11-30-97 Worcester Centrum

Phish Live Shows
#1

Sunday, 11/30/1997
Worcester Centrum Centre, Worcester, MA

Set 1: Guyute, Funky Bitch[1], Wolfman’s Brother[2] -> Love Me, The Squirming Coil, Loving Cup

Set 2: NICU, Stash[1] -> Free > Jam -> Piper > When the Circus Comes, Run Like an Antelope

Encore: Them Changes[3]

[1] Unfinished.
[2] Heavy metal style jam.
[3] Phish debut.

Teases:
· Heartbreaker, Sanity, and Esther teases in Wolfman’s Brother

Notes: Funky Bitch and Stash were unfinished. Wolfman’s included a heavy metal style jam, with a Heartbreaker tease from Mike, and Trey quoting the lyrics to Sanity and Esther. Them Changes made its Phish debut at this show.

#2

Another stellar show from The Centrum. Guyute is a strange, but cool, opener. The Wolfman’s shortly after is just plain nutso. As noted, they get into a very grunge-rock oriented jam that is dark as hell. Then Trey starts weirdly singing Sanity over it, then one random line from Esther, then tells Chris to cut the lights. Now, I can never decide if I really like what they are doing here or not. It’s pretty much the same chords over and over and over for several minutes. But, thankfully Fish plays around with the tempo a little so it’s kind of the same driving sound sped up and slowed down a few times. It is kind of repetitive, but when they come out of it and somehow land in Love Me, I get one of those maniacal Phish-laughs and think “you have to be kidding me”. It’s almost as if they said “ok, what would be the most awkward tune in our repertoire we could play after this dark jam”. In fact, I was listening to this while Lisa was working on something in the family room and I heard her stop what she was doing and say “what the fuck is going on here” when they made the change :laughing:

The second set is pretty good. Average for this tour’s standards but some definite highlights. One being the Stash, and the other being the really cool mellow jam between Free and Piper. The Antelope is one of those jams that you listen to on the edge of your seat waiting to hear if the whole thing is going to fall apart because they’re pushing it that far, but then they slam into this epic peak that makes you shit your pants. Good times.

Cool encore, great guitar work. I wonder what the story is behind this one-off cover?

#3

It’s really funny you posted about this.

This is my second show ever (my first being the Went) so you can say this was my first “real” stand-alone show. When my buddies and I were in Worcester last weekend we were talking about this. Unfortunately I don’t remember most of this except I think i remember Page being really on fire throughout. I know the Loving Cup was rockin’ but unfortunately that’s where my memory ends.

Gonna have to put this on tomorrow for good ole times sake.

#4

That moment when the big Wolfman’s ends and slams into Love Me, I think I still haven’t recovered from that. I was experiencing some great doses, and was right near the soundboard on the floor … a great night for me, the whole three nights was fun, glad I got to be there. I’m more fond of the '97 worcester run than I am of the '98 Island tour … those Worcester shows were pretty epic.

#5

So glad Shapiro gave us the Stash->Free this summer.

#6

Not a great recording to listen to, but what a show.

Standard Guyute is a fun opener, and instantly the show goes to the next level. Funky Bitch starts off as usual, but becomes a big jam that heads into Wolfmans Brother. Nothing much to say here that isn’t already known. What a version, thirty minutes and multiple themes, ending on a very heavy jam with the lights out for a while. Sanity quotes were a nice treat too. Love Me is a nice followup, and the Page combo or Coil>Loving Cup is a nice close to the set. What a Wolfmans though.

Set two does not let down from set one either. NICU opener is an interesting choice, but it works nicely. And Stash takes the band back way out from the normal structure, so far it couldn’t make it back and turned into Free. Not my favorite song, but this one definitely worked. The jam to follow was nice, reminded me of What’s the Use? a bit, and that morphed into a shorter but sweet Piper. When the Circus Comes was a perfect cool down song at the moment, and a straight forward rock n roll Antelope will never disappoint me. Them Changes is a fun one-timer for Phish. Page seemed to be nailing the vocals, and Treys “Jimi-style” was very pleasant to hear.

Great show, obvious highlight.

#7

I was a little let down by the sound quality as well…but I quickly forgot about it halfway thru Funky Bitch.

I honestly don’t think I’ve heard this since that night and forgot how great of a show it is. Yes, Guyute is pretty standard but very well played and a good opener to get the crowd in the mood. I have to admit, these days when Funky Bitch starts it almost a bummer for me (too much recent play) but this one just jams. And for some reason Page stood out in this version…actually Page had a really good show this night. It kinda seemed like Trey wanted to go right into Wolfman’s but the others weren’t following.

Wolfman’s is just ridiculous. I can’t say anymore. The whole Sanity thing with the heavy metal jam is awesome. We had seats on Mike’s side on side of stage about 20 rows back and if I remember correctly Mike and Trey were both hiding behind their stacks as the lights out jam was going on…what for I don’t know. Love Me was fun and spot on, I can just picture Mike hamming it up like Elvis.

Again, Page really shines on these final two songs of the set. Must’ve been his night.

#8

This is a great show to close out a solid 3 night run. The Funky Bitch rips so well the band just can’t stop playing it. After the main jam they quiet it down some and just let Mike and Page take control. Very nice playing all around and great placement as well. The Wolfman’s that follows is just fantastic. So many different styles in this one, most notably the dark metal portion. No clue how this ends up on Love Me (Treat Me Like A Fool?) but it they pulled it off pretty well. This is basically the polar opposite of the heavy metal jam that preceded it. A couple great Page songs close out the set. As stated above, Page was killing it all night so these song choices seem to be deliberate by the band.

