I rarely spin this 12/3 show ... definitely an underrated show on this tour.

the Drowned is really good, with some groovy funk, and the Gumbo>2001>YEM is a great way to finish out set one.

this Bowie is really unique. starts out with a really long intro with plenty of language and is typical bowie, but then about 15 minutes or so they break out into an atypical section that is really exploratory. and it just keeps going, never to return to the bowie end and the -> Possum is really great.

the funk jam after possum is really really good. very interesting how its not connected to anything. I have always sort of thought of it like the post tube jam from a few nights later. thinking there was a sweet jam in possum that they just wanted to go back to. but no! this is just a stand alone jam. I wonder what made them decide they just wanted to play some funk at that moment... so random but really sick.

the best part is at the very end when page is riffing and the whole band does this tempo downshift in unison in real time... amazing.

the jam is actually almost more of a long, funky Caspian intro since the -> is really well done.

this relisten really gave me a new perspective on this show and its probably risen up my tour rankings a few spots.

overall these 2 Philly shows are really really good. its becoming a theme that these multi-day runs are like little mini-tours within the tour.

I don't have much to add that others haven't pointed out but these Philly shows are absolutely smokin. I think I prefer 12/2.  That Mike's Groove is something else.

25 years ago I took a bus to Cleveland and stayed overnight with some of my Mom's work friends.

The next day I met a guy from rec.music.phish who put me up after the show, then drove me to Detroit and Dayton the next two nights.

Getting ahead of myself a bit, listening to the Cleveland Ghost now - damn it was a trip to get dropped into Fall 97 funk without any warm up - wait, they all have beards and now they play extended funk jams?!#

QuoteFRIDAY 12/05/1997
CSU CONVOCATION CENTER
Cleveland, OH
SET 1: Ghost > Wilson > Funky Bitch > Black-Eyed Katy, Sparkle > Runaway Jim -> My Friend, My Friend, Ginseng Sullivan, Limb By Limb > Character Zero

SET 2: Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Julius[1] > Slave to the Traffic Light[1] > The Lizards, Loving Cup > Chalk Dust Torture

ENCORE: Bold As Love

[1] Unfinished.

Julius and Slave were both unfinished.

crazy julius!

Finally catching up and gotta say the Philly 97 has always been in the top 3 runs I hold dear. In the God tier of Phish shows. Amazing and has all the things I love about Phish. Just listened to the first set of 12/6 while grocery shopping and great antelope. Gin has some blissful moments and a blistering maze.

QuoteSATURDAY 12/06/1997
THE PALACE OF AUBURN HILLS
Auburn Hills, MI
Soundcheck: Dog Log, AC/DC Bag, Ginseng Sullivan, Black-Eyed Katy

SET 1: Golgi Apparatus, Run Like an Antelope, Train Song > Bathtub Gin -> Foam, Sample in a Jar, Fee > Maze, Cavern

SET 2: Tweezer -> Izabella -> Twist -> Piper, Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer Reprise

ENCORE: Rocky Top


This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.

i was on the floor for this one and i remember it well.  it's crazy that at the time, i thought this first set was average.  if they played that antelope and that maze now, people would die.  also the > foam is awesome.  i am saving set 2 and all of 12/7 for friday night beers.  can't wait!

For some reason 12/6, much like 11/17, took me a long time to catch on to. Thankfully I finally did. Although I still only really love this Tweezer after about the 13-minute mark, when it turns into a space jam.
Also much like 11/17, Trey doesn't really know the lyrics to a Hendrix song but it still smokes.
Absolutely agree on Antelope, Maze and the Gin into Foam. I do love how they play now, but man I would kill for them to be able to pull off an Antelope like that these days. Perfectly balanced first set too, as far as facemelters alternating with landing pads.

Quote from: anthrax on December 06, 2022, 05:09:10 PMi was on the floor for this one and i remember it well.  it's crazy that at the time, i thought this first set was average.  if they played that antelope and that maze now, people would die.  also the > foam is awesome.  i am saving set 2 and all of 12/7 for friday night beers.  can't wait!

Yeah it's funny how many times I had the "they don't play like this anymore!" Moment during this tour revisit. 
The effects are vastly different too. I gotta say they don't really use those flanger/funky synth/moog sounding textures anymore. The staccato jam in the beginning of tweezer is kinda good example. Page does from time to time but Trey still has a little harsher tone than this era so when he hits some tones in the Tweezer in 12/6 and other jams it's sounds more liquid funk which I think is the coveted sound. 

QuotePHISH, SUNDAY 12/07/1997
ERVIN J. NUTTER CENTER, WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY
Dayton, OH   

Soundcheck: Boogie On Reggae Woman, Funky Bitch, I'll Be Around, For No Reason Here's Apu, Demand, My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own, The Stallion Pt 3, The Rover, Limb By Limb

SET 1: AC/DC Bag -> Psycho Killer[1] -> Jesus Just Left Chicago, My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own > It's Ice -> Swept Away > Steep > It's Ice > Theme From the Bottom, Tube, Jam -> Slave to the Traffic Light   

SET 2: Timber (Jerry the Mule) > Wolfman's Brother -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Reba[2], Guyute > Possum   

ENCORE: A Day in the Life   
[1] Unfinished.
[2] No whistling.

