Search - Phish :: Live Phish Vol. 11: 11/17/97, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado

The Mothership

dangerhc | NYC | 12/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you've ever read "The Phish Book", then it should come as no surprise that this one became an official release. The band members repeatedly talk this show up as a groundbreaking moment in the band's history, and how, for the rest of the tour, they would invite fans onto the tour bus to listen to it and dance down the aisles. This is the quintessential '97 show.I was lucky enough to have attended this one, and I can assure you that it's no joke. The first-set-opener placement of Tweezer is very rare and foreboding , leading us to a five song first set (read: jams aplenty). The Ghost in this set is regarded by some (including band members) as one of Phish's finest moments.This is the looser, space funk Phish that we saw in '97. The jams are more sparse and impulsive. It was about this time that they disregarded the notion that some of their songs were jam vehicles and some weren't. They started throwing long jams into places that that they normally wouldn't (check out Johnny B. Goode > Jam). Set and even song structure began to dissolve.This may not be the greatest choice for someone's first Phish CD. The large number of long jams and small number of songs performed may be a lot to swallow for the uninitiated. It's an unusual performance. But for the well-versed fan or someone ready to wade in to the murk a little deeper, it's truly essential. It's dark, it's loose, it's beautiful. One for the ages."

The boys were truly feelin' it on 11/17/97

Daniel Mullen | Boston | 07/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ok, first of all I could sum up this review by naming three tracks: Tweezer, Ghost and the so-called "Denver Jam". We all know that fall '97 was the tour that created "cow funk" thick enough to slice with knife...at least for 4 white guys from the suburbs. The opening Tweezer is a balls-to-the-wall tour de force of nasty, psychedelic funk-rock that must have got the energy in that place so intense I can't even fathom it. The tempo is slow and the "solos" aren't the old-school machine gun solos from the early/mid 90s, but the collective improv and the texture of this jam is truly state-of-the-art Phish, which obviously took 14 years to hone.



I feel the main highlight of this release, which is also one of the most genuinely intense moments of musical ESP and collective improvisation of Phish's career (so far, heh heh), is the jam that comes out of Ghost. I won't even bother trying to describe it, but it's the section that falls around the 8:00 mark till the 13:00 mark. Whatever. If you say so, guys.



The other main highlight for me is the "Denver Jam" in which they create a musical landscape unlike any I've ever heard. This is where the band announced (figuratively, not verbally) to the audience that instead of doing the same rip-roarin' solos that predictably crescendo the same way, they were going to focus on creating a certain kind of musical atmosphere in which the room is transformed into something other than a bunch of chairs and walls.



I listen to a lot of jazz, and as virtuosic as some jazz cats are individually, I have seldomly heard a group of musicians that know each other so well musically that they can pull off these kinds of jams without ever looking at each other. 'Nuff said."

The best of the Live Phish releases so far!

biff_tannen | Minneapolis, Minnesota United States | 04/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A documented band favorite! This is a fantastic release from, in my opinion, the band's best tour of all-time - Fall 97. Do not judge the show by its somewhat sparse song selection because every song is heavily jammed. The first set is worth the price alone-Tweezer>Reba>Train Song>Ghost! The filler, Wolfman's>Makisupa, is also spectacular and from another show worthy of release-11/19/97 (Champaign, IL). Although shows from earlier years have more songs per show, the level of improvisation and imagination is just not at the 97/98 level. Mike's bass playing, in particular, is noticeably improved on these later tours and could be partially attributed to his acquisition of a Modulus bass. The band was just so tight and they could groove! To provide context, I attended my first show in Aug. 93 and my last in Fall 2000 with approximately 40 shows in between. I can honestly say that this is my favorite release followed by vol. 4 (Japan). I'm begging for more 97s!!!"