Best Week of Phish Ever?

ghost_2000 · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

Mr Miner over at Phishthoughts.com brought this up, so this is not my own idea.

They make an argument that 11/17-11/23 1997 could be the greatest week in Phishtory. There is a very strong case, as Denver, Champagne, Hampton, and Winston-Salem are all outstanding, capstone shows.

Other tours, off the top of my head, that could boast “GWE” status are Fall 95, Summer 93, and Summer 04 (kidding). There are probably some pre-93 tours that have outstanding 7-day periods, but I highly doubt they stack up to the ones mentioned above.

What say you?

Once I think about it, I will post my own personal favorite 7-day stretches.

goldenroad · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

When I saw the title of this thread, that is exactly the week that popped into my head. I agree…Hampton '97 shows ftw!

gregradiohead · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

Only thing that really comes to mind is, yeah, 11/17 to 11/23.

Other, smaller stretches are the Island Tour (naturally) and, I would argue, 7/29/03 to 8/3/03. That’s maybe the best week-ish of music post-hiatus; 7/29, 7/30/ 7/31 and the IT festival all have great moments.

ghost_2000 · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

The only thing PH that might stack up is 2/22-2/28.

Which sucks, because you have to leave out 2/21. And 2/20. Anything before 2/20 is meh IMO.

bigB · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

Even broken down this way there are still too many good weeks to choose from.

But if i had a gun to my head this is what would come off the top.

7/15-21 1998

ghost_2000 · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

That’s a pretty good stretch right thar!

willbreathes · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

1993 08/02-09

Amazing book ends.

JEMP · November 9, 2020, 6:20pm

8-7-93 through 8-14-93 i would say is pretty up there. too bad 8-6 doesnt count

gregradiohead · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

I haven’t heard it, but 2/25 looks like a ‘meh’ show on paper.

You’re wrong anyway, Neil. The two Vegas shows from that tour are stellar, particularly 2/16. Bowie/Catapult sandwich to open, that sublime Round Room jam, Golden Lady…and the second set is excellently paced and played. Disease/Seven Below sandwich that FLOWS into Anything But Me, then a Piper -> Makisupa…great stuff. The Friday encore sucks, sure, but…I urge everyone to give this show a chance.

ghost_2000 · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

Why you gotta break balls?

vwdeadhead · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

I completely agree with the 07/15-21 1998

I have been really stuck on 98’ recently
possibly my favorite year of Phish

KDF4LYPHE · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

Gin from 2.14.03 is FAR from “meh,” “Neil”

ghost_2000 · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

I was generalizing, Hank!

Besides, you can’t honestly sit here and tell me that 2/14-2/20 is better than 2/22-2/28

(use 2/21 for either side if we use 8-day weeks)

gregradiohead · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

Agreed. Gin from 2/14/03 doesn’t make that a great show alone.

hosemasterflex · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

I don’t have a real good idea which week was best … but how about March 1992? I’m thinkin, 3/6 - 3/13, although I’ve only heard 3/6, 3/7 & 3/13. Then there’s the April '92 west coast gigs that were well circulated … I dunno though. Just wanna give a shout-out to my buddy 1992.

For a second I imagined observing this conversation without actually knowing anything about Phish. Sure makes this whole thing kinda weird, when you think of it that way.

83gangsta · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

same here

augv2 · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

Friday, August 13, 1993
Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN

  Set I: Lengthwise > Llama, Makisupa Policeman -> Foam, Stash, Ginseng Sullivan, Fluffhead, My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own, Horn, David Bowie
  Set II: Buried Alive > Rift > Bathtub Gin -> Ya Mar, Mike's Song > Lifeboy, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, Amazing Grace
  Encore: Highway to Hell
  Show Notes: Stash included a Weekapaug tease. Bowie included jams based on The Mango Song and Magilla, as well as a Llama tease. Amazing Grace was performed a cappella, without microphones. This amazing version of Bathtub Gin, which included Weekapaug teases, is the highlight of many fans' memories. Mike's Song included a tease of Ted Nugent's Stranglehold and Ya Mar lyrics at the beginning. Suzy included a Sweet Home Alabama tease.

Saturday, August 14, 1993
World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL

  Check: Long Jam (about 45 minutes, sounded McGrupp-like), Funky Bitch
  Set I: Chalk Dust Torture, Guelah Papyrus, Divided Sky, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, It's Ice, Sparkle, Split Open and Melt, Esther, Poor Heart > Cavern
  Set II: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Run Like an Antelope -> Sparks -> Walk Away -> Run Like an Antelope -> Have Mercy -> Run Like an Antelope, Mound, The Squirming Coil, Daniel, You Enjoy Myself, Purple Rain, Golgi Apparatus
  Encore: La Grange
  Show Notes: The first set is notable for interesting little jams in usually standard songs, like Guelah, Horse, and Ice. During Daniel, Trey updated the crowd on the score of a pre-season football game. YEM contained brief jams based on Speed Racer, Smoke on the Water, Kool Thing (by Sonic Youth) and Mystery Achievement (by The Pretenders). The "Rye, Rye Rocco" lyrics of Antelope were sung over the Have Mercy melody before the band kicked back into the Antelope ending.

Sunday, August 15, 1993
McCauley Theatre, Louisville, KY

  Set I: Sample in a Jar, All Things Reconsidered, Caravan, Runaway Jim, Fee, Paul and Silas, Stash, Colonel Forbin's Ascent > The Famous Mockingbird, Chalk Dust Torture
  Set II: Rift, Tweezer, The Lizards, The Landlady, Bouncing Around the Room, Maze, Glide, Sweet Adeline, Ginseng Sullivan, Nellie Kane, Freebird
  Encore: Harry Hood
  Show Notes: This show included fantastic versions of Stash and Tweezer, which contained an Antelope-style jam and a Simpsons Signal.

Monday, August 16, 1993
American Theatre, St. Louis, MO

  Set I: Axilla, Possum > Horn, Reba, Sparkle, Foam, I Didn't Know, Split Open and Melt, The Squirming Coil
  Set II: Mike's Song -> Faht > Weekapaug Groove, Mound, It's Ice, My Friend My Friend, Poor Heart, Big Ball Jam, Take the 'A' Train, Good Times Bad Times
  Encore: Amazing Grace, Rocky Top
  Show Notes: Weekapaug included Gypsy Queen and I Wish teases. Mike's Song included a Who Knows jam.

Tuesday, August 17, 1993
Memorial Hall, Kansas City, KS

  Set I: Wilson, Llama, Guelah Papyrus, Divided Sky, Weigh > Maze, Fluffhead, Fast Enough for You, Daniel
  Set II: Also Sprach Zarathustra > David Bowie, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Rift, Suzy Greenberg, You Enjoy Myself -> Purple Rain > HYHU, My Sweet One, Cavern
  Encore: Memories, Fire
  Show Notes: The vocal jam in YEM was based on Ob La Di, Ob La Da. Bowie included an Oom Pa Pa Signal.

Friday, August 20, 1993
Red Rocks, Morrison, CO

  Set I: Divided Sky, Harpua, Poor Heart > Maze, Bouncing Around the Room > It's Ice > The Wedge, Ginseng Sullivan, Rift, Run Like an Antelope
  Set II: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Slave to the Traffic Light > Split Open and Melt, The Squirming Coil, My Friend My Friend, Chalk Dust Torture, You Enjoy Myself > Purple Rain > HYHU, Cavern
  Encore: The Mango Song, Freebird
  Show Notes: The band began the show with an appropriate opener, as the storm that had lingered in the Morrison sky cleared just before the show began. The Harpua story told the history of Red Rocks and the fate of a giant iguana, who was referred to throughout the show. Harpua also included a Rock and Roll Part Two tease. Ginseng was dedicated to Brad Sands and was preceded by a "Charge" tease from Page. Antelope included a Simpsons Signal and Gypsy Queen teases. Purple Rain featured Mimi Fishman joining Fish on vacuum. The Wedge was played for the first time since March 25, 1993 (62 shows).

thelot · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

^ that august '93 stretch and this november '94 run are my favorite weeks from the band.

