New Years Thoughts

Send all New Years Thoughts to: andy@gadiel.com

Note: My New Year's Eve thoughts can be found on: Andy's Page

I don't get the negetivity towards New Year's.
I felt it was like climbing a mountain:

All major peaks in the show (Limb by Limb, Fire, The whole second set, 
2001) were sections in the upper peak. The very apex being the 
INCREDIBLE Weekapaug, and the 2001. Instead of steadily descending, you 
started to fall out of control. Tweezer was the feeling you get when the 
disorientation sets in (hey, I'm falling!) Maze was the sheer panic, and 
your Physical body slamming into the rubble on the way down (AHHHHH!), 
Caspian was submission (weeeel I guess  I'm gonna die!) The final notes 
of Loving cup was your final slamming into an outcrop (Uh, ow.) New 
York, New York was the confusion, and non-linearity of your unconcious 
(where the hell am I?) TweezerPrise is the dislodging of the rock, and 
the final notes are the crashing into the ground below, and the end of 
the concert, leaving you with a great sense of discontnuity, and 
euphoria.

In simpler terms: We needed a cool down set after that Weekapaug!

Mike

I Thought the Emotional rescue was the best and most uniqe and original cover
since Ween. I PHUCKIN LOVE EM.

For myself, my brother, and my fiancee, the New Year's run @ MSG was
spectacular, gorious and cosmic.  You see, in early September of 97, my
brother t-boned a car that ran a yield sign, and Scott was riding his
motorcycle to boot.  He flipped over the top of the car, landed on his
head on the other side, and somehow broke both bones in his lower left
leg.  Then, on September 12, I was struck from behind @ 45+ mph by a 76
Wagoneer while walking the dog with my fiancee.  I lost my spleen and 4
feet of my small intestine in emergency surgery brought about by the
impact.  Amazingly, I didn't break any bones, but I had my entire blood
volume replaced.  
        So, to celebrate life, love and the cosmic mystery we like to call the
universe, we all flew to New York from Boise, Idaho for New Year's with
the greatest band ever.  The vibes were phantastic.  Thank you Phish,
thank you Phans, and thank you thank you!


Well like everyone else who saw the shows in NYC and even the second 
set at Landover, which is not getting mentioned at all, I am so glad I 
am a Phish fan. To me the highlight of the four shows was the 29th. I 
love both sets and the magic of the experience that night will forever 
be with me. I had been waiting for a YEM all tour and I finally got it 
after my first Bowie of the tour and the reappearance of Fluffhead in 
the first set. Coming out of a glorious Theme are you kidding me. The 
next night started off great with Sneaking Sally but for some reason 
the rest of that set did not do much for me. The Stash was inverted or 
something which I dug. Second set was mammoth in terms of sizew and the 
jamming in Bag was great but the Harpua while amusing seemed to lack in 
the se3nse that I think the band wanted a lot more crowd involvement 
than they got. The Izabella fired me up and the Hood was a dream but I 
was agitated by the fact that the glowsticks kept getting thrown up on 
stage instead of throughout the audience. Guyute was  difficult to 
listen to with a degree of sloppiness I have not seen in the other 
versions of the tour. The Encore up to the FRankenstein was great but 
once again people threw the glowsticks back up on stage and the 
participation was weak. Come on People! Wanted a Divided, Reba, or 
Forbin's MOckingbird but instead we got a bungled 3rd set Maze? And 
Prince Shwaggian Loving Cup NYNY and Tweeprise to end the year? Why? 
First set that night rocked but second set outside of a now frequently 
played Timber Ho! MIkes and raging Weekapaug was sort of slow with 
Piper Circus and Roses are Free(an ok but not great tune IMHO). I would 
have loved to hear a Free as well but oh well. So many great memories 
outside of being searched during the first set break on NYE and losing 
two beers and two pipes in a 45 second time period. Doh!
Awaiting arrival of Fall tour tapes anxiously.
Peace,
Cooper 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Savage, Cooper Garthwaite
Vanderbilt University
Email: cooper.g.savage@Vanderbilt.Edu

I realize that New Year's Eve is now two weeks past, but I think it's taken 
that long to let things settle in and come to the reality of what was 
experienced in New York City.  I was fortunate enough to catch all three 
shows, and I am certainly grateful that I did not miss a beat.
I've read some other comments and talked to some other phans, and I'll agree 
that the 29th was not even close to what the 30th and 31st were, but I 
completely expected that.  Still, I was pleasantly surprised to hear an 
outrageous Antelope, a pumpin' Possum, and a quality first-night YEM.  I 
immediately started thinking, "OK, what are they going to bust out on New 
Year's?"
I was thrown for a loop right off the bat on Tuesday with Sneakin' Sally!!! 
 And the rest of that first set completely killed me.  I turned to my friend 
after A Day in the Life had ended and said, "That's it, right?  The show's 
over.  We can go home now right?"  Not even.  Just the fact that they hadn't 
played Sneakin' Sally for nearly 10 years wasn't enough, they had the nerve 
to go back into the damn song some 4 hours after starting the show!!!  Thank 
God for glow sticks! Thank you Mr. Miner!  By the time the "Show of all 
Shows" (as far as I'm concerned) was over, I was completely spent.  I then 
turned to my friend and said, "I have no idea what they're going to play 
tomorrow!" (New Year's)
And you know what?  It doesn't even matter anymore.  Titles of songs these 
days are sometimes meaningless.  When they're jamming Ghost, or Black-Eyed 
Katy, or Tweezer these days, it's simply Phish.  The best music on the 
planet (and sometimes I'm not convinced they're from this planet).
On New Year's Eve I was able to join a few friends in a sky-box before the 
show, which was nice, but not where I wanted to be when the lights went 
down.  So I made the long, arduous trip to my seat caddy-corner to Page's 
boards in the 100's.  From my perspective, the MSG security and the scene 
all 3 nights could not have been better.  Granted, things were a little 
tighter on New Year's, but I never felt the presence of security or anything 
but a cool, safe environment.  Emotional Rescue was a surprise, but just 
about everything is these days.  Immediately I started thinking I'd hear 
Loving Cup, but that's when I get myself into trouble.  I shouldn't even 
care what they play.  They can do whatever they want, whenever they want, 
and I will listen.  The projection ball was a great addition to the show, 
and I caught Trey looking up at it throughout the show.  Although the sets 
may be considered a little short, I think that comes from the treat we 
received the night before.  The openers and closers of the sets were right 
on.  I stood still for a little bit during Fire, and the whole Garden was 
bouncing.  This just does not happen when the Knicks play.  The Timber Ho 
was a great way to open the 2nd, and I don't even want to get into what 
Weekapaug was doing to me.  The balloons that fell at New Year's were 
completely insane, but I started feeling sorry for the band because they 
were getting buried by them, and couldn't get into Tweezer as I would have 
liked.  I wouldn't be surprised if they cut out the balloons next year. 
 Then finally, Loving Cup!!!  What a way to close out the set, and as far as 
I was concerned, the Holiday Run.  Oh, what a beautiful world!  I'm still 
waiting for these damn tapes!!!!
Eric Sommers

