Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 11:44:44 +0000
From: Thomas E Sternberg 
Subject: shoreline 7/31

This show was very good, even though they played about 7 new songs,
which I usually don't enjoy as much as older, classic tunes, but I think
some of Phish's new songs actually have serious potential. "Saw It
Again" has a very cool, zeppelin-ish chorus, and "Vultures" and "Limb By
Limb" are both very tight, ferocious jamming songs.  I think Fish's
change of image/costume has really tightened up the band for some
strange reason.  Is Fish taking life more seriously? Say it isn't so! 
But oh well, as long as they sound good, which they really, really do. 
The band has become a serious funk-machine...I've never heard so much
wah-wah, thick, rubbery bass, and page going apeshit on the clavinet.  I
love the new funkiness...may it last forever.

The Runaway Jim that opened the second set was ridiculously funky and
trippy (okay, maybe it was the drugs) but it surely seemed to jam on
forever, wonderfully.  A true delight to see "McGrupp", which I haven't
seen in a couple years, and that Mikes>Hydro>Weekapaug to close the set
really blew out my mind. I haven't seen Hydrogen in a zillion years (I
thought it was dead!) and the mikes and 'paug were really funky,
interesting, and blistering.  Shit, and the last time I saw a YEM and
Mike's in the same show was New Years in Madison Square Garden...Totally
amazing!  (And yes, that first set was probably the longest one I've
ever seen...100 minutes!)  The set should've ended, but NO...they
started up YEM! 

I'm sure there's bound to be lots of controversy about Trey's
acknowledgement and serious gushing about Jerry Garcia's birthday.  I'm
sure a lot of folks will think he was pandering to the San Fran Dead
crowd, who are more reluctant than most to fully accept Phish...and I
even heard some people say, "Trey is just dancing on Jerry's grave"--but
I don't think that's true.  People have been comparing Phish to the Dead
for so long, it's ridiculous...so it's not really a big deal.  The crowd
surely went crazy when he said it, though many had their jaws hanging
open--it isn't exactly NORMAL procedure for Trey to make an extended,
emotional, and heartfelt speech about Jerry Garcia, especially while
jamming a spectacular Weekapaug.  One thing confused me though...after
all that sentimentality, why play "cinnamon girl"?  I completely
expected a Dead cover after all the public Jerry-worshipping.  

That's all for now.

-J.A. Herman

Hermjon@aol.com

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From: msiegle@ix.netcom.com (Matt Siegle)
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: REVIEW: 7/31/97 Shoreline Ampitheatre, Mountain View, CA 

REVIEW OF 7/31/97
Shoreline Ampitheatre, Mountain View, CA

LOT: All I can say is PARKING HELL!! We arrived at Shoreline around
5:30 only to be directed in all sorts of crazy ways and circles by the
parking people. I have been to many other shows at Shoreline before,
and I have never seen the situation this bad! I guess they weren't
prepared for all the people or something, because we actually didn't
park until 6:30! One full hour of being directed around, for the lovely
price of $8. Other than that, the lot scene was mellow. The show was
sold out, so there were a fair share of miracle seekers as well as
people just looking to buy tickets.

SET I:
I was guessing on SOAMelt or something new for the opener. And it
was...

GHOST: My first time hearing this song live. I really liked it. Pretty
funky, cool vocals and, IMO, great jam potential. The jam that came out
of the song segued ( but not perfectly) into...

YAMAR: WOW! This version was really jammed out. I really wasn't
expecting this song, I don't know why. But it was a good surprise, and
I really enjoyed it. For some reason, I can't really remember much of
it. Segued into...

DOG STOLE THINGS: Another first for me, and I like it. This is another
one I can't remember much about other than hearing about dogs and cats
stealing your souls. Kind of a strange idea, shall we say

LIMB BY LIMB: Had some jamming to it, but the best was the very end
where Fish pulled out a drum solo. He started up, and it turned out to
be not too long or fast, but perfectly on beat. At the end he let out a
huge �HA!� like �I did it!� Trey proceeded to say something about how
the solo didn't work before with the dress, but now it does! (I'm not
positive if that is what he said, as I didn't catch all of it.