11-22-94 Jesse Auditorium, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

1: Buried Alive, Poor Heart, Horn, Foam, Guyute, I Didn’t Know, Bouncing Around the Room, Down With Disease, Sweet Adeline

2: Funky Bitch ->Y-Rushalayim Schel Zahav, Cry Baby Cry, The Curtain, Blackbird, Runaway Jeff, Big Black Furry Creature From Mars, I’m Blue I’m Lonesome, Instrumental, My Long Journey Home, Harry Hood**, Highway to Hell

E: Lizards

11-23-94 The Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO

1: Wilson-> Sparkle-> Simple-> It’s Ice, If I Could, Oh Kee Pa Ceremony-> Suzy Greenberg, The Divided Sky, Amazing Grace

2: Maze, Fee, Scent of a Mule, Tweezer, Lifeboy, You Enjoy Myself, Tweezer Reprise

E: Sample in a Jar

11-25-94 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL

1: Llama, Guelah Papyrus, Reba, Bouncing Around the Room, Split Open and Melt, Esther, Julius, Golgi Apparatus

2: Also Sprach Zarathustra-> Mike’s Song-> Simple-> Harpua, Weekapaug Groove-> The Mango Song, Purple Rain, Run Like an Antelope

E: Good Times Bad Times

11-26-94 The Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

1: My Friend My Friend, Possum, Guyute*, If I Could, Foam, The Horse-> Silent in the Morning, Poor Heart, Cavern

2: Halley’s Comet-> David Bowie, Sweet Adeline, Lizards, Sample in a Jar, Slave to the Traffic Light

E: Rocky Top

*Missing second verse

11-28-94 Field House at Montana State U., Bozeman, MT

1: Chalk Dust Torture, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Scent of a Mule, Stash, Guyute, Sparkle, Simple*, The Divided Sky, Sweet Adeline

2: Suzy Greenberg, NICU, Tweezer, Sleeping Monkey, Julius

E: Fee, Tweezer Reprise

*With Cameron McKinney on saxophone.

11-30-94 Campus Rec. Center at Evergreen College, Olympia, WA

1: Frankenstein, Poor Heart, My Friend My Friend, Reba, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent-> Famous Mockingbird, Down With Disease, Bouncing Around the Room, I’m Blue I’m Lonesome*, Long Journey Home*

2: Halley’s Comet-> Run Like an Antelope-> My Sweet One-> Run Like an Antelope**-> Fixin’ To Die-> Ya Mar-> Mike’s Song-> Catapult-> McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Cavern

E: The Horse-> Silent in the Morning, Amazing Grace

*Acoustic. **Last verse omitted.

12-01-94 Salem Armory, Salem, OR

1: Sample in a Jar, Uncle Pen, Fast Enough for You, Maze, Guyute, I Didn’t Know-> Split Open and Melt, Sweet Adeline

2: Peaches en Regalia, Mound, Tweezer*-> Big Black Furry Creature From Mars-> Makisupa Policeman-> NICU > Tweezer-> Jesus Just Left Chicago-> Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus

E: Sleeping Monkey-> Tweezer Reprise

*With “Norwegian Wood” jam.

Fee · November 9, 2020, 6:21pm

I just listened to Fall 94 and it’s hard to not agree with the lot on that stretch from 94 being the best week in Phish. I don’t think you can argue that every Tweezer in Fall of 94 were the best versions of the song as a whole. Sure there were other good individual Tweezers out there, but every Fall 94 Tweezer brings it.