NICU just gets the band/crowd warmed up for the second set. Stash is great and they really take it out there, similar to the Wolfman’s minus the heavy metal portion. This gives way to a solid Free. The highlight of this one comes right after when they get into this slow spacy jam that leads into Piper beautifully. When The Circus Comes is one of my favorite covers they played. This served and a quick breather before the ripping Antelope that closed out the set. This one keeps on building and building until they finally hit that peak. Encore is alright. Decent solo but seemed like any quick cover was going to pale into comparison to most of the songs played that night.

Great choice for LSD! Think I’ll listen to the first two night of this run now.

[edit] upon a second listen to the Wolfman’s that metal jam really carries on for a long time (+10 minutes). Seems like it could have been cut shorter but it’s hard to tell what the concert experience would have been like. If Scott MaDosis was in attendance it probably would have seemed like that jam never going to end and/or the world was coming to an end. [/edit, flashback]

#9

Guyute is unexptected and fun to open. Nice way to get everyone warmed up. Funky Bitch jam was sweet. Page and Mike are both right on.
While I can appreciate the multiple themes of the Wolfman’s jam, I didn’t really dig it on my listen for this discussion. I found the first part of the jam sort of meandering and lacking focus. Sanity coming out of nowhere gave me a smile and the study in tempo helped make some of the metal portion a little more interesting, but I found myself becoming almost irritated with the repetition towards the end and wanting it to just end. Following it up with “Love Me” was certainly a cool contrast, but it doesn’t make the WB a more interesting listen.

For sure. While at the show, I may have felt much differently about this jam. There could be a part of my brain that thought it was the greatest thing ever still floating around the Centrum.

Unfortunately, even with the sound on max, with my windows down in the car, I had a lot of trouble hearing to give any assessment of Coil or Cup.

Have only begun Stash, so I will report back on set 2.

#10

:clap:

#11

Still haven’t gotten to finish the entire show, but the Stash -> Free > Jam -> Piper portion is excellent. I always love to hear Stash. With this one, the jam didn’t hook me right away, I didn’t find it overly special, but the latter half, especially the last 5 minutes, goes to a place that really does it for me; funky, spacey, weird, rhythmic, psychedelic. The live feeling comes across and folds you into the experience. I love Free as well. It’s a great one to move to and it elicits in me what the song intends to elicit. The jam after Free is serenely beautiful. I would be OK with it going another minute or two. I have a love/dislike relationship with Piper. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that it often interrupts a great jam and disjoints (if that’s a word) a nice second set improvised instrumental portion. I see it as a song that should come about organically within a jam, and I think it does here better than usual. It also builds with patience instead of sounding rushed, which it many times does.

#12

How did they full stop Funky Bitch like that??! That jam was fun, I was just blasting that … got Wolfman’s on right now, I’ll keep this set rollin’ till I gotta move on w/ my day. Love this show, glad to say I was in attendance. It was just me and my wife, right in front of the soundboard too that night, and we had a fine ole time I remember.

#13

“Love Me” is the highlight of the show for me. Mike’s bell punctuates the end, I remember feeling like it was such a hilarious and cool way to end the number, and hoped it’d translate on tape, … at least I think I remember hoping that. But the way it drops in from the epicness of WB, and the execution of it - Mike especially - it’s just mint. What a moment.

I’ve been listening to this show on & off all weekend. I didn’t really hear the whole thing. And I didn’t really hear the Wolfman’s this time around. But as I look at the setlist right now, wow what a great show.

I think that was the first time I heard “Piper”, and so it’s an important show for me personally. Nothing like that feeling of, ‘I can’t believe this awesome music I wasn’t expecting, & what the fuck IS this?’ and the dude next to you says, “It’s a new tune, called ‘Piper’.”

#14

i’ve only heard the 1st set thus far and its pure 97 seknezz. Guyute starts out super super clean, gets a little loose in the middle. Funky Bitch and Wolfman’s are so gooey and fonk… incredible stuff. Great great performance of Love Me (alhtough i still think the backstage version in Bittersweet Motel is my favorite… such an intimate moment and one of the moments neither Trey or Mike seem to have any sense the cameras are watching).

a little surprised Page didn’t play Coil straight into the Loving Cup intro, but its all good baby :wink:

can’t wait to get into the 2nd set after this PHENOMENAL 1st!

#15

re-listened to the 1st set to re-absorb some of the details. special, funky “Bitch”… one of those jams that keeps deconstructing and going further and further out until it simply doesn’t come back. wolfman’s moves thru and handful of distinct phases… although the later “heavy metal jam” (lol) dominates the clock and was probably the most memorable for those who saw it, my favorite part is the prettier section kinda in the middle… kinda hints a little at the Phish of now in moments.

a very solid second set follows. Stash takes its time and seems almost to wind down before taking off again into new territories before tumbling into Free, which itself rounds out quickly but the band eases into a beautiful jam off the close. the transition into Piper is really sweet, but Piper itself is short and doesn’t deliver any magic. Circus and Antelope are a solid close to the heat of the early Stash > Free combo :slight_smile: