this show was immortalized on the album slip stitch and pass, which, in my opinion, is the best single disc phish has released. the album has something for everyone, new and old, but believe me, there is some good stuff in the rest of this show too.

cities is a fantastic opener. obviously, i was very happy that this became a quasi part of the rotation. of course, this version is not as exploratory as the one at ventura, the great went, or deer creek, but what a good break out. nice tight version too. the oh kee pah ceremony is solid,and the dwd in the first is somewhat jammy. it does not go all the way out there, but it does the job. weigh is well-played, and beauty gives these fine german folks a taste of good 'ol american blue grass. then there is this wolfman's brother. this song had never been a vehicle for exploration, but this version breaks the mold. it only clocks in at 13 or so minutes, but they make every second count. this is such tight, funky jamming. this one, after probably 100+ 12-13 min wolfman's have been played, really stands the test of time. it still stands out as a marquee version. especially, when you factor in the nice bluesy segue into a stellar jjlc. page sounds great on vocals here, and trey rips off some nice bluesy solos. they don't slow down here. they fly right into a killer reba. this one was not so frequent in '97, as opposed to the previous 3 years, but this one really soars. hello my baby appears poised to close the set, but then they pull out a best of year candidate possum. this one is over the top crazy. trey wails on some very cool heavy metal jamming in the intro here. this one rocks from start to finish....check it out.

carini and dinner and movie are a nice, funny opening pairing, and they get the crowd poised for a mind blowing mike's groove. this one, like the jams in the first set, is very nice and focused. they ride the mike's song's climaxes oh so well before letting a sense of humor slip in. i love the careful with that ax/the end jam. it goes through a playful arabic section with trey and fish having some enjoyable back and forth. of course there is fish letting trey off the hook with the "mother...." "I want to borrow the car..." hilarious! they eventually land in a solid lawn boy before rising into a mind bending weekapaugh. trey and gordon were sharp, as usual on this song, but check out page's playing on this beauty. he bounces and pings off of trey throughout a send up take of weekapaugh. the mango song provides a nice breather, and they play a lovely and gentle take of billy breathes after that. they bring it up a notch with a very cool theme from the bottom. i wish they would close more sets with this song; i feel it leaves the crowd in a very unusual place....way better than cheesier alternatives like character zero. taste and adeline work well in the encore slot. taste is particularly nimble.

this show is a definite classic. slip stitch will get you by, but you may want to get the rest of the show too. this show has excellent flow, great playing, and a very "phan" friendly setlist.

highlights:
set 1:
cities (for the break out factor), wolf>jjlc, reba, possum (maybe the best song left off the album)

set 2:
carini, mike's>lawn>weekapaugh, theme from the bottom