DIRT: Nice little tune. Nothing sticks out in my mind. And then...

MAZE!: I had been waiting to hear this song as I figured it would be
great with the calibur of the tour. And it was. First jam section had
some nice Page action. About 2/3 of the way through, the band got into
a REALLY tight jam that was intense. I really enjoyed this jam and
danced my ass off. Then, Trey's familiar maze guitar licks called us
back to this world and we moved onto...

GLIDE: What fun! Standard, but this was my first time hearing it live
and I really enjoyed it. The boys held the last pause out for a long
time (not as long as some earlier versions liek 11/30/91), but it lost
a little effect because this group of really obnoxious guys who were
sitting in front of me did not enjoy the show or the music and just
resorted to making fun of all the people, band and music. It ruined the
moment a tad, but it wa
s still good.

SAW IT AGAIN: This song was really loud, a rocker to me that sounded
kind of evil. I maybe would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so close
to the speaker and it was blasting my ear out. I figured this was the
end of the set, so I started to pack my stuff up. But wait! Trey and
Mike are confrencing! What's going on? And then the opening licks of...

YEM!!!!!!: I almost soiled myself on hearing the opening of the tune. I
really thought the set was about over, as it has streched over an hour,
and then the boys pulled this out of the hat. And all I can say is WOW
WOW TYPE II! Trey made both shots at The Note, however they were short
(but nonetheless sweet.) The composed section seemed perfect, and the
jam was even better! Started with the tramps, and it just went to Type
II land from there. I have to listen to this one on tape to really soak
it all up, but it was indeed fantastic! In the middle of the jam, my
friend swore he heard Trey play the tune to �Santa Claus is Coming to
Town.� Did anyone else here this, or were we just delirious with the
music pleasure? A funky jam (if I remember correctly), very fun, great
for dancing. I believe this one lasted about 30 minutes.

TOTAL SET TIME: About 1hr, 45 min.

SET II:

Right when the band came back on, Trey and Mike were playing a few
licks to Sweet Home Alabama. I really thought they were going to play
it (and so did everyone else around me) but we got...

RUNAWAY JIM: What a Jim! TYPE II TYPE II TYPE II!!! A great Jim jam,
all over the place, Type II at its best. It got very loud and strange,
and got far from Jim. There was a HUGE Piper tease in the middle. As
for the standard part of the song, the silent part didn't work to well
as people were screaming, but it nonetheless seemed to be right on
target. Who would have in the beginning of the jam guessed what it was
going to segue into. But it did so, flawlessly, into...

WHEN THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN: The song was standard, and if I remember
correctly, there was a jam that followed that was very Jim-esque, but I
could be wrong. A GREAT segue. Beautiful.

VULTURES: Another new one that I like. In fact, I didn't hear a new one
that I DIDN'T like. I was very impressed with the jam on the end of
this. IMO, type II if I remember correctly. The whole band was VERY
tight in the end as the pulled all together into a rythym that was,
IMO, similar to Carini. It would have made a great segue. I was really
hoping that Carini would come out of it, and I really thought is was
going to, but it didn't. I think it got VERY close...maybe just a
tease? What did others hear? I really enjoyed this song, ALOT. I
thought it had a great jam. On to...

McGRUPP: At this point, the lady behind me was dancing with a beer in
her hand and proceed to spill it ALL OVER my sweatshirt and other items
that I had while she was dancing. So, while I was trying to salvage my
stuff, I missed most of the song. Grrrr.... But I do remember hearing
bits of a sweet jam, the type that brings tears to the eyes. There is a
moral to this little tale: IF YOU DANCING, DO NOT HOLD ANYTHING TO
DRINK IN YOUR HAND, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE DRUNK. Simply place it on the
ground, and when you want a sip, pick it up then. It is not very fun to
have a beer soaked sweatshirt, especially when the post show temp is
cold. OK, I'm off my soapbox now...

