From cdirksen@earthlink.net Sat Sep 12 23:35:41 1998
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 20:52:06 GMT
From: cdirksen@earthlink.net
To: dan@netspace.org
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: 11/17/97 Denver Tweezer

11/17/97  McNichols Arena, Denver, CO

Rumor has it that this show might be sold as a *live* CD at some
point.. It's a good show, but I can think of plenty of jams from Fall
1997 that I'd rather have on CD. The JAM out of JBGoode of this show
is MUST HEAR, though.. just incredible improvisation.  Glorious.  It'd
be great to have THIS jam on a CD, but given the Tweezer and YEM of
this show.. well.  I don't think this whole show is a good candidate
for CD release.

Tweezer opens the FIRST set.  It is a bit slower than versions of old,
but typical for funky 1997.  Good opening segment, but nothing
unusually interesting occurs... Ebeneezer at 4:06.. no screaming after
it, but the crowd goes wild.

Jam segment begins at 4:40 rather dryly... Trey doesn't appear to do
anything for around 30 seconds.  He comes in noodling patiently (but
melodiously).  Mike and Fish kick out the bottom, with Page adding
tasteful chords and notes here and there.  Trey stops noodling after
only a couple of measures, preferring to just sit back and funk along
rhythmically.. as a result, the jam just sorta floats along steadily,
and there's no direction. (6:54)  Trey chords in here as if to begin
seguing into summer '97 versions of "Cities."  I really like Page's
playing on the clavinet, in the background.  Disco Phish... I'm
feeling sorry for people who (a) don't like Tweezer; and (b) don't
like the funk, at this point in the jam.  It really just plods along
(and there are much better examples of ripping funk out there.. check
out the version from 11/19/95, for example.. especially those of you
who didn't realize Phish funked it up back then, too.. that version
contains one of the baddest jams I've heard Phish perform).

At 9:30 the jam is still in this Free Funk mode.. there's no real
direction.  I enjoy Page's noddling around, though (gently in the
background).  Trey lets loose some digital delay loop stuff before he
comes in around 10:10 noodling melodiously for the first time in this
version.  Mike and Fish are keeping up the same dank groove they'd
been playing the whole version, basically.  Page starts chording on
the piano around 11 mins, as Trey repeats this rather innocuous riff
for a few measures.  Trey starts noodling around again, only this time
it sounds like he has more of an idea of where to take this version
(there's still some digital delay loop noise going on in the
background).  Trey's soloing is very patient and thoughtful.. The
jamming in this section 13-15 mins really didn't do anything for me, I
got to say.  It just didn't seem to go anywhere moving.  I've heard
far more dramatic versions from the last few years.  It is still good
improv, though.

At around 15:30 the jam just kinda dies out a bit.. still some digital
delay noise going on.  Dead stops from Fish every few measures.  A
groove that sounds similar in certain respects to Black Eyed Katy
develops (in between these dead stops).  Nothing much happens.. then
there's a dead stop.. and nothing.  Reba starts up after 30 seconds or
so.  A weak ending imo... they just sort of dumped it.

This is frankly a rather dry Tweezer, in my opinion. I really wasn't
at all impressed (perhaps my hopes were to high.. it's a fall 1997
Tweezer after all, right!?  RIGHT!?!?).  Anyway, I could rattle off
dozens of more exciting Tweezers from the last few years.  There
really wasn't much going on in this version.  I don't think they'd
warmed up yet.  Total time is roughly 17 mins. This is arguably
criminal, I know, I know, but I can't give this version more than a
6.5 in good faith.. the jamming just didn't really go anywhere.
Seriously, if this version impresses you a lot, *please* email me so
that I can email you a list of versions you simply *must* listen to as
soon as you possibly can. There are much, MUCH more thrilling versions
circulating than this one.

two cents
charlie

p.s.  If you want to see more tweezer reviews, and discover some
much more dramatic and passionate versions than 11/17/97, check out
http://www.phish.net/hpb/tweezer.