Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 14:08:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Patrick.Buzby@oberlin.edu
Subject: 8-8-97 Review

Hi Dan -

     Here are reviews of Tinley Park and Alpine Valley.  Thanks for an
excellent page.  -  Pat

8-8-97  New World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL

I : CTB, Gumbo (w/extended jam), Lizards, Dirt, It's Ice, Water In The Sky,
Character Zero

II : Wolfman's Brother (jammed)->Free, Limb By Limb, Loving Cup, Prince
Caspian, Chalkdust Torture

E (w/Sugar Blue) : Hootchie Kootchie Man, Messing With The Kid

     BEFORE THE SHOW : Great weather.  (I seem to have good luck with this -
it was the same at both Deer Creeks last summer.)  Someone in the parking lot
was playing a live take of John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" that included
an Eric Dolphy flute solo.  Didn't know that any such versions existed on CD -
must have been one of those Euro boots.  If the person with that CD is reading,
I'd like to know about it.

Set I :

CTB - There was some growling wah-wah guitar from Trey during Page's solo that
helped make this the most 'out' version of this song that I know of (not that
I'm much of a CTB afficionado).  Not sure that it gelled very well, though.
Decent version.

GUMBO - This led into a long jam - I saw Trey look toward Page as if signalling
that they should open things up for a while.  Very much in the thematic,
self-effacing (Permagroove?) mode of jamming they've been exploring recently,
building up 4/4 patterns without anyone (even Trey, most of the time) doing
anything overly aggressive.  There were some highly grooving portions, and
others where the band didn't seem sure where things were going or whether it
should end.  Eventually, it died down, and after a short spacy passage Trey
started...

LIZARDS - This had the most agitated Page solo I've heard on this song -
couldn't tell if he was just mixing things up or if there was some frustration
going on.  Otherwise, a good, standard version.

DIRT - First new song.  Another product of Trey's (IMO) misguided recent
songwriting direction - like Phish trying to be Neil Young circa Harvest.
Competent (I prefer it to some songs on Billy Breathes), but it didn't come
across especially well.  Crowd energy dipped noticeably during this song.

IT'S ICE - Some Trey flubs, including a major one near the start of the
instrumental composed segment.  After a while in the improv portion, Trey
seemed to take over from Page as the primary voice - it seemed almost like
something may have been up w/Page's equipment.  A nice, spacious improv,
not too long, before the song resumed.

WATER IN THE SKY - Pleasant and unremarkable, as I expected from what I've
read.  Again, the instrumental part was a bit odd - not sure whether it was
meant to be a Page or Trey solo, and it came out as a slightly uneasy
combination of both.

CHARACTER ZERO - Fine version - Phish's patented arena-rock jamming with lots
of wicked wah-wah from Trey.  The crowd loved it.  Setbreak at this point
surprised me - only seven songs?  Oh well.

Set II :

WOLFMAN'S BROTHER - They jammed this in a way very similar to GUMBO in set 1 -
you can basically apply all of my comments about that jam to this one.  I
don't know if either jam achieved histortic intensity levels, but they were
worth hearing.  For a while I thought Trey might be signalling Timber Ho! (he
was playing the same chords that open that song), but instead there was an
abrupt segue into...

FREE - Didn't know that they replaced the old airplane noises/percussion kit
segment with a Trey solo over the D-Bb vamp from the album.  Thumbs up here.

LIMB BY LIMB - Now this I liked.  Nearly the same tempo and rhythm feel as
TASTE, but if anything I prefer this song.  It has that unique character that
was what I (and most of us, presumably) responded to in the Lawn Boy or
Nectar songs.  Good version.  After this ended, Trey conferred with Page - it
didn't seem clear where the set would go, with all of that jamming at the
beginning.  So we got...

LOVING CUP - Nice surprise.  Well played.

PRINCE CASPIAN - Never one of my favorite songs.  Pretty nice jam, though.