And then...

MIKES!!!!: My wish for the evening come true! The combination of this
plus YEM plus the new plus the old was making me delirious! When the
song first started up, I can't ever remember being that DELIRIOUS
before! I was sent spinning, off far and away, only to return as the
show ended. I honestly could not believe they were playing the Groove,
with all that had been given to us before that. WOW!!!!! THANKS PHISH!
Anyway, some great bass lines/bombs from Mike...He was all over it! The
song, to me, seemed perfect, as I was in a state of pure delirium. The
jam was not really that groovy but loud and TYPE II and very
interesting... a really good jam. This is another one I really want to
hear on tape. Suddenly, the jam is slowing and slowing and slowing and
then...

HYDROGEN: YESSSSSS!!!! NOT JUST RALIEGH! So sweet. I think Hydrogen is
so beautiful, so graceful, a moment to stop dancing, stand still,
listed to the gorgeous music and drift above the clouds, in another
world. The music really took me there. Fish's one hit on his drums
yanked me out of that world and into the land of the GROOOOOVE!!!

WEEKAPAUG: I just love this tune. It is great to dance to, Mike is
going nuts, everything is just full of energy and excitment. A perfect
followup to Hydrogen, and I was dancing like a mad fool. Mike was
dropping more bombs, Page was playing beautifully, Trey was wailin
away. I need to hear this one on tape. Some good quiet down and then
bust out loud from the band. Trey played the Happy B-day theme and then
gave a speech thanking the sound crew, Bill Grahm Presents, and wishing
a Happy B-day to Jerry. Also, he mentioned �keeping Jerry's spirit
alive� and more-a great little tribute. Ended very well, VERY tight,
and then it was all over.

TOTAL SET TIME: I think around 80 minutes.

ENCORE:

CINNAMON GIRL: Fun to hear, not the BEST encore, but good. A solid way
to end the show. Kind of a strange pick... I was really hoping for
Hood, but I can't be too greedy ;).

OVERALL THOUGHTS: A great, great show. Full of Type II jams, teases,
good new songs, fun old ones. This is for sure a keeper folks, and one
of the best of Summer 97'. I don't think I have danced and hosed that
hard for that long at a show before. Still in a state of shock...

Before I sign off, I wanted to thank Mike for the ride to Ventura and
for being a great tour partner. Also thanks to the band for a GREAT
show. PLEASE don't grovel now for this show. Give the tapers a chance.
I will be getting a copy later and will make a fine little
weed/bush/plant.

Hope the rest of tour is great!

Matt

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Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 09:52:11 -0800
From: Darius Zelkha 
Subject: Shoreline/Gorge reviews

Subject: Shoreline -> Gorge REVIEWED (very long)
Date: Tue, 05 Aug 1997 17:03:17 -0800
From: Darius Zelkha 

Ahh, Summer Time; the weather is warm, the times are slow, and the
circus that is the Phish tour comes to town.  My brief thoughts of the
Shoreline -> Gorge experience come from someone who's seen 20+ Phish
shows (dating back to Spring '93), has hundreds of hours of the band on
tape, and enjoys seriously discussing and critiquing their music.

My girlfriend and I made the 5 minute drive to Shoreline at around 5:15
pm on Thursday, laughing the entire way about how great it was to
finally see a hometown show!  After handing out several flyers
announcing the new fan-based, non-profit Phish book in the works (if you
haven't heard about this project, point your browser to
 or email
 for more info) and seeing several familiar
faces, we decided to head in.  We were very pleased with our seats
(section 202, row U; thanks charlie!), as the sound and the view were
stellar, and there was plenty of room to move around.

