This show was very difficult to rate. (Ended up going with 4/5, equal to 2/17).

As others have mentioned, Harry Hood is the only stand-out jam, it gets even more beautiful than most versions.

While no other versions are stand-out, pretty much everything is well played, especially the Stash, Slave, and Reba. Come to think of it, this would be a great show for a novice. Really a greatest hits show that might not appeal as much to those looking for DWD->Carini->Taste->DWD craziness of the previous night, but I certainly enjoyed the ride.

Le Bataclan was a ballroom style club with a mezzanine, and the crowd seemed to be mostly local, but with a strong showing from American students in Paris for the semester. Slave was a nice first set closer, but the Harry Hood was definitely the highlight of the show. It's not a huge, stretched-out jam but it featured a nice tight progression building to a climax that really turned my head around. Even if the rest of the show is nothing special, this version of Harry Hood is worth checking out.

We did the Island Tour Together, Don, I & Nick J. RIP in 1998. He was going to join us in Europe that upcoming 1998, but then at last moment had to change plans (love as I remember). Don had brought it up a few times on island run, 'cause Europe was coming again. We could Taste it. Don had a very tripped out experience during this SLAVE. They didn't know he had elected to get surgery in the states, and head home [USA] shortly after the show. So, they did not know his condition or his attendance. He felt like they were saying possible goodbyes, in their own way. It was a great story.

SO GOOD OF TIMES!

i give it a 4/5 stars. i think it was a very interesting setlist and had some good jamming in there but no where close to a 5/5. definitely closer to a 3/5

PHISH, TUESDAY 02/18/1997
BATACLAN
Paris, France

SET 1:

Beauty of My Dreams: Standard. >

Cavern: Standard. >

Punch You in the Eye: Standard. >

Runaway Jim: They try to open this one up, but it doesn’t go much of anywhere. >

NICU: Standard. >

Stash: Pretty good Stash. They build the tension nicely. The first release is solid.

Waste: Standard.

Walfredo: Standard.

Character Zero: Standard. >

Slave to the Traffic Light: Guess they just didn’t want to get off the stage just yet. Is Don Wright still taping shows? How bad was he hurt? Solid Slave right here for sure.

SET 2:

Peaches en Regalia: Standard. >

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Standard. >

My Soul: Standard. >

Maze: Pretty darn good.

Wolfman's Brother: >

Reba[1] I like how in the mid to late 7’s and briefly into the 8’s – they try and jam in a minor chord. This seems driven mostly by Mike and Page? Other than that this is sort of a run of the mill type version.

Train Song: Standard.

Harry Hood: Good jam but basically has no peak where it needs to be. >

Frankenstein: Standard.

ENCORE:

Bold As Love: Standard.

Summary: Very meh show. 3/5.

Replay Value: None.

[1] No whistling.

Slave was dedicated to “a friend” (long-time taper Don Wright) who had been hit by a car earlier in the day. Trey teased Super Bad in 2001. Reba did not have the whistling ending.
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Harry Hood
TEASES
Super Bad tease in Also Sprach Zarathustra

Average show here.Before the encore Trey states that Jimi Hendrix loved Paris.3 stars