CHALKDUST TORTURE - Long, classic old-school Trey-led tension-and-release
jamming.  As with ZERO, the crowd got off majorly.  And then the set was over.

    I must admit I was feeling gypped at this point.  I mean, 13 songs?
And only about an hour per set?  I was thinking it would take something
along the lines of a Hood encore to make up for this.  But I had no idea what
was coming...

ENCORE :

HOOTCHIE KOOTCHIE MAN/MESSING WITH THE KID - As many other audience members
will probably be posting, Sugar Blue wailed.  He may not have beat Greg
Bandy to the women at the gigs they did together (private joke alert), but
he certainly smoked that other, heftier harmonica guy Phish have jammed with
recently.  Trey responded well to the stimulus, as did Page, without any
trace of the oddness that marked his performance in the first set.

     I left thinking that I'd had the dubious fortune to have caught one of
the more uneven nights on what seems like a great tour.  The two extended jams
and the encore made this show worthwhile, and the new song debuts added an
element of surprise, even though not all of them came off.  But I am hoping
for better things at Alpine Valley this evening.  (This was written around
noon on 8-9-97.)

			-	Pat Buzby
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 16:46:52 -0500
From: Creighton Creighton@mindspring.com
Subject: RE: Reviews of 8/6  and 8/8--8/9

Here are reviews for World through Deer Creek

World Music Theater, Tinley Park, IL  8/8/97

I: CTB, Gumbo>>Jam>>Lizards, Dirt, Ice,
	Water In The Sky, Character Zero
II: Wolfman's Bro>>Free, Limb by Limb, Loving Cup,
	P. Caspian, Chalkdust
E: Hoochie Coochie Man*,  Messin W/ the Kid*
*Sugar Blue on Vocals and Harmonica

Let me start of by saying that this is the closest venue to my house and
the only times I have been there was to see Further fest  and Phish

I really dislike this venue as most people do.  From the crappy
industrial setting to the fact that there are a ridiculous number of
pillars in the pavillion, and the fact that security is ready to pounce
on anyone who even looks suspicious.  I though about skipping this show
cause of a bad experience in 93 seeing phish, but i
went ahead anyways.

set 1

CTB:  Two in two shows I was still pumped because I love this one.

Gumbo:  Glad to hear it.  Hard to believe it was only my second one.  Everyone is happy.
	Then they just kept going on like a 15-20 minute jam.  Multiple turns and dimensions to this 
	jam.  Just when you had know Idea where they were headed somthing new came up. and right 
	into....
Lizards:  Decent version of the song.  The whole time I was thinking Gamehendge.  Please go into 
	narration Trey.  Instead it was
Dirt:  Happy to hear the new songs.  Really cool mellow tune.  Nice parrallel vocals and solo by Trey.  

Ice:  My friend was happy to hear this one so I was happy.  It is one of his favorites.  I love the lyrics to 
	day.  Kind of a sloppy version of it though.  Trey was having some difficulties.

Water in the sky:  Decent song.  Nothing much to say.  Kind of a funny tune for them to play I think

Character Zero:  Wasn't really hoping for a Zero, due to the fact that i got bombarded with it in fall.  But t	 	But this where there energy started to show.  Really rocked this version.

Set 2
Wolfman's Bro:   Waiting to hear the fat jam at the end of this that everyone was talking about.  I wasn't let down.  At times it seemed like it was a 70 porn movie.  Funked out.  Really happy with what they have done.  This segued nicely into 

Free:  Now this was the album version with the hardcore solo over da da, da da.  Not a fan of that at all.  I was really into the more classic, space jam that we are all used to.  Oh well can't win em all.

Limb By Limb:  Really cool sound to it.  One of my favorites of the new songs.  Cool vocal trade off between Page and Trey.  This is one to watch.

Loving Cup:  What can I say.  I will never tire of this one.  Phish does such and unbelievable job of 	covering this.   My buddy was praying we would hear this on the tour.

