Albany—Twelve-Thirteen
12.13.1997
Fourteen years ago tonight, Phish stepped on stage in Albany, New York, and finished one of the most creative and well-loved tours of their career. Each and every night brought a new musical assault on the audience, and this night would be the last. Following a gritty and exploratory second set of Albany’s opening show, the band threw down a celebratory set of anthems to conclude a tour that fans still celebrate to this day.
The meat of the second half is a full throttle romp through “Ghost,” “Mike’s” and “Llama.” After “Ghost” had been such an extravagant vehicle of groove throughout the tour, Phish gradually built this jam into a seething excursion that favored a shreddier path. And as “Ghost” wound down, Phish wound up another heavy-hitter of the season, “Mike’s Song.” Splashing into ballistic Fall ’97 stop/start funk around the comical, in-jam banter, “Bring In the Dude!” the guys alternated solos during the breaks and absolutely blew the roof of The Knick with adrenalized musical fury and one of the more energetic band-audience exchanges in memory. The end of such a legendary tour would not go quietly into the night.
Building the jam into dirty, clav-painted rock textures, the band then took it way down before bursting back into the piece at a breakneck pace. Taking their head of steam into an aggressive jam that saw its way out of “Mike’s” structure, the band was playing not like it was their last night of tour, but as if it was the last night of their lives. Building into a quickened pattern, Trey took the idea and turned it into a scorching mid-second set “Llama.” Phish finished the set with the more uplifting playing of “Weekapaug -> Catapult -> “Weekapaug” and “Harry Hood,” and although Fall ‘97 was finally over, the community was shits and giggles after a month of the best music we’d ever heard from the band. And New Year’s Run was only two weeks away…
I: Ya Mar > Axilla > Theme From the Bottom, Ginseng Sullivan, Strange Design, Sample in a Jar, Vultures, Tube, Good Times Bad Times
II: NICU, Punch You In the Eye, Ghost > Mike’s Song -> Llama, When the Circus Comes, Weekapaug Groove -> Catapult -> Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood
E: My Soul, The Squirming Coil
=====
Jam of the Day:
“Ghost > Mike’s -> Llama” 12.13.97 II
Phish brought it home in Albany and this sequence provided the dark meat of the set
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ph1997-12-13d2t03-Ghost.mp3,http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ph1997-12-13d2t04-Mikes-Song.mp3,http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ph1997-12-13d2t05-Llama.mp3]***
“Sand” 12.13.99 II
And while we are celebrating anniversaries, this big-time “Sand” dropped in Providence 12 years ago, tonight.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/15-Sand-12.13.99.mp3] Tags: 1997
http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/35iaiq/
Duke of Lizards:
Accomplishment Unlocked!
Nuggets are a fun team to watch. They play hard and have a lot of good dudes. Should be a playoff team again, not a champ contender, but by no means a shitty team.
And the playing hard thing is key. NBA is fun as long as they go at it. It’s boring to watch overpaid dudes shlump around, but when they’re trying hard to win every night, it makes all the difference
Nuggets made out ok in the Melo deal. Got some nice young players and the resigned Nene. Agree with C’s assessment.
Watch Donald Sterling screw the Clipper’s players somehow.
Blake Griffin, Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul, Mo Williams, Caron Butler could be a fun fun team to watch today.
Killin it erbody. Kudos. I love you guys.
nice. sounds good. i know about the Birdman, and Nene (sp?). teams that hustle and play tough D are what i like. team ball.
also interested to see how D.Rose with Da Bulls responds after his play in the playoffs.
@c
Only plord since his hair cut 😉
bazinga!
it is weird that these good things are happening to the Clips. Seems inevitable that Sterling will bork it somehow, but we’ll see
as an NBA fan, bottom line for me:
CP3 to Griffin alley oops anyone…?
YES MOTHERFUCKING PLEASE
feelin’ better just in time for the approaching weekend!
let’s call it the cycle of life. phish needs to write a tune about me and the cycle of life.
Nuggets are fun. Plus they have the best name in the NBA for stoner f***
Srsly
Gallinari, Nene, Birdman, Ty Lawson, al harrington and recent additions, they should be good. Plus George Karl is a great coach.
msg, folks – two weeks – let’s hope they bring it.
I don’t want to believe it’s true, down in my massive alley-oop loving heart (the alley-oops being massive, not my heart, although I suppose my heart is probably bigger than average, but in line with body proportions, and… anyways), but my brain really thinks a serious injury to one or both of Paul and Griffin is essentially guaranteed, because again: the Clippers
I also think it’s pretty much guaranteed we get a Camel Walk again in MSG to make up for the PA bust last year
blazers, nuggets, green bay packers — team names that strike a chord w/ stoner fucks.
and Andre Miller is back with the Nuggets. Nuggets could be a tough team. Not necessarily championship caliber, but a solid competitive team.
blazers vs. nuggets is always a big day here in PDX fo sho
I hear you @garretc…sending a guy with shaky knees like CP3 into the dark umbrella of David Sterling’s rotten karma is nervous-making to say the least
good point Halcy. didn’t even think of the name for some reason. i’ll probably hit a few games this year.
@halyc – not sure if your an An Difranco fan, but she’s playing Boulder Theatre in March. the shows are adding up.
i think the dude’s topple was an after shock to being tebow’d . . i’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. but damn, tebow’d and face plant in the same week . . . ouch!
lolz, duder! if you’re lurking, i hope you can look back and take it in stride, but it is pretty damn funny!
Star Lake ’03 Jibboo is choice. Nice Daniel Saw The Stone > Camel Walk opener too. First time through with a SBD, sounds good…
March is a crazy month of music in Colorado Tela’s. Would have gotten tickets as the Mrs is a huge fan, and I a fan as well. We will be seeing shows vicariously through our friends as futurebaby will be making her arrival around then.
Related: Photoshop I did eons ago
speaking of Portland
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/12/portland_police_arrest_man_aft_1.html
“Another officer used his Taser and made contact, but the man knocked one of the wires away with the light saber.”
yeah, i figured as much. The slf is a big fan as well. could have been a fun date night. ha.
i’ll get my girl/union power on for ya.