Myself being a dedicated follower of
the band for quite a while now and having seen so many shows I lost
count, I do agree that us fans sometimes do take the guys too
seriously.Just sit back and enjoy the fantastic moments of music that
Phish gives us. That's just what I did when I went to the shows on the
30th and 31st at MSG. While I can'talk abuot every moment because that
would take too long- they were all too good; I will say that  although
the 31st was wonderful, the 30th had to be the ultimate highlight fo me.
My pals and I, along with a packed  and loud ass Garden, didn't stop
groovin all night. We were treated to a Sneakin' Sally opener, and what
a delightful treat. The rest of the 1st set was just fine for me, as
they belted out an above average Punch you in the EYe, a hammering
Chalkdust and a beautiful Day in the Life.
The second set, however, was one of the best sets I've ever seen or
heard.A Jamming AC-DC Bag was followed by another one of my favorites,
Mcgrupp. As the OOM-PAH-PAH's began Harpua, a huge smile came to my
face. Trey's "Lost in Space" was a nice breather and what a funny sight
to see and hear Tom doing the 500 miles song. The rest of the set made
my year. Back into Harpua, a fierce version of Isabella and another
great version of Harry HOod. I thought now it would be over and we would
wait a few minutes for teh encores to begin. But, boy was I wrong, and
happily wrong. A song that's quickly catching on with me and becoming
one of my favorites, My Soul was next, followed by a poignant Sleeping
Monkey. But wait, there was more, Guyute ended the set and we could
hardly catch our breathes waiting for the encores, which were fantastic.
Carini was a great delight, as was the new Black Eyed Katy instrumental.
A Sneakin Sally reprise and a stellar Frankenstein complete withe Fish
on vaccum ended what was one of the best night's of my life. 
On the way home on the train, singing Sleeping Monkey (home on the
train) I glanced at my friend Brian who was attending his first show. He
looked at me and said "what a band"- I cuoldn't agree more.

 i thought that the scene @ MSG was really nice, it was really cold
crapy weather, but the goo balls made it worth it!  :)   I thought that
the first four openers on the 29th were huge!  good start to a 3 night
run.  the antelope!  what an amazing antelope, i've seen antelope ZZYXYZ
knows how many times (he he he) and that was an excellent one.  the rest
of the show was ok, possum is always fun to hear, i couldn't place a
name for the blues brothers thing they played @ that time, nice little
twist.  It was also nice to hear tube, i've noticed that they've been
playing it a lot more lately.
    what can i say about the 30th?  awesome show, absolutely nuts!  at
the time i didn't realize that that was the first sneakin' since 88, but
i still boogied down hard core.  i always enjoy a PYITE, it's such an
energy filled song that makes you want to rage all night long.  i won't
say much about the second set just because it's just too hard to
explain, and it takes a while.
    then the 31st.  after the show on the 30th i was expecting this
super huge massive nuts phish show.  my friend got me and another friend
stubbed down to the floor, which was great!  i felt left out because i
didn't get a back stage pass and literally everyone around me had one
:(    It was a weak show i thought.  the security by us was sort of
tough, they threw out a sister because she was puffing!  that was
terrible, but life goes on...  the piper, piper has to be one of my most
favorite new tunes, in detroit they also did a really nice job on it as
well, i could never get sick of that tune.  i was shocked at the
shortness of the sets, and it did look like the band was a little
tired.  i think phish should do a show on the 27 & 28th, break for the
29th and then do the 30th and 31st, worked real nice for the good ol'
dead (sniff sniff).  oh well, i'm just more pumped to see phish more
now, and hope to make it to nye next year as well.
    *if you do publish this don't publish this right here.  i think that
we should have a table for all of the phish net freaks out there, where
we can meet, exchange tape lists and puff nuggets (if allowed :))  maybe
we netheads can have our own raffle for back stage passes over the net.
anyways, i would have liked to have meet you out there andy, i never did
stop at the place you were at, just because i couldn't find it.  anyways
take care kiddo

timmy-o

Well, first off thanks to Jeremy Roth (who made the "Chicago Phish
Phans" web page) for the ride to New York.  And thanks to Andy for the
"Holliday Tour rides" section - it really worked out.  Got to New York
without hitting any traffic and made it to the 12/29 show within plenty
of time.  The shows have already all been reviewd by so many, so I just
want to make a few brief points.  First, I had an AMAZING time in NYC. 
I couldn't find anyone to go with way back when Mail order was due, so i
just said "fuck it" and ordered single tickets for all 3 MSG shows.  Got
hooked up with the ride via Andy's page and stayed with a very nice girl
who I'd only met a few times...I made it happen and I didn't feel as if
I was alone at all.  I truly realized how many people i know just from
goling to shows.  Ran into the same people over and over again.  It felt
like seeing a concert at a small bar.  It was eerie.  Ran into the guys
in StrangeFolk, then Andy Bernstein from the Almanac, then Dean Budnick,
then the guys we camped next to at Deer creek, then the girl who I
bought a guiness off at the Went, then my taper friend i met in Alpine
Valley...it was crazy.  Obviously the music was INSANE, but you already
all know that.  New years was sooo great i got very emotionally moved. 
Dancing right next to the tapers section, there was just such a sense of
community.  I couldn't have imagined being anywhere else.  I'm glad that
the security took the 2nd and 3rd sets off, (on the floor anyway).  
        Happy New year everyone...and if a guy comes up to you at a set break
in the future and offers you a free orange, that's me ...and no they're
not laced.PEACE   Jeff Waful