Psycho Killer was unfinished. JJLC included a Rocky Mountain Way tease. Boogie On Reggae Woman was played for the first time since September 13, 1988 (989 shows). Reba did not have the whistling ending. Possum included "Charge!" teases and a We Will Rock You tease from Mike. The soundcheck's Funky Bitch featured Trey on vocals and included Black-Eyed Katy teases. Mike teased Boogie On Reggae Woman in The Stallion Pt 3. Trey teased Purple Haze at the end of The Rover. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.

This was my third show, after Dallas and Austin in the summer. I only got lucky enough to catch this one because the friend that I credit with really turning me on to Phish had gone to Wright State, and we flew up from Texas to stay with some of his college friends and go to this show. They lived walking distance from Nutter, and we walked to the show in (being from Texas) the most snow I'd ever seen in my life.

I'd told my friend the songs I wanted the most were ACDC  Bag and Timber Ho, and boom, we got both as openers. I wasn't really familiar with Psychokiller at the time, but everyone I was with was psyched for that. On the other hand, I'd been on a massive Stevie Wonder kick and I was pretty shocked at the number of folks that didn't know that one.

The Tube is exactly the kind of Cow Funk I like (with a Boogie On tease a set before they played it, although that's never been noted on .net). The reprise kind of goes into the slower funk that I'm not as crazy about in Fall '97, but the Slave it turns into is still one of the greatest concert memories of my life.

Stellar versions of It's Ice, Reba, Theme, and Guyute (so fucking evil). The "Charge" thing in the intro of Possum was fun – Kuroda blacked out the whole stage and was cycling spotlights onto each of the band members on the beat.

Hard to say anything about this show that hasn't been said before.

i remember exactly where i sat and the thing that still stands out in my memory is that every single person in that place was completely and totally 100% into the show from the very first note.  at the time, i felt like that crowd energy fed the band into the playing as well as they did.  when phish jams into tunes that they don't even know, they are indeed at their best. 

I think I'm in the minority on 12/7... its a good show no doubt, but I'm not sure its even top 10 on this tour. its so over-hyped imho.

ac/dc->psycho killer is amazing, and I love the tube, tube jam... ice->swept->steep->ice is decently cool, but otherwise its all kinda meh to me... wolfmans->boogie is a novelty, but not musically interesting.

Quote from: jedifunk on December 08, 2022, 11:24:48 AMI think I'm in the minority on 12/7... its a good show no doubt, but I'm not sure its even top 10 on this tour. its so over-hyped imho.

ac/dc->psycho killer is amazing, and I love the tube, tube jam... ice->swept->steep->ice is decently cool, but otherwise its all kinda meh to me... wolfmans->boogie is a novelty, but not musically interesting.

I can kind of see where you're coming from... but my opinion on this show is forever warped by its being the fist tape I ever had of a show. I was soon to be attending halloween '98, after having seen only one show in '96, and I had Slip Stitch, but wanted to hear something else, asked a friend who was into them for a tape, he gave me 12/7. I played it A LOT. Always liked the first set better, as Guyute and Reba were not easy for a newbie to get into right off the bat. But there are grooves worn in my brain from hearing this tape so often. So, yeah. I love this one! But then I'm a sucker for everything in fall '97.

When evaluating this show do you take into consideration the hugeness of the boogie bust out?  Just wondering. It was a big deal, but maybe faded quickly because that song permanently re-entered the rotation.

Quote from: mattstick on December 04, 2022, 09:24:01 PM25 years ago I took a bus to Cleveland and stayed overnight with some of my Mom's work friends.

The next day I met a guy from rec.music.phish who put me up after the show, then drove me to Detroit and Dayton the next two nights.

Getting ahead of myself a bit, listening to the Cleveland Ghost now - damn it was a trip to get dropped into Fall 97 funk without any warm up - wait, they all have beards and now they play extended funk jams?!#

I did these three also. And I was with my mom's friends for them. Mom didn't want to come out for the shows but I went with my 'aunts' Laura and Amy. We had a blast and I was so into the shows. This three-night run may be my favorite in my Phish career.

I've not listened to them on this revisit yet because just like Jeff, I want to be catching a good buzz and engulfing myself in nothing but the music. I've been doing the rest of the tour in my office while I work, not the same experiance.

Quote from: anthrax on December 08, 2022, 01:07:29 PMWhen evaluating this show do you take into consideration the hugeness of the boogie bust out?  Just wondering. It was a big deal, but maybe faded quickly because that song permanently re-entered the rotation.

It made Boogie On one of my favorite Phish jam for decades to come! I was floored by it and I've loved every version I've caught since (and most that I didn't catch).