[We've been reviewing the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on their respective 14th anniversaries. The final installment: Sunday, November 23, 1997, Winston-Salem, NC.]

Sunday, November 23, 1997

After the truly amazing show in Hampton on the 22nd, my friends and I spent the night on Coliseum Drive and then did what it seems like most people I encounter did: we drove home. In my case, it was north back to UConn. The correct move was to drive south. Throw caution to the wind, turn a short pre-thanksgiving week at school into an extended vacation. We fucked up. Seriously, screw you conscience. We missed a great show, the three or four times we stopped for Waffle House and Denny’s is hardly a consolation now.

The show opens with 1997’s “are you fucking kidding me, your playing this again” song, “My Soul.” 24 times up to this point. Now don’t get me wrong, it was a fun song when it started but if you were at all these shows... oofa! A quick run through the bluesy rocker leads into a soaring “Theme From the Bottom.” Trey really seems to be hitting his marks building the peak with Page playing that perfect role on the piano to balance things out. Mike sounds especially nice before the peak. Great follow up to “My Soul.”

Now if this were 2011, the set is about to die. The band proceeds into “Black-Eyed Katy,” a repeat from the previous night. In retrospect, an overplayed song and a repeat in one set? The interwebs would be filled with vitriol. Which isn’t to say that any of this is poorly played, just an interesting contrast with today’s prevailing sentiment. Don’t worry... this show is pretty good.

An eleven-minute run through “Black-Eyed Katy” (thank god it was new) into the happy, happy “Sparkle” make it evident that this set is all fun, all the time. Continuing the trend, the band chooses “Twist” for its next adventure. Still more colloquially referred to as “Twist Around” at this point and devoid of the trademark “WOOOO’S” from the crowd, it’s still an infectious groove with a great little jam built in. Laced with the funky wah-pedal work identified with Trey’s tone in this era, the jam mellows the mood and gives plenty of space to groove along, Around the nine-minute mark the band falls into a slowing pattern highlighted by delicate piano work and striking bass before Trey and Fish return. Great little section.

A quick count-off from Trey and we find ourselves spiraling into “Stash.” This version really does a good job of showcasing the intricacies in their play during this celebrated period in the band’s history. Even a Type-I jam contains tremendous nuance and exploration. Around the eight-minute mark Trey slows the climbing build, and as the other band members fill in behind him there is tremendous tension. But instead of a huge release they segue into another jam space. On the first night of Hampton I found this activity interesting, but ultimately annoying. Here I am thoroughly intrigued to see where it will go. By the twelve-minute mark the jam is droning, more like a chant than a melody. Then, suddenly, Trey comes over the top with a “Middle-Eastern” melody while the rhythm section continues to drone. Thoroughly mesmerizing. Around 14:30 you can hear Trey become much more defined in finding his way back to “Stash’s” main melody while still maintaining the overall vibe of the jam. As they slowly find their way back, the building tension is remarkable. Building more through volume than pace it has the same effect through a different device. Ultimately Trey begins to hint at the opening riff to “NICU.” Slowly progressing into the song, the transition is yet again masterful and in no way hinders the overall greatness of “Stash.” Crazy jam, a must hear.

“NICU” leads to “Fluffhead” which, of course, is met with great delight by the crowd in attendance. The subtle timing mix-up on Fish’s part to begin the song is endearing and unique and the closing jam is truly powerful. In my mind, “Fluffhead” is the perfect set closer, but even back in 1997 “Character Zero” somehow finds its way into the final slot. Yet another exclamation point on what is a really, really nice set.

When the band returns to the stage, they will embark on an hour of music that for all intents and purposes amounts to a three-song set. The set solidifies the run in history by starting with a 31-minute “Bathtub Gin.”

The band runs through the opening jam in a masterful manner, when suddenly Page and then Trey lock in on advancing the phrasing into something much bigger. Hints of the original song bleed through but you can hear the transition happening ever so slowly. By the thirteen-minute mark all four band members are in virgin water. The tempo is changing along with the style and creating something so rich, and with such relative ease. “Bathtub Gin” has ceased to exist. The band is writing a new song on the fly.

It’s difficult to use the appropriate words to describe this jam out of “Gin.” Like the rest of the music from this weekend it can only be properly understood by listening. So much of the grandeur can be found in the subtlety of the smaller moments: a quick riff that changes everything, a change in tempo, anything unexpected. This jam exemplifies the music in a magnificent and seemingly bottomless jam. At 27-minutes there is a moment when it could easily segue and lose absolutely nothing, but Trey creates this brooding melody that I have come to identify the entire jam with and becomes the perfect end to any amazing version.

There are no breaks in this set as Phish turn directly into “Down with Disease.” A twenty-minute version, it features even more improvisation and the impromptu segue into and out of a quick take on the War classic “Low Rider” before finding their way back to a full completion of “Disease.”

Closing the set with Hendrix’s “Bold As Love” and encoring with a rollicking rendition of “Julius” the weekend comes to completion, and history points to it as being one of the best three-night runs in the band’s history.

Fast forward to 2011, and we’ve seen our share of great runs over the past three years. Dick’s, UIC, Super Ball: they all deserve great praise. But for some reason we’re very quick to point out that they are in some way a lesser commodity than a run like this one in 1997. Why? It’s not as if the band doesn’t jam anymore; there are plenty of amazing moments in the last three years. None of them have reached 30-minutes in length, put is that really a prohibitive factor?

Listen to a selection of 30+ minute jams, in each instance there comes a point where you can ask yourself “why is this still going?” The band has a level of restraint now. Instead of pushing further away from where they started, they often come back. Finding a point of closure instead of greater depth or finding a new song to work to start fresh with. I don’t know if it’s better or worse, it just is.

But I also recognize how special these three nights were in fall ‘97. Practically limitless and certainly without boundaries, when you listen to the remastered audio you will certainly be drawn into the quality and the ease of its execution. It will always be hard to top these shows; maybe we don’t need to.

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Image (Copyright 2011, Phish)

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