P. Caspian:  Two shows in a row in the wrong spot.  Killed momentum.  Really starting to dislike this one
	Sorry to all that still dig it but it has lost it for me.

Chalkdust;  Funny version.  Weird solo at the end by trey.  Not the classic rocking end to it.  He really loves his wah pedal I have noticed.

E:     Hoochie Coochie Man, Messin w/ the kid.

Now I had missed the 4/10/93 chicago show w/ Sugar cause I went to see pink floyd in Iowa and see the boys later in Ames.  So I missed out and I was pissed.  I was so happy to see him jump out on stage. Something about phish and blues gets me going.  ANd 


with Sugar Blue thrown in it was makin my show.

Overall,  I thought the show was above average.  On 1 to 10 I gave it a 5.5

Eric Creighton
creighton@mindspring.com
www.mindspring.com/~creighton/eric/
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Ron Reese 
Subject: Review, Tinley/Alpine (long)
Date: 13 Aug 1997 21:48:48 GMT

I posted a few comments about Tinley Park and Alpine on 
Sunday, but I might as well start over. Here goes:

Friday's show got off to a slow start, with a weak Cars Trucks 
Buses and Gumbo (most of it). Page's playing during CTB was 
nothing to write home about, but he did pick it up as Gumbo 
gained momentum into a wicked jam. Lizards brought a lot of 
energy, and the crowd went nuts. Dirt was next, and I don't 
remember much about this except that I didn't not like it...I 
think I need to hear it a few more times. It's Ice was a nice 
dose of Phish Funk, and dissolved into a sinister fusion-type 
jam. So far, this was the highlight of the set (for me), and 
that isn't saying all that much. I do not like Water in the 
Sky at all, and refuse to comment on it. I will comment on 
Character Zero, and take my hat off to Trey. He tore this song 
to pieces. I wasn't all that hyped about hearing it, and it 
didn't really jam...it just RIPPED. I was extremely impressed, 
and received a little jolt of energy just by watching Trey go 
nuts. A great way to end a so-so set.

I gave a mighty yell at the very first note of Wolfman's 
Brother. After reading all this talk about Phish's newfound 
Funk, this was just what I needed to hear. To my surprise, I 
was a bit let down. The Funk was building along the way, but 
they never got to that nasty FUNK I was looking for. At one 
point, I clearly heard Mike playing bits and pieces of the 
bassline to 'Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad', but I think I 
may have been the only one. Wolfman's worked it's way into a 
furious jam, and a nice, tight segue into Free, which was 
solid. Limb by Limb followed, and I immediately fell in love 
with it. It could have been played MUCH better though. The 
vocals are similar to a few of Paul Simon's "Graceland" songs, 
and maybe even some duet with Linda Ronstadt I heard on 
Saturday Night Live (I can't remember the tune though). At 
first, I was giving it the benefit of the doubt in it's 
relation to Taste, but it eventually BECAME Taste. I love 
Taste though, so no worries. I doubt, however, that we will 
ever see these two songs in the same set or show. This was my 
first time hearing it, and I did find it to be sloppy, but it 
does have potential. The jam was reminiscent of a 'Crazy 
Fingers' jam, which was pretty interesting. All in all, thumbs 
up for Limb by Limb. Loving Cup followed (perfectly placed), 
rocked, and then came Prince Caspian. Caspian was *pretty* 
good, but not as good as others I've heard. Chalkdust was long 
(for Chalkdust) and sick...ALMOST too much, but a nice way to 
end another so-so set.

The encore was a treat. Trey kept repeating Sugar Blue's name 
because most of the audience probably didn't know who he was. 
I had seen him before at Rosa's (here in Chicago), and was 
psyched to hear him play. Hoochie Coochie Man was fun, but 
Messin' with the Kid SMOKED...just a long, phat groove. A 
great end to a fair show, although I was glad this was just 
the beginning of our journey.


