On a Friday night in December 1997, Phish descended upon Albany’s Pepsi Arena for the final two shows of their historic Fall 97 tour, fondly referred to as ‘Phish Destroys America’ by the phans. The first night – December 12 – offered a show with dark and eerie jams, while the second night – December 13 – had antics and deep improvisation from start to finish.
If you were there, you were one of the lucky ones to catch a glimpse of the fire that was in Phish’s belly that fall, and for those at Lark Hall on Saturday, October 17, Reprise had the crowd dialed in as they revisited Phish’s 12/12/97 show.
Reprise, mastering the complexity of jams as first performed by Phish, are establishing themselves as a must-see Phish tribute band, recreating note for note, jam for jam, shows from Phish’s decades of performances across the country. After knocking off the 12/13/97 show perfectly two years prior, they came back to tackle the night before and didn’t miss a beat.
Opening with “Funky Bitch” is a unique call, but par for the course in December 1997 as Phish emptied the tank, diving into a jammed out “2001” right out of the opener. “Camel Walk,” a tune that first comes to mind for this cow-funk era, drove in next, with an extended “Taste” following ahead of “Bouncing Around the Room,” which was still turning heads thanks to A Live One released just two years prior. A first set “Tweezer” is still a jam vehicle it turns out, with 15 minutes of whale calls and driving guitar this evening from Cal Kehoe. As “Tweezer” found space towards the end, “Train Song” emerged, followed by “Character Zero.”
“Saw It Again” opening the second set is in line with the first set opener, a unique call but welcomed by the fans – the ethereal jam opening the door for a weird, spacey set. “Piper” took the reigns of a longer jam, highlighted by Scott Chasolen’s staccato keys channeling Page McConnell ahead of a Floydian section that gave way to “Swept Away” and “Steep.”
“Prince Caspian” drew from the end of “Steep” and jammed out nicely, part of half a dozen songs that appear on Billy Breathes, which happened to be released 30 years ago this past week and still the standard bearer of Phish studio albums. The synth happy Page helped usher the band into Hendrix’s “Izabella,” a rarity both then and now. “Tweezer Reprise” would follow to close the set, with the encore slot accompanied by “Guyute” and “Antelope,” where a riff from Trey would reappear the next night in the “Bring the Dude” jam in “Mike’s Song,” and a slow build towards the finale of the tune.
Catch Reprise next on November 4 at Buffalo Iron Works.
Setlist via Phish.net
Phish – December 12, 1997, Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Soundcheck: Blues Jam > Dog Log, The Old Home Place, Esther tune up, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own, Soundcheck Tear
Set 1: Funky Bitch -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Camel Walk, Taste > Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer > Train Song > Character Zero
Set 2: Saw It Again[1] -> Piper > Swept Away > Steep > Prince Caspian > Jam -> Izabella > Tweezer Reprise
Encore: Guyute, Run Like an Antelope
[1] Extended jam. Trey teased Super Bad in 2001. Saw It Again contained an extended jam. Antelope contained a Buried Alive tease from Trey. The Dog Log soundcheck was mashed up with the preceding blues jam, the Born Under Punches was a partial rendition played to the Ya Mar rhythm, and Soundcheck Tear lamented life off tour (without soundchecks). The opening act was J. Willis Pratt & We’re Bionic.
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