First, I'd like to start off by saying that I just read a review 
from probably the most stuck up phan in the world.  His name was Charles 
Dirkson and he reviewed the New Years Run which is great, but man is he 
on a high horse.  What the heck is this crap about contextualizing what 
song you are saying is excellent?  Who the fuck cares?  People can say 
what they want about any song they hear.  What they think is an 
excellent version of a song may be different from what you think.  Don't 
tell people what to think!  
        Secondly, does this guy think he is the master of music 
perfection or what?  Virtually every song to him that was played on the 
New Years Run sucked because Trey played a flat instead of a sharp or 
Page couldn't move his fingers fast enough for him - or some lame-ass 
reason besides those.  You get the picture.  Lighten up my man.  Phans 
come to the show to have a good time - not to tell Mike Gordon  how to 
tune his bass!  So what if Trey makes a mistake or two on a song, we're 
still having fun aren't we?  The music is what we are here for, not a 
perfectionist class or something.  Thirdly, stop using that 'imo' thing. 
It's annoying!  Isn't that the name of Sean Ono Lennon's band? About the 
only thing he said that I agreed with was concerning that Roses are Free 
song that was played on the last night.  I thought it sounded good, I 
guess because Phish played it, but it really does sound like a stupid 
song.  Who are Ween anyway?  Ugggggh!  
        
        Anyway, I for one, didn't bring my gradebook and red pen to 
listen for mistakes in certain songs at the New Years Run.  I instead 
brought myself and some other pals and a good vibe - and HAD AN 
EXCELLENT TIME!  Every show was great.  I guess I'd say either New Years 
or 12/28 were the worst.  New Years may edge it out, only for the reason 
that it had three sets.  
        Is 12/30/97 going to be a classic show to have on tape or what?! 
They just pumped out some classics and really had fun with them.  Harpua 
has to be one of the highlights f0r me.  I haven't heard that 
Proclaimers song in a while.  One would think that if Phish played 
Harpua these days, they would play a Duncan Sheik or Hanson song.  Nice 
surprise though, I like it.  Is Trey a classic storyteller or is it just 
me.  That Will Robinson think had me in stitches!  They have to play 
Harpua more in the future, or at least play Gamehendge.  Trey's 
narration is always fun to hear.  
        Anyway, what's with Phish three set shows with the short sets?  
We also saw the same thing (sort of) at the Went.  The second and third 
sets were rather weak, I thought.  The Mike's and Weekapaug (a sick one 
at that) saved the second, but there wasn't really a highlight of the 
third, except for maybe Tweezer which sounded purty cool.  
        Is this the fourth year in a row now that Phish isn't going to 
do a spring tour?  This stinks!  No Phish for 6 months!  Maybe I'll try 
to get obsessed with another band in the meantime, like Leftover Salmon 
or Moe for instance.  Ominous Seapods anyone?  
        Well, I enjoyed the tour and can't wait til summer.  Phish is 
grand!  Happy 1998 everyone!
-pjbishop@bellatlantic.net

these are my thoughts as i remember them i think,
28th--nice warm up for msg--lotsa energy, long first set.  curtain!!  solid
set. drinking lotsa cuddysark.  good people in my hallway.  second set--jazzy
simple and unfinished scent.  slave!!!!!!!!  make the drive home to
manhattan. make good time on 95N.
29th--first set, again lotsa energy.  fluff, dirt, ANTELOPE, really nice!!!
2nd set--the boys were right on!  just remember smiling entire set in awe
sitting two rows off the floor on pages side, drinking margaritas and the
jaeger i snuck in snapple bottles.  hang after show and go back to my
apartment downtown.  new york rules for the slack security.
30th--hung over.  slept till three.  go to the show.  first set, short. 
thinking the boys are saving much for the second set.  and yes they did!!!! 
just them having fun on stage and me sharing in the groove, (wait thats
manana), oh yeah, ist set opener--sneaking salley!!!  not played since 88.
one of my fav tapes of all time has it, (actually when i was backstage at
second night at philly in fall, i kidded around during the second set and
turned to my friend who works at their label and said i needed a sneaking
sally)--too weird.  then they give us the reprise. i cant wait for new years.
thanks for the people who hung the guyute sign!!!
31st--happy new year--they are tired and so am i.  i feel they have lost it
tonight, but the mikes is nice.  a festivus show. champagne easily snuck in.
i'm in bed by 2 am.  i cant wait for europe!!!!!

    I was able to catch all three of the MSG shows and thought that
the run as a whole was pretty good.

        The first night opened with NICU, which was a surprise to me.  It
turned out to be a good opener although the band cautiously meandered
through the tune.  I was then extremely surprised with Golgi being played
as the second song of the evening.  The tune was light, easy, well played
but nothing special.  However, the crowd went completely nuts during this
rendition which brought a super surge of high energy to the show.  The
band must have really fed off the high energy as Crossroads absolutely
blew my mind.  From the first note to the last everything about this song
was fantastic.  A special mention must go to Trey who was REALLY on the
money, spewing out unbelievable guitar riffs which put Clapton to shame.
This was followed by CTB, Train Song & Theme from the Bottom, three songs
which I am not a particular fan of.  However, I did enjoy certain aspects
of CTB, I felt that musically the song had some interesting and creative
moments.  Theme from the Bottom, I thought was really good (probably the
best I have heard), as the jam at the end of the tune hit some really
chaotic and musically demanding moments.  Fluffhead was good, but not
great.  This song has really not been given true justice by the band since
93/94.  This was followed by Dirt and then Antelope which was very good.
The extended ending of Antelope proved to climax with high energy and
ended the set with the audience waiting in anticipation.
        Down with Disease opened the second set and I thought it was a
pretty standard version.  The transition into David Bowie was near
brilliant, as the band demonstrated both their musical intelligence and
creativity.  From a purely musical perspective, I thought there were some
really fascinating things going on during the transition.  It seemed as
though Mike Gordon lead the band through the transition with his subtle
yet off the wall bass riffs.  David Bowie was well played, yet the band
kept a very a conservative edge to this rendition.  I must add that a
smile came to my face as the band looped into a slick and cool James Bond
Jam.  Possum was excellent - super upbeat and I couldn't stop dancin'.  I
haven't heard Possum too many times but I thought this one was really
special, especially when the band went into an eccentric blues brothers
jam.  The heat from Possum extended into Tube which turned out to great
and rhythmically creative.  I don't know if it was the state the I was in
but it felt as though the band was really playing with rhythm and tempo
during this tune. Then came YEM and sorry to say it brought down the
energy of theentire show.  It was as if there was going to be this giant
climax and everything just collapsed.  The song was played with a
lifeless feel, while the vocal jam faded into gloom and died shortly
thereafter. 
        The Band then encored Good times, Bad Times.  This was the first
ime I saw this tune live and I thought it was incredible.  The solo that
came from Trey was divine in every way.  

        Dec. 30 opened with Sneaking Sally Through The Alley and if I am
correct it hasn't been played since 7/24/88 - so talk about surprises!!!!
I thought it was really well done and I had a lot of fun listening to this
exciting tune.  The rest of the first set was really most unimpressive.
There were some good moments in Punch You In The Eye and I felt that
Chalkdust had some character, but overall it was a bland set.
        Second Set opened with AC\DC Bag.  The song started with ZERO
energy.  It was slow and uneventful and I feared the second set would be
worse than the first(I guess I was mistaken).  At the end of AC DC Bag the
band began to dive into a really weird but super fun jam which really got
MSG on its feet.  This high powered musical ingenuity brought on Mc Grupp
which I enjoyed although I can't remember too much about it.  As Mc Grupp
came to a close I had a weird feeling we were about to hear Divided Sky,
but was totally taken by surprise by the Oom pa pa of Harpua.  I liked
Harpua and the funky elements that the band inserted during this energetic
rendition.  Trey then went into one of his narratives - I found the story
to be interesting an creative until I saw the images on the ceiling the
following night, at which point i thought the story was kind of cheezy.
The story climaxed with Marshall making a traditional visit to the stage.
He approached the microphone and the band broke out into Five Hundred
Miles.  I heard many gripes and criticims of this outside the show that
night, but myself I thought it was fun and enjoyed the moment.  The only
way to explain the rest of the set was that it just KICKED ASS.  The Band
went back into Harpua which was superb.  They jammed into a wonderful and
intriguing Isabella.  Harry Hood had some moments that were great.  The
band really explored through this tune in a tight fashion.  Each member of
the band were  in complete symmetry.  It was if they
were four fingers on one hand.  It was not a crazy or an incredibly
hardcore hood, but it was just musically really together.  Then came My
Soul which is a new favourite for me.  I just love this song.  The tune
runs along a standard blues riff but the song carries a tremendous amount
of energy whenever it is played.  I found this version to be excellent
and as I looked up at the bouncing heads around MSG it seemed the crowd
was loving it.  The set ended with sleeping monkey which is one of my
favourites and I don't think I could ever complain about it even if was
done poorly.
        The band returned for the encore and Trey explained that it was
11:50 and that they were supposed to be off by 11:00 - so they would
continue to play until New Year's Eve.  The Band through 4 encores pleased
the crowd for another half hour or so.  Carini opened the set of encores
with Carini himself (drum tech) making a special appearance at center
stage.  This was followed by a funky rendition of Black eyed Katie, which
has been a spectacular addition to the band's repetoire.  the band the n
jammed into a sneaking Sally reprise - this took everyone by surprise and
the crowd was going insane over this well played reprise.  Phish continued
to jam away until they hit a brilliant and energetic version of
Frankenstein which closed the show.  The set was about 2 1/2 hours long
and just incredible - definitely one to get on tape!!!!

NYE - I was unimpressedwith most of this show.  First the light show - I
was not impressed with the light show at all - it was basically a giant
screensaver at the top of MSG.  The Balloons have been done and the drop
was not terribly exciting.  It seems as though phish has yet been able to
get it together and play a truly amazing New Year's show

        Trey really struggled in the first set.  Trey seemed to botch some
of the technical riffs found some of the first set songs.  Generally, in
my opinion if Trey can't get some of the really technical playing down he
has a tremendous amount of difficulty coming up with interesting and fluid
jam solos.  Much of his playing in the first set was jotted and
unconnected.
        The emotional rescue was an interesting opener although the band
seemed paralyzed for a while before they could go into any type of real
jam in that song.  Trey could have done a lot more with the Wah Wah in
Wolfman's Brother.  The set ended with Sloth and then Fire which were
probably the two highlights of the set - but nothing really to rave about.

        Second set proved to be much improved from the first.  I t hought
Timber Ho was excellent.  The band went into a really good funk jam where
some very interesting and enjoyable music took place.  Mike's song coming
out of Timber Ho  was also really good - it was nice to see a good Mike's
song I haven't seen one personally in a long time.  When the circus Comes
to Town followed but I am not really impressed by that tune.  The next
song was a cover entitled Roses are Free which I thought was really
mundane
until the end when they started to pick up some energy and jammed straight
into Weekapaug.  Weekapaug was probably the highlight of the three nights.
It was so good that I can't even put it into words.  However, I will share
this moment with you.  During Weekapaug I sat down for a moment just to
observe and take everything in.  As I sat in my lower bowl seat I could
feel the entire venue bouncing up and down.  the entire Gardens was
shaking - it wasn't like a little tremor - the building was really
shaking.  The crowd was going nuts everyone was dancing - and I sat and
just enjoyed the tremendous rattling of MSG as I shared in the Weekapaug
Groove.  WOW!!!!!!

        After a long break set three opened with 2001 which I thought was
really good.  There were some serious funk jams that had me dancing up a
storm during that tune.  Then disapointment struck with Tweezer.  It was a
dry version which lacked enthusiasm and musical creativity.  It was almost
like seeing a Phish cover band play Tweezer.  It just wasn't there at all.
Maze then followed and it was probably the worst maze I have ever heard.
It just had nothing in it and Trey just had a lot of trouble trying to
play those really cool guitar parts at the end.  Prince Caspian followed
and as usual it sounded like every other Prince Caspian.  Loving Cup then
ended the show which was really good.  I may have thought it was good
because Tweezer and Maze were so bad.  At the time however, I really
thought Loving Cup was good.  The band seemed to be really tight (the
first time all night) and the music they were producing was bright and
crisp.
        The encore NY NY was cheezy and was kind of a rip off for A new
Years encore (mind you last years New Year's encore was a real rip off I
thought) then came a tweezer reprise that was well played, conservative,
short and over before you knew it.