The Shoreline show was absolutely stellar.  Very, very exploratory in
all regards, with a plethora of Type II (ie exploratory, weird, out
there) jamming to go around.  GHOST opened the show in strong,
funnnnnnnnky fashion, and though the jam didn't really reach as many
peaks or rock out as much as the 6/22/97 version, this tune started the
trend of rhythmic, stacatto jamming that would continue throughout all
three of the shows I saw.  Huge opener, which sort-of segued (">" not
"->") into the longest YA MAR I've ever heard, either live or on tape. 
There was a serious JAM in here, not just the standard Page/Trey solo
builds.  Page moved to the Moog for portions of the jam, as it got into
stacatto territory, complete with a key change to a darker feel, and a
near-tease of Rift (not really teased, but close to the opening riff). 
After this long, long jam came the drum break, and then thr jam
continued, as Trey got a delay-loop happening on his pedals (over the Ya
Mar groove).  This delay-loop brought this lengthy Ya Mar to a close
(and Fishman kicked in the beat to the Dogs Stole Valuable Time In the
Set, which was, as usual, boring).

In terms of the rest of the first set, the MAZE sucked, IMO; just weak,
unfocused playing on everyone's part.  GLIDE was cool to hear, but not
played that well.  I SAW IT AGAIN...ugh.  Absolute garbage.

The YEM that closed the first set was Just Plain Weird.  It just blew
the roof off the first set.  It was at least 35-40 minutes and had some
of the most exploratory jamming in YEM that I've heard -- I would say it
was more out there than the 'Ween '95 YEM (which I also saw).  The jam
began as a Straight Funky Groove, then developed in a jam very similar
in feel to the 6/20/97 Prague pre-Cities jam.  This went on for a long
while, as themes were recycled and brought back, and this finally
dropped into the more traditional YEM jam.  After the more standard YEM
build, a "video game" jam of sorts started, with lots of effects, loops,
and weird wild stuff happening on everyone's part.  This developed into
a "Bass/Drums/Effects" jam, in which Trey started vocally jamming over
the strange groove created.  This slowly melted into the vocal jam (no
WUDMTF section), which closed the song and brought an end to the 100
MINUTE _FIRST_ SET!!!

Wow.

Lucky for us, the second set started up exactly where the first set left
off, as the band launched into an incredible JIM, which ran the gamut of
jamming; it got spacey, video-game-ish, jazzy, and finally emerged as an
arena-rock groove, which segued _seamlessly_ into CIRCUS.  McGRUPP was a
nice treat, but the real beef was the MIKE'S GROOVE that followed.  This
was just absolutely wild, as they abandoned the funk and went for
straight ROCK NOISE.  Messy, off-kilter, and completely enthralling. 
The WEEKAPAUG that followed seemed inspired, and even though I'm not a
big Dead fan, I was very, very impressed by Trey's mention of continuing
the spirit of Jerry through music; just a really classy move.  After a
start/stop jam, the 'Groove ended with a fierce Can't You Hear Me
Knockin' closing segment that blew the roof off the amphitheatre.  

CINNAMON GIRL was an interesting choice as the encore;  it was good to
hear something out of the ordinary, but frankly, I'm not crazy about
Phish covering this tune.

Overall, Shoreline was a very strange, albeit huge show.  Some great
Type II jamming in the crazy, 35-40 min. first set YEM, more of the same
in the nuts JIM that opened the 2nd set.  Add to that the over-the-top
Mike's Groove, some really inspired stuff found in the GHOST opener and
the longest, most jammed YA MAR to date.  Downsides: Dogs Stole Things,
I Saw It Again, and a lame Maze (all found in the first set).  A really
long show: the first set was 100 minutes, and, after a 25 min. setbreak,
the second set and encore were around 80 minutes, ending _precisely_ at
11pm (curfew).  The band played just up to the wire, and was seemingly
inspired the entire evening.  GET THIS SHOW ON TAPE.

Darius

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