PHISH, TUESDAY 12/30/1997
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
New York, NY

SET 1:

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley[1] - What a huge surprise this was! Absolutely love Mike’s tone in the early going of this jam. Delicious. Pretty chill jam. Trey hits some loops and things get very mellow for the last minute. Check out Fish in this segment, his work on the kit sounds exactly like the “Montana” segment from A Live One (Bozeman Tweezer). Nice little segue into Taste. ->

Taste: Incredible trilling at 8:10, blistering. Again at 8:48 and then the final coda from there. 1997 was the best year for this song and the last one they played this year was no exception. A thrilling version right here, completely smoked. Trey puts on a master class. Page’s section was more mellow than usual.

Water in the Sky: Standard. >

Punch You in the Eye: Standard version. But the effects at the end are bonkers. Cool how Trey keeps making them higher and higher and then intense space and then the cool segue into Stash. >

Stash: As the jam begins, check out Mike’s interesting tone. I don’t think it’s quite a major mode type deal, but it is definitely different than you would expect. This lasts for at least 30 seconds. At the 9 minute mark things start getting very intense as Trey shifts his tone into that nasty summer 97 crunch. Very aggressive in here, hold on to your hats. Around the 10:30 mark, they deescalate all that intensity and before you know it this jam is quiet and pensive. Masters of their domain. The jam like this for two minutes and then sneak in through the backdoor with the ending coda. No big crazy finish like usual. Would recommend.

Chalk Dust Torture: Standard.

A Day in the Life: Standard.

SET 2:

AC/DC Bag: On the LivePhish you can hear Trey call out for “Bag” like 4 times in a questioning manner. The way this jam starts, you almost know immediately that they have big plans for this. It’s different. Page quietly funking away but the rest of the band is coordinating around his lines with Trey assertively strumming to what he is laying down. Around the 7 minute mark Trey puts some loops in play and then starts playing the twangiest stuff you can imagine, so weird and catchy. This jam stays consistently in the same vein from here until about 16:05 where Trey busts out the big, old HOSE and just goes to TOWN. Magical moment right here. At 20.45 things take on a much faster pace and it sounds like there is potential for a segue into Izabella. No dice there and this intense segment peters out in the mid 22:00’s to space and Trey getting funky. This goes on for a few minutes and then segues into McGrupp. This Bag is an easy all timer. It’s either this or Boise for the best ever. Highly recommended. >

McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters: Absolutely awesome interplay between Trey and Page which Fish and Mike eventually get in on and things get intense! Fantastic and unique version, highly recommended!

Harpua[2] > I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)[3] > Harpua: Very funny story and gag with Tom Marshall. Great stuff! >

Izabella: Another rager. >

Harry Hood[4] Great jam! Has tons of staying power. I can still remember how badly I wanted a big, traditional climax and got major blue balls when they segued into My Soul. Oddly enough, at 12.13.97 Fish tried so hard to hijack that Harry Hood and Trey wouldn’t give into him and when on to a very good climax. Maybe he made a deal with Fish that the next time they played Hood he would let him take it into My Soul? I would recommend this version for the body of work that is great and for the uniqueness of it not finishing and instead segueing into My Soul and thereby satisfying Fishman’s urge from 12.1 ->

My Soul: Standard. >

Sleeping Monkey: Standard. LOL at Trey saying we want to keep playing but we can’t but let’s play Guyute. >

Guyute: Standard.

ENCORE:

Carini: Good stuff. That little riff Page hits about 10 or 15 seconds before they start up BEK is so choice. ->

Black-Eyed Katy: More of that icky, sticky funk, very nice! ->

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley[1] - I guess they enjoyed busting this one out so much that they just had to play it again! >

Frankenstein[5] - Pretty crazy, goes way, way out there with Fishman on his vacuum and this just felt like it was never going to end. Insanity.

Summary: This show was only 9 minutes shorter than the New Year’s Eve show, a true marathon two set show. Incredible show. My one and only time at Madsion Square Garden. Can I pick ‘em or what, lol!!! This show checks all the boxes and scratches every single itch. I remember seeing the setlist from 12.29 before we left for 12.30 and being devastated – what is even left to play. LOL. They showed us a thing or two. I agree with the current rating on .net of 4.7/5 (776 ratings) – a show for the ages and I cannot believe I was there to witness it.

Replay Value: Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Taste, Stash, AC/DC Bag, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Harry Hood, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Frankenstein

[1] No vocal jam.
[2] "Pentagram Harpua;" also included a narrative about Lost in Space.
[3] Phish debut; Tom Marshall on vocals.
[4] Unfinished.
[5] Fish on vacuum.

Trey teased A Night in Tunisia in Stash. AC/DC Bag included Third Stone From the Sun and Psycho Killer teases. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) made its Phish debut, was sung by Tom Marshall, contained an A Day in the Life quote from Tom referencing Big Phil (a fan who was in attendance that night), and was part of the “Pentagram Harpua,” which also included a narrative about Lost in Space. Hood was unfinished. Pete Carini made an appearance on-stage during the encore. Frankenstein included a segment with Fish coming center stage with his vacuum. The encore was unusually long; once the band realized they were going to be fined for playing past midnight, they decided to play well past midnight. Sneakin’ Sally was played for the first time since May 28, 1989 (921 shows). Neither of the Sallys contained vocal jams. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.

SHOW RATING
Your rating:
Overall: 4.7/5 (776 ratings)
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Taste, Stash, AC/DC Bag, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Harry Hood, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Frankenstein
TEASES
Third Stone From the Sun and Psycho Killer teases in AC/DC Bag, A Night in Tunisia tease in Stash, A Day in the Life quote in I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)