All in the 30th was the best show and its second set was by far the best
set of music played during the holiday run.

David Ellison  

Date:    Sat, 3 Jan 1998 07:06:48 GMT
From:    Yance Davis 
Subject: NYE review

First thing I have to do is give kudos to the security at MSG for being So
ridiculously lax.  Never before have I been to a venue that would let me
get two large bottles of champagne in with so little difficulty.  I'm
generally not too into drinking at the shows, but New Years and champagne
just go too well together (and the little shotglasses of it for $5.50 was
a little nutty).  My seat was up in the 400s, but MSG had fairly decent
sound throughout this little run, so it wasn't a problem.  Thanks again to
all who helped me into the show!

First thing I noticed was a huge white semicircle hanging from the middle
of the arena covering the black cube which would have video and scores on
it were this some sporting event.  Small bulges within the hemisphere
hinted at balloons, though since they had just done that last year, I
wasn't expecting a repeat.  In the four corners of the venue were large
video projectors aimed at the white area of the ball in the middle.

When Emotional Rescue began, the projections began and a huge
three-dimensional, computer rendered animation of an "udder ball" appeared
on all four sides of the hemisphere.  Already, I was seriously envying
anyone there who had partaken in hallucinagins, since the visuals were
clearly meant to enhance a good trip.  Throughout the night other
animations popped up with more and more frequency.  The first ones all had
an evolutionary motif, like small underwater creatures from millions of
years ago, swimming in a blue background.  After a while though, things
from Trey's story the night before began to appear, like olives, steaks
and fried eggs (never saw a slim jim tho).  One of the MOST irritating
things of the night was the people with the laser pointers, aiming the red
lights right over the little animations.  I mean, here the band had some
people go through the trouble of creating these incredible graphics that
ebbed and flowed to the music with hundreds of colors, and some asshole is
thinking to himself "You know, that would really look better with a red
dot on it!"  Did anyone else hear Trey say at one point for the people to
turn it off?  Maybe I was just too pissed at the time, but I swear Trey
broke away from the jam to say something about it.  Anyway, it was cool to
look at, but not enough that it took away from the music.  Emotional
Rescue had a decent jam at the end, though not as spacy as the one at
Hampton.  It's crazy listening to Mike get his voice so high to sing this
tune, but cool at the same time in its own way.

I was expecting a bit more from Ya Mar just because of all the Albany
hype, but it was just its regular short sweet self, with a quick Auld Lang
Syne jam around the middle which got incredible applause.  I don't know
how much the band knew about the "My Sweet One chant" (there were actually
FLIERS going around, which, for MSO, seemed bizarre as hell), but
apparently they wanted to quell the audience early on and so Fishman went
into it right after a short drum solo at the end of Ya Mar.  Wolfman's and
Limb by Limb, two tunes that can really go places, well...didn't.  I mean,
I grooved to both the whole way through, but I guess NYE '95 spoiled us to
the point where most people expect these crystal jams all night, and they
just weren't there.  Sloth was cool, but Fire was almost irritating.
Trey's solo at the end surpassed energy to the point where it was just
noisy.  I mean, paying attention to Mike and Fishman for a while, they
were still trying to keep a little structure to the jam, but Trey was just
hitting notes at maximum volume to the point where I just wanted to get
away.  Maybe I'm getting old early.  The setbreak was long, but didn't
seem as long as usual.  Nothing out of the ordinary this time, like
Fishman getting a haircut...just   a setbreak...

Timber Ho started off the second set, which left me uneasy since this
song, much like Tweezer, can either Really go places or go absolutely
nowhere.  This one, while the 'song' part of it was cool, the jam just
didn't do much for me so I sat back with some Champagne to chill a bit.
Next up was Mike's, which you really can't go wrong with.  It was a fairly
standard Mike's, but enough to keep me fully into it.  After a fast jam
for a while, it got slow all at once, and got really mellow, yet very nice
to listen to with some great licks by Trey that was just a little too
short for my tastes before it just faded out.  I've been waiting for a
Mike's->Piper for a while, since it seems like it'd fit beautifully.  I
mean, the song has a slow, soft intro with a Hydrogen feel to it while the
end of it speeds up enough to flow into Weekapaug beautifully (which this
didn't though, opting to finish Piper first before going into When the
Circus comes to Town :(  ).  Now, WTCCTT isn't that bad a tune, but its
placement here was a true downer to the set.  Sure, sure, it's a nice
song, but 'nice' doesn't always do it for me.  Roses are Free was cool
since I'd never seen it before, though I can't say much about its jamming
potential since the song seemed cut and dry.  Decent tune I guess, but
mostly because I'd never heard it before.  I think the best part of it was
hearing it end and get into Weekapaug.  Yes, this jam was one of the few I
felt was NYE-caliber!  Plenty of energy and synergy between the band.
Fast funky jams, and the first few times it felt ready to end, I was
surprised to see them build back the energy again and keep going.  It
finished with Weekapaug which was truly a shame.  A 60 minute set on NYE?
Well, at least set three would kick much ass like last year.  During the
set break, two mysterious ballroom dancers came out for one of the
setbreak tunes.  Around 11:50 the lights began to dim...

Also Sprach Zarathustra as an opener into the new year?  Not a huge
surprise, but hell, it's a fine tune.  The visuals up on the bubble were
kicking much ass here, showing all that had come before as well as some
new things, like an egg and a sphere which said "school bus" on it.
Finally the egg came to the center and slowly turned into a little baby
which danced around before dropping down in the center of NYC and turning
into the Statue of Liberty holding the lightbulb that was flying around
all night, rather than her torch.  After that, the bubble opened up and
all the disasterous balloons, many much bigger than last years, fell down
over the floor.  Disasterous only because, like many large objects on the
floor not attached to anyone, they all slowly got sucked towards the stage
to wreak havoc on the now-Tweezer-playing band.  Page and Mike's mics got
battered down, and techs ran around the stage close to a state of panic
while the band kept playing on.  After a while, Trey tried to get some of
the balloons himself which clearly affected the jam (poorly).  Maze was
next, but seemed a little half-hearted.  When Caspian came around I just
sat down and waited for a bit.  Loving Cup was decent as usual, but I got
the sinking feeling early on that it would be the last of the set, and
sadly I was right (anOTHER 60 minute set).  There was still the encore,
which, as we saw the night before, can be a great great thing..