----------------------------------------------

From: Joe Thompson 
Subject: Tinley & Alpine thoughts (long)
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 1997 23:59:35 -0400

I just got back from my second "mini-tour" this summer, seeing the
Tinley Park and Alpine Vallay shows, and thought I'd share my own
personal experiences involved with the shows.  This is all from memory
of cousre, so it may or may not be completely accurate.
        
        It seemed strange for me to be able to see a show the same day as
leaving for it, since the first two shows I saw were VA Beach and
Atlanta, which require a full day of driving from here (Detroit area). 
My friend and I left at 7:30 and got into Chicago at around 1:30, after
a nice little traffic jam near Gary, IN.  We stayed with a friend of
his  who lives downtown, and I had never seen Chicago before, so it was
somewhat exciting for me to be there.  After an afternoon of sightseeing
and whatnot, we left at about 5:30.  "I hope we meake it to the show on
time" I said, forgetting that we gained an hour due to the Central time
zone :-)  The traffic to Tinley Park was not too bad, considering that
it was downtown Chicago at rush hour.  I liked the fact that the traffic
into the New World was not very bad, at least on the route I took. 
There was parking for everyone, which I especially liked after having to
park a half-mile down the road at Lakewood in Atlanta.  We went in and
foud our seats - near the back and obstructed view.  We waited until the
show started and moved to an empty spot a couple rows up and to the
right - not offensive seat-surfing, just enough so we could see.  The
show opened with a good CT&B, slightly long compared to the earlier
versions (but not holding a candle to the Flynn version :-)  An extended
Gumbo followed, with a very nice jam included.  Lizards followed...
woohoo, group sing-along! ;)  Oh well, it's nice to see so many people
having so much fun.  Dirt was up next: the third time I've heard it
live, but I'm starting to like it.  It's Ice is not one of my favorite
songs, and though I've never seen it live, I wasn't excited to see it;
standard until the middle am, which seemed to have some potential at the
beginning, but turned into a slow jam that was nothing special.  Water
in the Sky - uhh, what?  I could do without this song, but maybe it will
take hearing it a few more times to be able to appreciate it.  Character
Zero - eh, I'm getting a little tired of it, but it was a farily
energetic version.  Overall, I was disappointed by this first set.
        The second set opened with Wolfman's, which I would regard as the
most
improved song of '97.  This was a good jam, but my memory fails me as to
the details.  It did not segue inot Free, the next song; rather, they
jammed out the end of Wolfman's, then quieted down so Trey could start
playing the opening chords.  It was a good version, but again I can't
remember the details.  Limb by Limb followed, and this song seems to
have potential.  The beginning sounds very similar to the middle of
Taste, if you've never heard this song.  This jam didn't do much for me,
and I began to get frustrated - I hadn't been feeling any energy from
the band or the crowd, and could not get into any kind of "groove."  I
felt they were not playing up to their potential.  Loving Cup came next,
and I do like this song, but because of the lack of energy I felt didn't
really enjoy it - this may have been a better version than VA Beach, but
I enjoyed the Va Beach one much more.  Prince Caspian is a lot better
now than in earlier versions, but it's still not one of their best, and
this version was nothing special.  THe set closed witha good version of
Chalkdust Torture, slightly extended, but I though Trey overdid it at
the end.  A subpar set, IMO.
        This show would not have been worth the price of admission if
Sugar
Blue had not shown up, and I really enjoyed both songs of the encore -
"Gimme some keys, baby!"  The encore could not rescue this show, though,
and my friend and I left disappointed.


-------------------------------------------------

From: Jay Rose 
Subject: 8/8/97 REVIEW
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 03:09:25 -0500

I have seen many concerts at this venue and I really wasn't too excited
for this one because of the impersonal style and poor acoustics that I
had experienced in the past here. The stage is the largest I have ever
seen. Flanked by gigantic and unsightly black pillars, it could easily
accomadate three bands with the size of Phish's setup.

Anyways, the sound was alot better than expected and after listening to
the tapes I was proven correct. The auds coming out of here should be
far superior to the ones which circulate from the 8/14/93 show.

