11-11-96 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
1: Chalk Dust Torture, Guelah Papyrus, Cars Trucks Buses, AC/DC Bag, Sparkle, Brother, Theme From the Bottom, Axilla, Runaway Jim
2: Timber (Jerry), The Divided Sky, Gumbo, The Curtain, Sample in a Jar, Tweezer, Swept Away-> Steep-> Maze, Contact, Slave to the Traffic Light
E: Waste, Cavern
i’ll have to go bit by bit to fill in the pieces on this one, but i have some pretty vivid memories all about this… some personal, some about the show. i’ll try and balance the two so its helpful for readers, but for me they’re intrinsically intertwined…
we had been at the Palace the couple nights previous… we were amped for more. my first phish “road trip” (albeit minimal from detroit) and phish’s first time at Van Andel.
waking up that morning it was cold… unseasonably cold. “cooler than being cool ice cold” cold. we set off the morning of the show, 4 of us - best friend, his lady, my brother and me - in my dodge neon to cross the flat and empty divide that is I-96 thru MI.
apparently, we were too amped… we left the tickets sitting on the piano at my friend’s parent’s place. of course we didn’t realize this until we were basically IN grand rapids (about 2.5 hrs west). thankfully someone was willing to meet us halfway to help us get them… great memory of pulling off an exit in the middle of nowhere, pull into an abandoned gas station where they were waiting for the hand off. how we accomplished this before GPS et al remains a scientific curiosity.
back to GR to check in at the Days Inn baby! memory tells me we booked a room for 2 and snuck 2 more in to save some cash. the Days Inn was right downtown near the Grand River. we walked across a large rail bridge that had been converted into a pedestrian for traversing the river. it was decorated in twinkly white xmas lights. brilliant.
did i mention it was cold? well, on the drive across the state and through the flats we also learned it was REALLY WINDY. like push-your-car-off-the-road-with-blowing-snow windy. this is important.
it was just as windy downtown. we walked to the surface parking surrounding the arena where things were shakin’. there was little protection from the cold and wind. deep into the parking lot you get a bit under the freeway overpass, but even that wasn’t much (and sketchy). i was in full dude-on-phish-lot wisdom deficiency that day… i had decided to wear Birks and fuzzy socks. thankfully VERY fuzzy.
we took refuge behind a small outcropping alongside the arena. we smoked marlboros in a chain. some girls came by with a giant thermos of heated Captain Morgan’s and cider. sent from heaven, yo.
we had floor GA which meant we could and would and wanted to get in early. we were right up in line waiting for doors. we knew we’d be close.
the only true bummer was once you got in the door and ran up to the mainfloor hallway, another gate. sure, they had to check tickets for MFGA. wait? they’re taking and keeping everyone’s tickets??? damn. still the only stub from all my phish shows i don’t have anymore. still got the wristband tho.
we ran so fast. once we were through there were only a few people at the rail already. i think i twisted my ankle but ran right though it. we were right between page and trey and “2nd row” deep. we were smiling like nutbags. 
ok, show next and a little later!
I like this show, but I don’t think it’s as good as the previous few shows. They play a bunch of great tunes but the flow seems a little bit disjointed. There’s not much “type 2” stuff here if that’s what you’re looking for, but Trey is definitely on fire and there is still good tension-and-release work throughout the show (Divided Sky, Maze, Slave). Still a great show to be second row for 