Maybe I'm sounding too harsh here.  It was a fun show..I mean hell, it was
New Years and no one wasn't in a great mood that I could see (though
apparently some one decided it'd be fun to jump out of the 400 section).
The visual display was great, the sound was fine and the people were kind.
Musically though, I felt bad for the ppl who traded off 12/30 tix to go to
12/31 only.  Encore was Page doing New York, New York, the old Sinatra
tune.  It was kind of cool watching Page cheese it up lawn boy style while
Trey kicked out his legs like a Rockette, but would have been better as an
intro into say...Reba.  Sadly, all that was left was Tweezer Reprise
followed by almost immediate lights on.  Still, there was a lot of smiling
and happiness in the air and some random girl hugged me and wished me
happy new year, so I gave her the last of my champagne and wished her one
back.

There was a fair amount of revelry on the street outside, including a
homeless man jamming with a cheap plastic flute while heads danced around
him tossing money while he played Auld Lang Syne and the themesong to
Sanford and Son.  A guy with a box of gooballs was selling them and this
girl who Clearly wasn't at the show came up asking what they were, but she
was so fucked up that she started rambling about how she wanted one but
her dad was a crack additct so she can't eat them if there are any drugs
in them.  It was a great crowd outside the garden so obviously the police
had to break it up and send people on their way (for a city that never
sleeps, it seemed they wanted us all to get to bed).  Anyway, I hope that
everyone has a great year and that your NYE was fun.  Peace

Yancy D

Okay, here it goes.  Caught all 3 of the MSG shows and spent an amazing 7 
days in NYC with some old friends in Manhatten.  Anyway.

The 29th-The second set was by far my favorite played set of the 3.  The 
funkiest Tube I've ever heard.  The first set was good, but nothing 
exceptional (good Antelope though).  The only part that was disappointing 
about the second set was the YEM just seemed to dry up during the vocal 
Jam and all of a sudden the band was gone.

The 30th-A fantastic show.  The first set was short, but had some nice 
surprises.  Salley made the set obviously for everyone, but overall it 
was the weakest of the run (except for the New Years set, but I'm getting 
there).  The second set speaks for itself.  The everlasting set with the 
traditional Tom Marshall appearance.  The first non-europe Carini/Lucy 
(what's the official name?).  Just an amazing show.

New Years-The best first set of the 3 I saw by far.  Non-stop energy with 
some small jams in between.  The return of MSO since fall '95.  The 
second set was well played as well.  I guess because of the 30th and the 
recent Albany 12/13 show, I got in a little spoiled mode and didn't enjoy 
this set as much as I should of.  Weekapaug was the highlight for me.

-The New Years Set was lame.  Trey sets the tone for the band and he 
wasn't into it at all.  The gimick was almost a carbon of last years 
(except for the projection on the center screen bubble thing).  I was 
also bummed because they closed the bar at MSG before the second set 
ended.  But overall I can't complain, the night before and the 29th made 
the trip worthwhile.  Besides, NYE shows are usually overshadowed by a 
hotter show during the run.  In the past namely-12/30/93, 12/29/94, 
12/29/95, 12/29/96, and 12/30/97.  Ari Petroff (dogman@istar.ca)

I had a great time at both shows i went to the 30th and the 31st but i
had more fun at the 30th i thought the setlists were stonger. the sets
were played better and it was just a better show. the light show was
coll on the 31st but it lacked new years eve status it wasn't like a
giant hot dog or mad scientist experiment last years ballonns even beat
this year they need a good new years next year.
Peace.
dustin

Date:    Mon, 5 Jan 1998 07:32:19 GMT
From:    Charles Dirksen 
Subject: *NYE Run Thoughts*

You're probably sick to death of reading/skimming NYE run reviews by
now in the Eigest, so I will try to keep my comments reasonably brief
(yeah, sure, charlie).  It was wonderful meeting so many folks at the
Mustang Sally's gathering on 12/30.  For those interested, the
arm-wrestling match between CLF and myself did not occur, primarily
because my non-net girlfriend wasn't at all amused by the prospect
(and presumably didn't want me -- intoxicated as I was by the time
Corey showed up -- to humiliate myself (she's not entirely privy to
the truth that I regularly humiliate myself in front of you folks)).
I hereby dub CLF "KingMoron of Lamehendge" by default (there will
always be only one KingMoron420, however).  Strangely, I have no
difficulty conceding said title to Corey, worthy 6'5" bitch that he
is. He would have beat my drunk old ass, anyway!

It seems to be in vogue these days to MOCK the articulation (in the
form of a DISCLAIMER) of one's Phish experience prior to one's two
cents on a particular gig.  Far from being "irrelevant," though, a
sentence explaining your Phish experience in general terms before you
review something helps provide a context for your comments (such as
that "the [Name of Song] was Excellent").  At least give references to
other versions (!).  I'm thrilled that so many folks are reviewing shows
these days (makes for meaty Eigests), but I think that a review
without a serious preface contextualizing the two cents is *arguably*
a waste of bandwith. (I say *arguably* because there are plenty of
examples of enjoyable, thoughtful, helpful and intelligent reviews
that are NOT contextualized by the experience of the author)

ANYWAY, I'm a jaded fan who has only seen around 60 shows since
10/6/89 (which I still haven't found on tape, btw).  I have heard most
of the Helping Friendly Book (which is not to say that I'm better than
you (of course I am), but simply to contextualize my TWO cents).

I didn't take notes at any of these shows, so please forgive my lame
memory.

12/28/97  USAir Arena, Landover MD

I was born and raised in D.C., and have always loathed the Crap
Center.  Terrible sound and annoying security, I was never fond of
seeing shows there (I've seen many -- Van Halen, Rush, Dead, Jerry,
etc. -- shows there).  The security on this evening didn't bother me,
though, at any time.  I had to strain to hear Page all night, though,
from my seat off the floor, Fishman-side, about as far back as the
taper's section.