Set I opened with:

Cars, Trucks, and Buses: easily the most lackluster and lifeless version
I have ever heard of this song. There was no energy and very little
groove to this version. I was rather puzzled at this choice of an
opener, considering they played it in set II of St. Louis the show
before. 

after a rather blah opener I was then treated to:

GUMBO: Yes! I was really glad to hear a song that I haven't listened to
a million times over and this selection was perfect. The composed
segment was solidly played, with no obvious flaws. The jam segement was
great! The groove and interplay was very danceable and was the longest
that I have ever heard.

There was no reprise back into Gumbo, instead the arpeggiated intro
chords to Lizards began to fade in....

LIZARDS: Hmmm....Not great, not bad. Very standard(aren't almost all of
them?). The crowd went NUTS!

Yiipppeee!! Then came a new one:

DIRT: I have to admit that this song has grown on me a little bit since
the first time I heard it. The inane lyrics are saved by a decent chord
progression and a beautiful singing guitar melody Trey plays toward the
end. This was the first time of the night that I realized the sound at
this place wasn't as bad as I though it would be. Trey's guitar line
soared clearly throughout.

then came....

IT'S ICE: Not what I would have liked to heard, but still this version
was tightly played with a spacey little middle segment. Standard good
version.

After a few structured songs I was looking for something that would jam
a little bit and I didn't get it in...

WATER IN THE SKY: I really like this song, even though it sounds alot
more like the DEAD than Destiny Unbound does. Nice little happy
country-ish song. It was very short and to the point and it sounded like
Trey took the first solo, instead of Page as in previous versions. 

Now I was really jonesin' for a jammin' song and in came the opening
of...

CHARACTER ZERO: Ouch! This was not the type of jamming song I was
thinking of and I immediatlely realized that this set was probably over.
This version was played loud and racous! The place was going insane. As
they did the outro jam, the word WANKING kept popping into my mind.
Trey, the rockstar, emerged as he WANKED through alot of pointless
doubled stops and emotioneless guitar licks. For a minute I thought may
have stumbled into a BOSTON show. I can't deny the power of this song,
as much I didn't want to, my feet started to move as I embarassingly
grooved to ZERO. 

That closed out set I. Very lackluster and below average. One of the
worst sets I have seen. The chief culprits being the absence of
improvisation and poor song selections. Whenever I would say that GUMBO
is the highlight and best jam of the set I know I am dealing with a weak
set. The only reason to get a tape of this set is the GUMBO, try and get
it as philler if you can.

The first set left alot to be desired, and I am ashamed to say this, but
I felt that Phish owed me. Please no flames for that last comment. I
just really felt short changed by the first set. 

SET II opened with:

WOLFMANS BROTHER: Yeah! I have really been into this song since I
started hearing the incredible versions from the first EURO 97 run. This
version was very strong, if I remember correctly. Real nice groove! Very
funky. The jam went on for a few minutes until a familiar, distinctive
theme emerged. I couldn't place it at first and finally I realized it
was the middle FREE. They kept going through the DUH DUH, DUH DUH part
until they finally broke it down and sequed nicely in to FREE. It was
slightly marred by a small goof by Trey in the beginning, and was not as
sweet as the segs I have heard from the 7/22 show, but still, none the
less, awesome. Oooops....then came:

FREE: The morning of the show I listned to the mammoth FREE from
Amsterdam last month. That version was stellar, compared to the ones I
had been used to hearing. I was glad to see this version was resembling
it. The new style FREE seems to be a mix or old and new. It still
contains the signature guitar line in the beginning, but the solo and
jam segment from the album version are in place for the middle. The best
thing that happend to this song was the demise of Trey's drumkit. Trey
was playing really sweet in this jam, very melodic, with a fat tone. I
wish they would have played it like this all along. 

By this time I thought that debt was nearly settled when I was treated
to the Hendrix-like intro to...

