of the songs I was hoping for
were played thursday in Philly, so I was relaxed and ready for anything.
Set one:
        Pretty hot opener, ghost is about the best new song, our first of
6 repeats from hampton. oh well.  Still a hot number, and when they went
into Wilson, it almost sounded lame.  I mean that their new style of
imporov is so different/new/nutty, that the old school sounded REAL old
school. I got over that thought real fast tho and shook it down. The funky
bitch was hot hot hot, I had only heard this once before (nye 96), and it
was cool to be able to see it from so close. first set we danced about
even with the SBD.  I think that KATY should be renamed "funky jam #9" ala
bill monroe's "blue yodel #9" who's with me!!:)  It was ok only, but a fun
one to dance to, sparkle was actually played very slowly, I could dance
almost all the way thru on the beat without having a cardiac arrest, come
to think of it most of the show was played at a slightly slower groove.
It was the BOMB hearing my friend out of runaway, runaway did just that,
and seemed like it was getting pretty crazy, then slowed and became that
pretty into to my friend.  It took me about 5 mins to remember the name of
this one! last one was red rocks 95!! Ginseng was played for andrea which
was nice:) actually she got three songs played for her! funky bitch and
axis as well, lucky show.  I guess this had a lot to do with my enjoyment,
knowing that the birthday girl was getting hooked with songs she wanted to
hear. never hurts:)
        Set two:
        A crazy crazy concourse during break, I also saw a guard let like
50 people in (he was official looking, but I did not see anyone pay?).
Weird. Starting set two was slow going, I was in the rear so I missed the
dirty look/stared down things:(  I moved quickly up tho to about 30 feet
in front of board. SWEET spot, Page took some nice solos in this set. From
memory he jammed in julius *which was spacey* a nice long on in slave, the
usual lizards *but the crowd really shut up and let him play, trey was
just quietly cording, page was smokin'*. Back to the show, bouncin was a
repeat for me, but still cool.  I like the idea of playing a song to death
(like sample) then bringing it out only here and there, imagine what ghost
will do to us in three years!  I like the segue into slave, but it was not
a segue in the typical sense.  Trey would go into julius for a minute,
then jam some serious weirdness, then back into the song, then back into
weirdness. This was done in stash, julius, and slave.  He was just getting
super nutty, and once during slave I almost plugged my ears it was so LOUD
and dissonant, and generally insane. They did play an ending to Slave and
it was beautiful. I guess the contrast from the heavy metal hell, to
pretty trah lah lah was what I liked.  They were also doing a lot more
cressendo's, to counter what mike said in the europe interview. The crowd
was pretty good about it too, some cat calling of course, but they band
would sort of pause til "we" were done then play real quiet and soft for a
minute (like chalkdust) then BAM! real loud again. old school phish
indeed.
        I was not fortunate enough to go to any more shows, hope they
went well. This is the first dayton show I missed, and only one of 5 ohio
shows ever played I did not attend..bummer:) I still had my fun in
jampton. The venue was real nice and small for those not attending, and it
was stub city for all the kids. I saw many many people with "detatchable"
wrist bands...mine was fairly well glued to my wrist. peas--farmer jason
--
    <><"change"-trey anastasio..   "who feels it knows it lord."-rasbob
   "when all the years combine, and melt into a dream"-hunter   ><><><
  ><>" forget your troubles...and dance,forget your weakness...and dance!"
  web.neoucom.edu/~jfrank-"there's a goldmine up on the mountainside..."eh

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

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

hey freaky people

just recently returned from a solid weekend of phish.  i'm not really in the
mood to give a huge detailed run down of the shows, so here are some general
impressions:

when the boys came out for the cleveland first set, they were talking on stage
for a while which gave me the impression that they were going to pull out an
unexpected opener on the spot.  instead we got a ghost opener.  i have mixed
feelings about this tune, as i have heard some that i really dig and others
that i think go nowhere.  on a positive note, this one went somewhere.  the
jam lasted approx 15-20 minutes, and it was quite trey-heavy.  there wasn't
much overuse of the wah wah in this jam, much to my delight.  just a nice
healthy dose of melodious guitar playing courtesy of mr anastasio.  wilson
started up immediately after ghost.  no comment here, i really was not very
excited to hear it.  a nice funky bitch followed wilson.  the champaign 'bitch
had a bit more of a funky kick, but this was still enjoyable as usual.  i
believe black eyed katy was next.  despite the rave reviews i have heard about
this tune, i was not all that impressed.  the problem may have been the
placement - it sounded a lot like the ghost jam we had just heard 20 minutes
earlier, and therefore any/all excitement was sucked out of the tune for me.
sparkle was fast, but definitely not as fast as some other's i've heard.
highlight of the first set was the mid-set jim>my friend combo.  i was curious
to see what kind of jim they would pull off on the heels of the 60 minute
worcester version.  the jim was not experimental by any means, but it was
typically tight and fiery.  the jam got kind of out there before the segue
into my friend, which caught me very off guard.  this is what i like -
surprises!  my friend is one of my favorite tunes, and its recent absence had
me wondering if/when it was going to return.  it is also always fun to hear
typical openers in a mid-set position.  ginseng sullivan was very standard.
fun as usual, but nothing new worth mentioning.  i had to run to the bathroom
during limbxlimb, so you should ask someone else how it was.  character zero
was very unimpressive to my ears.  the pace was slow/sluggish, and the overall
vibe of the tune did not sound inspired at all.

second set stash opener, and we're off!  nothing crazy/beautiful/magic hose-
fest/
thirty minutes of pure sonic euphoria/mind blowing improvisation along the
lines of the 7-2-97amdam stash . . . . btw, i don't expect most stashes to be
quite *that* good, i only mention it b/c it also opened up a second set.  i
enjoyed the stash immensely, but it never got too "out there."  it was a nice
opener, and clearly a warm-up for the rest of the set.  the placement of
bouncin' as song two was just awful.  sorry to the bouncin' lovers, i'm just
calling it like i saw it:  the placement really sucked!  julius ripped me a
new one and then some.  the jam smoked ala madison '95, and then they brought
it down real low and quiet . . . . only to bring it back up again and keep
rocking some more.  the end of the jam was pretty unique in terms of most
versions of julius i've heard.  they slid ever so smoothly into slave, which
was a fantastic transition.  during the build, i thought we were poised to
hear a mindblowing and patient conclusion to slave.  you know the kind of
slave you always hope for?  when they build and build and just when you think
it is over and it could not get any higher, and they manage to work it into
even more of a frenzy for just a few more minutes.  this is what i thought we
were looking at.  however, slave was never finished.  the band starts jamming
on a dark and heavy theme, and which eventually yielded an unexpected lizards.
i like this tune, and was especially happy to hear it because it is more of a
rarity these days and it had been a while since my last one.  seriously
rocking versions of loving cup and chalkdust closed the show.  i can't say for
sure how this chalk compared to the royal ventura version, but it seemed more
jammed out than usual.  the bold as love encore was the highlight of my
weekend without a doubt.  this is one of my favorite covers that phish
performs, and anyone who knows me also knows that it was at the top of my wish
list as far as tunes i've never seen in concert.  before they started playing,
trey was standing by page and counting off.  i was really pulling for the bold
as love, directing all my energy into the fact that it *would* happen.  i
talked about it on the ride to cleveland and i talked about it at the
setbreak.  when the song began, total bliss enveloped my entire being.  i
couldn't believe it happened, in fact i still can't believe it.  the
experience was very similar to the cosmic ac/dc bag incident at my first show.
in summary, cleveland's first set was really just going through the motions
for the most part;  the second set was excellent sans bouncin' . . . .


peas,
jonathan

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

Date:    Tue, 9 Dec 1997 01:44:46 GMT
From:    Jonathan Shedletzky 
Subject: 12.05.97 CSU 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. That is
irrelevant. This is strictly my opinion of the 12.05.97 show in Cleveland.

The scene outside the show was pretty decent. A lot of vending going down
across the street from the Convocation Center. No narcs, or bust, or nitrous
that I encountered.

The venue was nice and small. I was told that it sat 8500, which is a nice
size. We had General Admission seats, meaning we were able to get about 20 feet
in front of Fish and still have room around us in which to get phunky.

GHOST: This was one of the several tunes I had hoped to hear this weekend. I
liked this version. Funky as per usual, but definitely nothing to rave about.
It was a standard 17 minute funk jam. I found this to be a weird song
placement. Mind you, it's good as an opener, but I'd prefer a jam tune as such
later on in the set. What can ya do? Well, ya can christen(sp?) your
newly-lot-purchased sherlock;^)~

WILSON: Ghost kinda segued into Wilson (it was actually more of a transition).
See, I'd have prefered this tune as an opener. Something to pump you up. The
"Can you still have fun" portion was electric. That's something that'll get you
pumped at the beginning of the show.

FUNKY BITCH: I also found this to be placed in a strange position in the set.
Nevertheless, it was a good version. Just your standard passing of the solos.
Just what you'd expect from a Bitch.

BEK: I'd have to hear this one again, as it was the first time I ever heard it
and can't really judge it as of it. Everyone knows that it's a funk
jam/instrumental. I figured that they couldn't go wrong with a tune like that.
There was an enjoyable jam to follow the composed part. So far, a fairly solid
beginning to a show.

SPARKLE: I hate this song, and I hate how I keep hearing it at shows I'm truly
just bored of this song. At one point I liked it but it lost its novelty a long
time ago.

RUNAWAY JIM: I was surprised, yet glad, to hear this one being that they played
like a 58 minute version less than a week before. I knew they wouldn't pull
another Runaway Jam. It was about 14 minutes I believe. From what I recall, the
jam was pretty melodic and danceable. It never really strayed too far from the
general Jim style of jamming. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable.

MY FRIEND: Jim transitioned into My Friend. I don't mind this tune, but I heard
it at the last show I was at. I enjoy listening to this one but I can't really
get into it.

GINSENG SULLIVAN: If they're going to play a non-jam tune, something like this
might as well be it. Something fast is always good (unless it's Sparkle), and
hearing the boyz play bluegrass is always a treat. Nice work by Trey here.

LIMB BY LIMB: One of my favourite new tunes. I love the angelic jam that is a
common occurence with it. I found this version to be quite slow. It had an
almost reggae feel to it, a slow tempo. Hence, it took a while to get through
the lyrics (which was kinda boring) but the jam absolutely made up for it. I
can't put my finger on it but it contained a different feel to the ensuing jam.

CHARACTER ZERO: After the fact that Phish played a 20 minute version of CZ
whenever it was, I was hoping they'd do it here to. It was definitely closing
the set and I need one more jam. It was nothing spectacular. High energy and
nice soloing but standard. Only 10 minuites this time.

Set I was good but nothing spectacular. Most people at the show will agree that
it was standard. A nice Ghost, Jim, Limb By Limb and BEK.  Not as much jamming
as hoped for but most first sets go like that. No need for traders to rush to
get this set.

STASH: Another abnormal song placement, imo. I don't remember too much about
this jam, except for the fact that it was considerably different from most
Stash's that I've heard. Instead of the usual jam that kind of builds in
intensity and raunchiness never really occured. It was more of a melodic jam to
begin with, and became kind of metal-esque towards the end. I'm not a huge fan
of this song to begin with, but I liked it more than most versions I've heard.
A nice jamming change. Only about 13 minutes

BOUNCIN': Seen it too many times (as with Sparkle). Don't like it...

JULIUS!!!!: ...But they make up for BATR. Julius, a tune I noticed underwent
some changes in the jam this summer, I was psyched to hear. It began with the
normal ass kickin' anthemic jam headed by Trey wailing on his 'doc. Most
Julius's are just rocking tunes but I want to hear the boyz bring it down to a
jazzy jam ala 7.10.97. To my supreme delight, they did so. It was a beautiful
funky, jazzy jam that I had wished for. I can't remember specifics about the
jam other than it varied alot. Fishman was awesome. He really orchestrated the
entire jam nicely. He's so good at changing the beat of any jam and inevitably
bringing everyone with him, changing the sound and texture of the jam. This was
undoubtedly the best version of Julius I have ever heard, although I've read
mixed reviews. I say Julius will mature into a seminal tune soon, as did Dw/D
in '96, for example. 17 glorious minutes after it started Julius segued
directly into...

SLAVE TO THE TRAFFIC LIGHT: Now I am not a huge fan of Slave although I do like
it. Frankly, I get bored of the admittedly angelic jam that just slowly builds
and eventually peaks. I like it but it gets repetitive sometimes. Fortunately
for myself, this version was different. It was melodic as usual and build
slowly. At one point Page was going off on something that sounded alot like a
vibraphone. Very cool. The jam eventually strayed from the usual build in
intensity, peak, denoument. Towards the last third of the jam, it just exploded
into this Trey-strong, Heavy Metal-esque, yet beautiful, jam that kicked my
ass. At this point, I was nearly brought to tears. I guess I was hosed, but I
didn't cry. I love it when the music being performed is so intensely beautiful
that you want to cry! Segued or transitioned into....

LIZARDS: I was glad to hear a 'hendge tune. I would have prefered a McGrupp or
Tela but Lizards is beyond enjoyable. I can really appreciate comparing and
contrasting the songwriting style of the 'hendge to the present.

LOVING CUP: I called this one before the show. The Went version was the last
thing I'd heard before going to the show so it was stuck in my head and I knew
it would be played. Trey was great. He was loving it. The smile on his face
while singing "Ohhhh, what a beautiful buzz" did it for me.

CHALKDUST TORTURE: Like Stash, I found that this version was different from
most I've heard. I can't really putmy finger on it but I think the new element
of funk has, shall we say, intoxicated this song too...Good closer.

Encore:
AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE: Can't complain about a Hendrix tune as an encore. I like
this tune and I feel that Phish brings some justice to it.

OK, second set kicked my ass. I was truly touched by the Julius>Slave.
Definitely not the best jams I've heard but just thoroughly enjoyable. I think
tapes of the second set are essential. The Stash is good, as is Chalkdust. The
Julius>Slave alone is worth the tapes. Grooving 20 feet in front of Fish, I
obtained a newfound respect for Tubbs. I was really able to appreciate the
extent to which he controls a jam. Up until now I've always considered Trey to
be the focal point of most jams. Fishman is just so good at changing up the
tempo and beats. I love his playing. And I love how Trey is able to effectively
sit back and let the other boyz rip shit up for a bit.

Glancing at the setlist, I realize that the show looks average but it truly
isn't. The setlist was average but the boyz are just playing so well right now
that they can make anything sound killer. Perfect example; Julius. They are
presently able to extend most tunes into a highly contrasted and varying jam.
Right now, setlists don't matter, because they're playing too well. Lastly, I
pity phans (such as setlist fiends) who didn't appreciate this show. I'd hate
to be someone who went to a show and went home disappointed. I loved everything
(minus Sparkle and Bouncin')

And, finally, A SHAMELESS GROVEL FOR TAPES OF THIS SHOW AND/OR AUBURN HILLS.
I've got much to offer. Help a brother out.