The first set contained a botched-in-parts Curtain, and typical
versions of Sample, MOHP, Farmhouse and Bouncin.  The Julius to open
and the Zero to close were fine, but nothing unusually inspiring,
imo.  Cities was exceptionally fun to hear (my first *live*), but this
version was spectacularly uninspiring in light of Deer Creek from last
summer, and even the version on SSP.  There was a Mike-driven groove
in this Cities, though, that reminded me of the segue into Seen out of
Houses from the 10/31/96 RiL set.  I enjoyed it. I *really* enjoyed
the Runaway Jim jam segment, until it basically fizzled out in the
final few minutes (just fell apart).  Funky Bitch was very
well-played, but not anything spectacular (like Julius, it is a tune
that -- when seen *live* -- readily convinces the hearer that it is
the best version the hearer ever heard).  A fine set of Phish to open
the tour, but not a typically great one, in my opinion.  I don't plan
to hear this set again.

The second set opened with Axilla I, which had a **VERY** drawn out
Axilla II ending jam (easily the longest one I've heard to date).
Unfortunately, though, this jam -- which had the potential to truly
soar and incite -- basically meandered and sunk.  The Simple which
followed contained excellent work from FISHMAN in particular -- he
ripped out a jazzy groove that could have provided the base for
something Remarkable.  Though Mike and Page seemed to complement
Fishman's unique rhythm well, Trey did absolutely nothing of merit and
this Simple was a huge disappointment as a result. Ghost was very
good, with a mesmerizing groove, but it wasn't anything special in
light of most if not all of the summer '97 versions, in my opinion
(see 7/3/97, 7/23/97 and 8/6/97 in particular).  Drowned was ok (a
joke in light of 12/31/95), and like Simple didn't do much. I'm tired
of Scent, but the duel featured Trey and Page mimicking/imitating each
other and not the usual, separate solos.  Trey also soundly teased
Yes' "Roundabout" a bit, and eventually took an extremely Floyd-like
solo.  It wasn't exciting, but it was far from boring, imo.  Halley's
was fun to hear, as always, but again, didn't worm anywhere unusual.
Slave was -- I disagree completely, Saul -- one of the lamest versions
I've ever heard.  I encourage Slave fans to check it out if only to
hear a worthless, boring version.  RockyCavern to close was unnecessary.
The Bold As Love encore was botched in the opening composed section,
and I left early to beat the traffic, very excited by the notion
that the rest of the shows on the run would be considerably better.
And all of them were.

Rating: 4.0 (a typically great, awesome Phish show is a 5.0, in
theory, but people are abusing this rating system left and right imo,
so it is basically useless as a gauge, most of the time)  I would not
recommend getting tapes of this show unless you have blanks to burn.
There are dozens of other 1997 shows that are faaaar more interesting
musically, as I hear them.


12/29/97 Madison Square Garden, New York NY

The show opened in a rather straightfoward fashion with an avg. NICU
and somewhat sloppy Golgi.  The crowd went gah-gah over Golgi.  The
show really started with Crossroads, which is the best version of this
song I've heard Phish perform.  It was *FAAAR* better than the October
'95 versions, and modestly better than the sporadic versions since
then (including the one from Alpine last summer). Very inspired with
The Jam That Wouldn't Quit.  CTB and Trainsong were fine.  Theme was
an excellent version, without question, but still didn't top my
personal favorite (11/27/96 Seattle).  Trey melodiously solo'ed but
not to the extent I had hoped he would.  Fluffhead simply wasn't
nearly as good as everyone says, in my opinion.  I think people need
to revisit older versions, like those from 1993 (8/17/93 is still my
personal fave). The closing jam of this Fluffhead was great, but for
Icculus' sake, it is SUPPOSED TO BE AWESOME, and it USUALLY is (over
the course of Phishtory). Dirt was cute (I enjoy this new tune).
Antelope **RAGED**.  An excellent close to the set, and a
well-above-average version, even for 1994-7.  A great set, but again,
if you are looking to get no more than around 40 1997 tapes, there are
plenty of better '97 sets of Phish out there, imo. Phish usually plays
great sets.

The second set was WONDERFUL!!!!  Musically, it wasn't enormously
PROFOUND or anything, but what a VIBE!  The room just EXPLODED when
Possum kicked in out of Bowie (it appeared to surprise everyone
present).  The DWD jam segment was fairly blah for the first ten or so
minutes, but I enjoyed the closing 5-10 minutes quite a lot --
gorgeous improv.  Bowie was a great version (given versions of the
last few years in general), but it wasn't quite a "monster" like
11/26/94 or 12/29/94.  Possum contained a serious setlist-worthy jam
on the Blues Brothers tune "Can't Turn Me Loose" (or whatever the song
is called, I can't remember; it is the song that used to open Blues
Brothers shows). Excellent, well-jammed Possum!!  Tube was PHAAAAT and
funky and awesome, though arguably not quite as good as the Dayton
version earlier in the month.  You Enjoy Myself was very good, but the
Mike-driven jam segment wasn't too exciting (a typically awesome "B"
version at best, as I heard it).  Loved to hear it, though!  What a
setlist!  One jamming tune after another!!  The Good Times encore was,
like the second set, very well-jammed and fun.  I'd highly recommend
picking up at least the second set of this show.  Show Rating: 6.5

(by the way, I just took a look at the setlists sent out by Mikey, and
I have to laugh at the references to a "Loving Cup jam" during DWD and
"James Bond and Antelope jams" during Bowie -- give me a fucking
break, guys.. people are hearing certain chord progressions and
massively mischaracterizing them, imo.. it is as if the need to label
or classify or analyze a JAM is taking priority over the god damn
original improvisation itself.. there may have been some Bond theme
teasing from Mike in that Bowie, if memory serves.. but a JAM!?
bwaHAHAAHahahwhHahah)

CONGRATULATIONS to DAN SEIDEMAN for winning the Pharmer's Almanac's
"Name that Phish Jam" contest post-show at the Wetlands Krewe show
(and thanks to Andy Bernstein, Lock Steele and other Almanac folks for
sponsoring the contest in the first place).  Dan Seideman won a pair
of tickets for the NYE show, courtesy of the Almanac and thanks to his
own Jam-prowess (one of his competitors, for those that haven't heard,
was Dom Deluca, one of the "Worst Traders Ever" by many accounts).
Dan Seideman -- along with Jim Raras -- is working on the Show Reviews
section of the Mockingbird Foundation book.  (evil Jabba the Hut
laughter)


12/30/97 Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY

You've seen the reviews.  This show really was an incredible
spectacle, with a magnificent setlist that even a jaded oldbie could
love.  I'm sure this show has been reviewed to death, so I'll keep my
comments short (or try to).  I love the Sally > Taste opener, but
otherwise, the first set was fairly straightforward.  Stash contained
a dark, eerie, evil, sinister, wicked groove, but ended with a WHIMPER
so enormous that it trivialized the version imo (it isn't nearly as
good a version as 12/29/95, in case you were wondering).