LIMB BY LIMB: Of the new batch of songs Ghost and this one are my
favorites. This song is the strongest song they have written since
GUYUTE, imo. Great vocals, lyrics, melody, groove. I really got into
this. The most surprising part of this was the nice jam that came into
the middle of this song. Very high energy and inspired musicianship from
all before reprising back into the song and ending with Fishman singing
alone while playing some really cool beats.

Consider us even, you guys don't owe me anything!

LOVING CUP: WOW! After a great set chock full of great jamming and
improvosation came one of my favorites. Great version! Very inspired.
This version reminds me of the 11/8/96 version. By the time of "What a
beautiful buzz....." I was out of control and for the first time of the
night I felt in debt to PHISH. You couldn't have picked a better place
to play this song.

then came....

PRINCE CASPIAN: I really don't mind this song and I thought it was
played at good time. I needed a little breather by now. The song was
played nicely and included a very cool jam segment, if you can believe
that! Trey was playing some very melodic stuff while outlining the main
chord progression. This was the best version I have heard of this.
Please point others similiar to this if you can.

Well, so far, unlike the set I, this set was going flawless. And then
came....

CHALKDUST TORTURE: WOW! A smokin' version, I much prefer this to ZERO.
Above average version. I was exhausted by this time and felt forever
indebted to the band. How dare I say those nasty things about the first
set!?!?! I had know idea of what to expect for the encore.

After a minute or two of cheering, five people returned to the stage not
four. Trey then went ahead and said that he would like to play a few
songs with SUGAR BLUE! 

HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN: I believe that this is the second time they have
played this with Sugar Blue, the first one being, 4/10/93, I think. I
thought this version was a little better than that one. Trey and Sugar
Blue exchanged some interesting solos. This version wasn't really bluesy
due to the tremendous amounts of distortion Trey was using during the
verse part, and the beat that Mike and Fish were playing was a little
heavy and straightforward. Still I really enjoyed this and couldn't wait
to hear what was next.

MESSIN' WITH THE KID: Much, much better than Hoochie. I wasn't familiar
with the tune, but it sounded alot more blues faithful than Hoochie.
This contained nice solos by Sugar Blue, Page and Trey. I do remember
and incredible part where the band drops out leaving just Fish and Sugar
Blue playing. This was fanatastic! 

I would recommend that you seek out tapes of this second set at all
costs. One of the better sets of music I have seen Phish play. Overall
this was a strange show due to the inverse characteristics of set I and
set II. I would probably rate set I a 2.5 and set II and 8.0. These are
just meaninless, preliminary ratings and thoughts. I would love to hear
what others think of set II, esp. King Moron420. 

Huge thanks to Rob Clay for his taping expertise and Chris Glusko for
the use of his D8.
 
Thanks for reading.

~Jason
  
p.s. To all the members of PLM, I have one thing to say: MISSION
ACCOMPLISHED! :-)

---------------------------------------------------

From: Jason Cowles 
Subject: My Midwest Tour Pt. I - Tinley Park
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 04:32:27 -0500

Hey all,

Well, I've finally had a little time to sit back and get a little rest in
my own bed so I figured I would put together a few thoughts about the
past weekend.

I had never heard the Jazz Mandolin Project or Ekoostic Hookah before, so 
I figured it would be nice to check them out in Peoria, IL on Thursday 
before heading up to the Tinley Park show.  Ekoostic Hookah was the first 
band to take the stage, and I really didn't care too much for them.  They 
might be kinda fun to see at a party, but musically they didn't do much 
at all for me.  On the other hand, JMP was fantastic.  All that I have 
heard of them was from a Bad Hat tape, so I wasn't too sure of what to 
expect.  I was blown away.  They were top notch musicians, Stacie 
Starkwether and Jamie Mansfield completely blew away any expectations 
that I had.  I didn't attempt to write down a setlist, but they did four 
movements from a classical piece that I can't recall the name of, and 
they did an awesome rendition of Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun" as 
their second encore.  If you ever get the chance, I would highly suggest 
checking JMP out.  I also got to meet a fellow r.m.p. contributor at a 
bar after the show (Hi Don Keeley).

