08-14-97 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Phish Live Shows
#1

08-14-97 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, NY

Soundcheck: Buffalo Bill, The Old Home Place, Funky Bitch

1: Ya Mar, Funky Bitch, Fluffhead, Limb By Limb, Free, Cars Trucks Buses, Tela, Train Song, Billy Breathes, Run Like an Antelope

2: Chalk Dust Torture, Love Me*, Sparkle, Harry Hood, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Merry Pranksters’ Bozo Madness#-> Camel Walk, Taste

E: Bouncing Around the Room, Rocky Top

*For Elvis Week. #This segment was dominated by the stage presence of Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters. Colonel Forbin doesn’t meet Icculus this time but rather finds “Ken Uncle Sam Bozo Kesey” (or something near that). At this time Kesey, dressed as Uncle Sam, appears on the stage and accounces that the Bozos have been missing for two years but are on Phish tour now. He calls one by one the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and Frankenstein (Phish breaks into “Frankenstein”) to help him find the Bozos, which soon appear as four white things in costume. After singing about the Bozos which are doing interpretive dance, the Pranksters all leave the stage after Kesey hears the “Bozo Mockingbird”. Trey comments that this is what happens “after you do too much acid 30 years later…” Phish had been playing background music (including McGrupp and Ghost teases) which had developed by this point into a deep funk jam. Trey announces that “we are supposed to start ‘Famous Mockingbird’, but the funk is too deep.” The band continues the funk jam and eventually segues into “Camel Walk.”

#2

This was my girlfriend’s (now wife’'s) 1st show. We drove through the night up to The Went after the show. I could tell that as the giant dancing dogs made their way through the crowd she was thinking “What the hell did I get myself into? We’re driving 12 hrs through the night for 3 days of these shenanigans?” I thought it might be over right then and there but the Went won her over.

To this day, this was by far the weirdest (phishiest) show I’ve ever seen.

#3

^Was Marie and my first show as well. Since I hadn’t been to a rock show before this since the mid 70s, and Marie had never been to a shed for a show, neither of us were prepared for the walk through the lots, and the pat down through the gates. Some over-indulged phishygirl stumbled and almost vomited on Marie’s shoes as we were walking to the show. She almost wanted to leave by the time we got to our seats. She was hoping the show was over at setbreak especially because of that Antelope they played at the end of the first set.

But it was that Antelope that convinced me that there was absolutely no doubt in the world that needed to see this band again. And that was only reinforced by the Harry Hood and the jam that followed it, with fireworks from the amusement park as a backdrop. I was completely sold on the magic of the whole experience.

#4

Man I never know what to think of this show. The show is kind of hit and miss. The Ya Mar-Funky Bitch combo to open the show is great. Other parts of the first set are riddled with sloppiness that was rare for this time still. Tela is always a rare treat and the Antelope is fucking awesome to close the set. Super high energy, goes off the deep end for a few and rages the ending.

The second set is weird too, and not even because of the Kesey madness. The Chalk Dust gets things going nicely but the Love Me is terrible. I can’t help but cringe and feel bad for Mike…obviously they are playing in the wrong key, which makes it impossible for Mike to hit the notes. I feel like they should’be just scrapped Sparkle and went straight to Hood after that debacle. But the Hood is spectacular. The Hood jam itself is very beautiful and perfectly executed AND the jam that follows it is a tour highlight. Really really cool. Then comes the Col Forbin’s and the Kesey stuff…I don’t even know what to think. Obviously it’s the kind of thing that isn’t supposed to ‘translate’ well onto tape, but it actually kind of does thanks to some awesome background jamming from the boys. Especially toward the end when they just funk it out. I love Trey’s comment at the end “this is what happens when you take too much acid”. Then Camel Walk coming out of all of this is a nice touch. The Taste to close the second set is bitching too. A perfectly odd set closer choice with some great energy for the end of an all around odd show.

#5

Happy 15th anniversary to me! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

#6

just saw a link for what’s supposed to be a sbd of this show on some facebook group, but it was a megaupload link, which has obviously been shut down…does anyone know if a sbd floats around for this? nothing on the spreadsheets

#7

No SBD.

If it isn’t on db.etree.org , it probably doesn’t exist. (yet)

#8

#9

^genius. :laughing:

#10

I wish I knew Star Trek better.