Not a show review, but a memorable experience that the Timber Ho and I were recalling just last night.

We'd been to the Cincinnati shows earlier in the tour and, upon checking into our hotel in Cincy, received a high quality Christmas Bell as a holiday gift. I brought it to the two Cincy shows, annoying the living piss out of my wife (and perhaps others) as its loud clang penetrated throughout the Firstar Center on both nights.

I was not permitted to bring it inside the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh--where we jumped back on tour--but sneaked it into Hampton without her knowledge. Like I said, she hated the damned thing while I loved it.

She discovered the bell soon enough as I let out a celebratory clang while settling into section Z or Y at the back of the Coliseum. Anyway, as we waited for the show to start, we noticed a guy dressed in a Santa suit wandering along the walkway that separates the lower bowl from the upper bowl. The guy was bellowing "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!", and was, shall we say, obviously in a good mood.

I went down to him and said, "Hey, Santa, you're missing a bell. Here, take this." He whooped with joy and went tearing around the walkway clanging the bell with great vigor, screaming "HO! HO! HO!" at the top of his lungs.

Even the Timber Ho thought his bell ringing was cool, and it remains one of our favorite holiday Phish memories.

I'm kind of puzzled by the current ~2.7 rating on this show: it may just be "average-great," but it's a high average-great. The setlist is a high recommendation in favor: you get a show-opening jam in Piper followed by Meat > Sparkle, with Meat placed quite intelligently so as not to gum up the works with its methodical funk. Sparkle is a spirited rendition and then there's Gotta Jibboo > Punch You in the Eye, with Jibboo taking a solid Type-I turn as one of the centerpieces of the set. I know some phans don't love that song as much as I do. The lyrics may be silly, but I really dig the groove of it. Not much to say, here, about When the Circus Comes, Water in the Sky, but the set-closing Twist is great! Birds of a Feather to open the second set is marked down as a Noteworthy Jam here on .Net, and I must say I agree. The most unusual thing about this show, however, is that there's about a 5-minute Ambient/Shoegazer Jam between The Moma Dance and Bug. Then comes Jennifer Dances, a song which I'm truly disappointed was abandoned so quickly; I'm mostly a stay-at-home phan, so I don't really care whether something "rages" or is a "dance party," or whatever... I just want to enjoy the songs and the shows. Split Open and Melt is a long version that leaves me feelin' kind of hazy... it's almost 20 minutes, which is rare for Split nowadays and was in 1999 as well. Character Zero is a particularly good version to close the set. Now: the triple encore is outstanding! The Old Home Place doesn't often get played in encores, and then there's a The Squirming Coil > Loving Cup, and though Coil is abbreviated somewhat (only about 7 minutes long), Loving Cup sent phans back out into the Virginia night with one to grow on! I'm not one of those phans that idol-worships Hampton '97 to the exclusion of '98 or '99. Hampton Comes Alive was one of my first Phish purchases, and this two-night run--as you'll see if you read my review of the following night--has a lot of weight to throw around.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