On to Tinley Park...
I haven't been to Tinley Park since my first Phish show (8/14/93), but I 
remembered that security really sucked, they immediately tried to get you 
to go into the venue upon your arrival to the lot.  Well, I was 
pleasantly surprised this time around.  The lot scene was pretty cool,  I 
don't recall seeing anyone being hassled by security and I didn't see any 
nitrous whatsoever.  My only complaint was that they had four 
porta-potties in the entire lot (Good thing I didn't have to go number 
2).  I decided to head in to the show rather early because I was sitting 
in the front row, and I wanted to lay claim to my spot.  

The Setlist (using Charlie Dirksen's segue notation):
8/8/97 The World Music Theater - Tinley Park, IL

Set I:  Cars Trucks and Busses,  Gumbo> Lizards,  Dirt,  It's Ice,  Water 
        in the Sky, Character Zero

Set II: Wolfman's Brother -> Free,  Limb by Limb, Loving Cup,  Prince 
        Caspian,  Chalkdust Torture

Encore: Hoochie Coochie Man*,  Messin' with the Kid (Junior Wells tune)*
* w/ Sugar Blue


CTB was a nice opener.  Pretty standard... Page was banging away, and 
Trey was funking along nicely.  

Gumbo was easily the highlight of the first set, maybe even the entire 
show.  It clocked in at over 15 minutes I believe.  The jam at the end 
was so funky.  Page was on fire during this one, and Trey struck this 
really funky theme that I heard repeated at the other shows I saw ( Deer 
Creek Cities, Deer Creek YEM, and the Alpine Ghost).  I hope the new 
reworked version of Gumbo is here to stay.  The jam segment kind of 
fizzled out, and then Trey struck the opening cords to Lizards.

Lizards was nice.  I haven't been a very big fan of this song as of late, 
but it was well played, and I actually enjoyed it.

Dirt - I really like this ballad.  I would much rather hear this than 
Waste.  I honestly think this song has a lot of potential.

Ice - This song has so much more potential than I think it's shown in the 
past couple of years, and judging by this version, I think it may be a 
while before it reaches that potential.  The jam in the middle was pretty 
much a chaotic fusion jam that didn't get anywhere.

Water in the Sky - I would rather hear this that Sweet Adeline, but I 
guess that's not saying much.  

Character Zero - Wow!  This Zero was good.  I don't think I could 
properly describe it, but this Zero had a totally different feel to it 
than any other version I've ever heard.  I guess the best way I could 
describe it would be to say that it wasn't as charged up as normal, and 
the boys seemed to take their time jamming it out.

Saw Don again at setbreak up by the tapers' section, we exchanged e-mail 
addresses and hopefully I'll be getting some first gen. analogs from him 
soon.

Second Set:

Wolfman's - Nice funky version.  This wasn't quite as good as the first 
set Gumbo, but still very solid.  However, the seamless segue into Free 
was incredible...

Free - The Billy Breathes version.  I like it played this way.  Mike was 
getting funky during the jam segment.

Limb by Limb - I agree with Chris Glushko's sentiments, this song is 
fantastic.  I don't know what else to say about this song, but it's 
definitely one of the best new tunes.

that Trey went into rock star mode, and pretty much took over the rest of 
the set.

Prince Caspian - Didn't they play this the night before in St. Louis?  
I'm not sure what's up with that, but I checked the St. Louis setlist 
before leaving for Peoria, and I was relieved that they had already 
played this tune.  Anyway, Trey was playing rock star again, and I really 
didn't care too much for this one.

Chalkdust - What already?  I kept saying to myself that they better not 
close the set on this considering that Zero closed the first set.  Oh 
well, it did close the set, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed.  I 
was expecting so much more from the show in light of the recent setlists 
that I had seen, so I kinda figured that something special was in store 
for the encore, and boy was I right...