The Bag opener contained a huge JAM that >segued into McGrupp's.  This
jam was, at the time, the highlight of the run for me, but having
since heard it again on tape it is Just Another Beautiful Piece of
Improvisation from Phish and isn't even close to being One of the Most
Awe-Inspiring Phish Jams Ever, as I hear it.  Still, loved it at the
show. To say that there is a "Crosseyed and Painless Jam" in this JAM
out of Bag is, again, bullshit, in my opinion.  There is perhaps a
small tease, but no major C&P jamming.  At all.  Sorry.  McGrupp's
actually JAMS, for a change, and is easily the most unusual version
I've ever heard.  Harpua has to be heard to be believed, and 500 Miles
was hysterical (thanks for keeping the tradition alive, Tom). Izabella
was wonderful (my first to hear *live*).  Harry featured a glow-stick
war, which won't translate to tape (and which was the highlight of the
version for me).  Although I do NOT think that Harry Hood "peaked" at
any particular time in Phishtory (I think the whole surmise that it
"peaked" at any time is LUDICROUS, given the nature of the song), 1994
versions of Harry -- generally speaking -- are more consistently
inspiring than the versions of today (ditto with Slave, though, imo).
I think Phish should play Slave and Harry more rarely in 1998, even
though I love these songs.  I'd love, for example, to hear Sally come
back more often, not to mention Brother, with more of DA FUNK. My Soul
and Monkey were ok versions (I enjoyed them, but I was surprised that
they were played.. the 12/29 show's encore had ended at 11:30pm, and I
think Phish STARTED My Soul around 11:20 or so). Guyute was easily the
worst version I have ever heard.  Nearly every section was botched.
Just a sloppy mess.

The 12/30/97 encore was a hell of a lot of fun at the show, and I
REALLLLLY enjoyed it.  I was hoping to hear a more funked out BEK on
12/31, but this version was fine.  The Carini, and the return to
Sally, were HUUUUGE surprises, not to mention the vacuum solo (and
more glowstick warring) during Frankenstein.  This encore is faaaar
more interesting musically than the 12/6/96 Vegas encore, but isn't
perhaps as pretty as the setlist may suggest.  Still, one hell of a
show.  Get it.  8.0 rating.  The best all-around show I'd seen Phish
perform since 7/31/97 Shoreline.  Certainly one of the most intense
shows of the year to have been at, I'd bet (musically it was excellent
in parts and ok in parts -- it wasn't as consistently awesome as
Shoreline 7/30, imo, and several other 1997 shows).


12/31/97 Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Emotional Rescue opened the show quite well, although I'm
partial to the Hampton version.  Ya Mar, like numerous versions since
7/30 Shoreline, was jammed out but not exceptionally so, imo.  MSO was
an interesting choice (first one in a long time) and standard. Beauty
and Horse Silent were as you've heard them before.  Wolfman's Brother
was very good, but not nearly as enchanting as most summer versions
(and not even as enjoyable as the Hamburg version on SSP, imo).  Limb
by Limb was excellent -- I love this new tune -- but didn't match the
majesty of the 7/30 Shoreline version (still my fave).  Sloth was
another interesting choice and fun to hear.  The Fire closer was
wonderful, and I can't think of a more ferocious version, although one
might exist.

The second set was short but FIRED UP!!!  Timber Ho was fairly
standard (great), but the Mike's Song was quite good (no closing of the
tramps segment chords, fwiw.. just a > into Piper).  Piper was good
but not as good as Hampton (or was it Champaign?).  I thought Piper
would ->segue into Weekapaug (since it could easily do so AT ANY TIME
at any show).  Circus was Circus.  Roses Are Free is a waste of a
cover, in my opinion.  Ween?  Is this a joke?  Weekapaug was
magnificent to behold *live*, but I'm not so sure you will find it
that great on tape.  It isn't at all typical.  Trey chords heavily and
doesn't melodiously wail as he usually does during 'paug.  This is
nevertheless one of the Sickest versions of 'Paug out there, in a
non-melodious, kickass sense of "Sick."  I still prefer the more
melodious 12/31/95 and 12/30/93 (and many other) 'paugs to this
version.  Strong second set, though!

The third set was a Very Mixed Bag, imo.  I enjoyed the Also Sprach
opener, and about the first ten or so minutes of Tweezer, but Trey's
guitar may have gone flat thanks to his balloon-popping... and the
post-NYE music suffered.  Maze featured a brilliant Page solo, but was
otherwise one of the nastiest, lamest versions I've ever heard.
Fuckerpants went absolutely nowhere, although Trey did let loose a
single Kind Phaaty Lick at one point.  I thought Loving Cup was a
fantastic closer, even though it was sloppy in the opening
(appropriate, though).  New York New York was amusing, and Page sang
it quite well (under the circumstances).  It wasn't played as well as
it could have been, but I'm sure the band was totally exhausted by
that point.  I sure as hell was.

All and all, a typically great, fun NYE show. I can't give a three set
show anything less than a 7.0 (yes, I thought 12/30 as a whole show
was 1.0 better than 12/31).  The run as a whole was definitely worth
the trouble, but it wasn't nearly as good musically as the '95 NYE
run, as I heard it.  I'd recommend checking out 12/29-12/31, though,
if you can spare the blanks. There are many 1997 shows I'd recommend
hearing sooner, though.  I've enjoyed listening to Detroit 12/6/97's
second set (THANKS GREG!!!) a lot lately, for example.

Thanks to Mike, Jon, Page and Trey for yet another great NYE run!!
(and money well spent!)

two cents
charlie

p.s.  The most amusing thing I overheard on tour was definitely Mark
Toscano's remark, several hours after NYE, to Dan Nooter:  "Dan, you
know, over the course of this entire trip, I haven't heard you use
'Ass' as an adjective?!"