Hampton, Baby!
Of course, the atmosphere was festive and the anticipation was high. I had fun handing out candy canes to the folks waiting in front of me in the line to get in the Coliseum. Once inside, my husband Lyle and I found seats in our favorite place, which is straight back on the rail at the front of the balcony. Tonight we were a little over to Page's side. Amidst all of the balloons and glowrings, the vibe was kind of strange. I can't really explain it and quite possibly it was my altered state of consciousness, but it was almost a restlessness. It was as if we were expecting too much at Phish's first appearance in Hampton since the Hampton Comes Alive album was released just a few weeks earlier. If the Wave was any indicator, the crowd just wasn't into the whole Hampton scene. I was disappointed not to see many holiday costumes, though I saw several other interesting get-ups, most notably some girls with large, crazy sunglasses and feather boas, a guy dressed in a sort of pimp costume, a guy with a big beer mug hat and, of course, "Lawn Boy" (he's my favorite). Mostly, I was extra excited to be back aboard the Mothership!
Things kicked off with a nice "Piper". Though this tune is one of my favorites, it was nothing spectacular, but I thought it was a great way to greet Hampton. "Meat" was cool to hear and I loved the way they totally stopped as if the song was over, then started back up again. Those tricksters! "Sparkle" was nothing really new and exciting. Though I was hoping to hear it during the second set, "Jibboo" came along right when I needed it. This was my first live one. You gotta love that "Jibboo", ya know? And love it I do! The energy level was kept high with "PYITE", which was played very well, then "Circus" brought it down a notch. I thought "Circus" was completely appropriate for the evening and the venue. "Circus" as well as "WITS" are very pretty songs; the "filter out the Everglades" line got lots of cheers in anticipation of the upcoming Big Cypress New Year's Eve festival in Florida. "Twist" was a fun way to end the set. I like it better each time I hear it.
Yes, I am an old softie and I have a real hard time being critical of the band that has brought so much joy into my life, but I will say that the first set left me feeling lukewarm. "Jibboo" and "Twist" were the highlights for me. So, I reflected during the long set break and prepared myself for round two. I also got a kick out of a guy handing out Now and Laters to us chicks in the bathroom line. He was wearing some of those Halloween gross teeth (big, crooked and brown) and he kept telling us that they were not his real teeth. He was a hoot.
Set II started off super strong with a tight "Birds". Now we're talking! "Moma Dance" gave me one of those moments in time which I crave: I was having a ball looking around the room. As far as I could see, every single person was on their feet dancing like no one was watching. No milling about, no chitter-chatter, no sitting down with arms crossed, no worries about firing up the bowl, no worries about anything else at all"...just absolute focused groovin'. Shakin' it. Feelin' it. Lovin' it. Yeah! (For the record, the entire second night of Hampton would be that way.)
"Bug" was a fantastic first-hear for me and I totally fell in love with it. I should have been standing up and dancing, but all I could do was sit in my seat and watch in amazement. I could have sworn that the jam at the beginning was nothing more than an opportunity for a light solo. What a beautiful palette of colors! Too bad I was too busy staring at it to think about snapping a photo. Oh, well, it is forever engraved in my memory. What a beautiful song, that "Bug". It really spoke to me.
Unfortunately, "Jennifer Danced" out and broke the spell. I could see that the song has potential, but it hadn't reached it yet and I would have appreciated almost anything else at that moment. It was quite a buzz kill for me. Luckily, "Jennifer Dances" and then she goes away. Afterwards, there was much discussion onstage. What a long pause! I was convinced Trey was dragging it out on purpose just to tease us. Finally, "SOAMelt" started up and that groovy vibe was restored. Thank goodness! It think it's fair to say that this version covered some new ground in a spacey kind of way. "Character Zero" brought the set to a rocking close. I don't care what anyone else says, I'm always glad to hear that tune. An odd thing happened at the end of the song, though (at least from my vantage point on the balcony rail): Trey took his bow before anyone else and Mike (and maybe Page) seemed bewildered, like they had planned on playing one more. So, it was no surprise to me when Mike stepped up to the mic for song one of the encore.
"Home Place" is another rare treat for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was also delighted to hear "Squirming Coil" since I haven't in a while and I had been thinking throughout the evening that I needed to hear more of Page. "Loving Cup" was the right way to end the evening -  did I mention how terrific it was to be back in Hampton?
As usual, night one of Hampton left me jonesin' for night two. Once we strolled on back to the phabulous Fairfield Inn directly across the street, I was amazed at the complete lack of activity in and around the hotel after the show. Don't misunderstand, I enjoy a good raucous all-night blow-out as much as anyone else, but I mostly engage in quiet reflection after a show. It was just very nice not to be woken up in the middle of the night by a drum circle in the next room. I don't know if it was the "No Party Policy" we all signed upon check-in, strong police presence around the Coliseum or good behavior on the part of the fans. I'm going to say it was the latter, so I'll also say, "Thanks, everyone!" for a fantastic time in Hampton.

An extremely Normal show for Hampton.

Piper starts things off pretty hot. Meat is a nice little surprise in the 2nd slot. Jibboo dives into a jam early with the loop kicking in. It strolls through a serene landscape. Water in the Sky is a top shelf version. Trey has a near perfect solo, a must hear. Twist ends the set with a nice slow groove in the middle.

Birds of a Feather is a slightly stretched out type 1 version. Moma is pretty straight forward, but has a cool little ambient jam coming out of it. Bug followed by Jennifer Dances is an ill advised choice. And unfortunately like some of these slow combos throughout this year, it does not pay off at all. SOAM is the highlight of the show. It is a chaotic, hypnotic pulsing mess, but it all works somehow.

Cool three song encore. Breaking out Old Home Place. Coil is also very solid. And Loving Cup is Loving Cup.

You would think the Combo of coming off the heels of 12/16, being at a legendary venue, and being the tail end of the tour would make this show more memorable. But it really isn't.

This show was as exciting as watch paint dry!