Hoochie Coochie Man and Messin' with the Kid - I saw a figure with a 
harmonica belt approaching the stage with the band and I knew that it had 
to be Sugar Blue.  Damn, this encore was sweet.  It's great to hear Phish 
get down and dirty and play a little blues, especially with Sugar Blue.  
The man has got soul.  Sugar was going nuts on the harmonica, and at one 
point said something like "Gimme some keys" and Page proceeded to lay 
down a nice solo.  Everyone on stage was having a good time, I even saw 
Mike crack a smile or two :-)

Just a few other comments... 
As I'm sure everyone has heard, the World is a hideous venue.  I can't 
really comment on the sound because I was sitting in the front row, but 
Mike's bass wasn't as loud as it was at the other three shows that I saw, 
which surprised me considering how close I was.

Scott Jordan Rating:
First Set: 4.5
Second Set and Encore: 5.0
Overall: 4.75

IMHO, the Encore, Gumbo, and the Wolfman's->Free are all keepers, but the 
rest of the show wasn't particularly spectacular.  Thanks for reading, 
and stay tuned for reviews of the Alpine and Deer Creek Shows, plus a 
little tape offer.

Take Care,
Jason Cowles

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Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 15:03:30 -0400
From: Randy Bee clb@gte.net
Subject: 8.8.97, Tinley Park

8.8.97	The World	Tinley Park, IL
I. Cars Trucks Buses, Gumbo->Lizards, Dirt, It's Ice, Water In The 
Sky, Character Zero

II. Wolfman's Brother->Free, Limb By Limb, Loving Cup, Prince 
Caspian, Chalkdust Torture

E: Hoochie Coochie Man, Messin With The Kid	*W/ Sugar Blue

CTB: Good opener, first show of the summer, first experience of      
Trey's exploration, lasted about 5 minutes, Page was on but not
     jamming
Gumbo: WOW. This jam was so long (20 min) and so intense I thought it 
       was a YEM jam or something. Thouroughly impressed.->
Lizards: Lizards is Lizards, beautiful, sweet, crowd pleaser. I felt 
         the set was off to a very nice start.
Dirt: I'd like to live beneath the dirt. Pretty short, pretty slow, 
      didn't do much for me.
Ice: I will now say I love this song. The middle was so nice, a very 
     well-played version.
Water: Honestly, I love this song. It's slow, it's meaningless, but I 
       know Mike loves it and it seems they like it. For some reason 
       it hit me.
X-ter O: When I heard the beginning I knew the show was over. I 
         didn't feel Trey hit it, but everyone loved it. Not a bad   
         set. I give it a 5.

II. Wolfman's: I can't believe how long this jam was (30). They were 
               JAMMIN. I got lost in this jam as I did in Gumbo but I
	       loved it. Next thing I know Trey's playing the solo to 
Free: I liked this version a lot, they did a lot of exploration and 
      psychedelic stuff. I don't know if I like the general direction 
      but this Free was bomb.
Limb By Limb: Good song. That's about it. Cool Fishman solo.
Loving Cup: Highlight of the show. They jammed this Stones tune for  
            about 8 minutes or so and they were ON! Tons of energy
            and a very powerful chorus. Bomb.
Caspian: Slow, Trey song, overall played with energy.
Chalkdust: Somebody stop this man! 11 minute Chalkdust. Nothing more 
           to say. Except that I didn't think this was the end of the 
	   show. 
E: Hoochie Coochie Man, Messin With The Kid: I didn't quite see Sugar 
   Blue's talent, I think they picked him up on the streets of 
   Chicago. He said he was happy to be playing with The Phish, and he 
   couldn't harmonize with Page, because Page is TOO DAMN FAST!! 
   Phish was jammin, pretty solid encore. I give second set a 6.     
   Overall show, 6. Math doesn't add up, does it? oh well.
PS. Don't mean to bitch, but the parking lot sucked, cops everywhere!

-RJ Bee

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