So, after seeing the ratings for this show and listening to it in its entirety, I felt compelled to add my 2 cents to this review page. If this show, with its outstanding LxL and YEM->Izabella in the first set, and its incredible Timber (Jerry)>Bowie in the second set, were to be played today in the era of 3.0, this thing would be easily rated as one of the best shows of the tour. That means lots of 4's and 5's. So, why on earth is this show sporting a measly 3.8?

Seems to me that this little gem has been unfairly overlooked by a lot of heads... give it a spin!

This show was my 3rd of the U.S summer tour.
What a great venue South Park Meadows is, all general admission on a grass field with a concrete dance floor up near the stage.

The highlight of this show and one of the highlights of my Phish days was definately the
Timber Ho!>David Bowie.
The jam in Timber was amazing as usual but towords the end took on a whole new life, it kind of melted into a space type jam that somehow found its way to the beginning of the best Bowie I've ever heard, and I swear right before the guitar intro to Bowie Trey says "Goodbye Jim".

I still to this day wonder why he said that.
Anyway if you wanna hear one of the best phish jams get this show and pop in the second set!!

Because all the other reviews have somehow skipped over this, I am compelled to tell you to listen to YEM -> Izabella. It's unbelievable! Gullotti is great here, and just as YEM's thick '97 funk picks up a bit, before we'd normally get B-and-D, Trey moves the band right into the Hendrix classic. The first half of the second set ain't no joke either. The 17 minute Timber to open the frame gets really dark, as does the subsequent Bowie which has some seriously video game-like sounds in the intro. If you grew up on NES in the early '80s, this Bowie intro is for you. Hood -> Blister -> Hood -> Free is awesome, with a cool segue into Free, though it does come right when you're feeling *really* good about Hood so it's a bit of a let-down. Free however brings some serious funk. This is a rock solid show, and is part of the natural progression from the end of '96 through Fall '97.

3 Stars. Weakest show of the tour so far, but it's still a lot of fun and certainly nothing to sneeze at. The band was just on fire at this point in their history, and not show can be an all-timer. Bob is certainly great at points but Phish works best with 1 drummer. The YEM->Izabella is the first set highlight, and I love that this is the second version in a row with a vocal jam! Not as strong as the 7/23 version but still a great rock version. Second set is fine but nothing to seek out.

YEM was amazing!!! The Purple & Yellow lites split the audience from the chest up & down right around sunset. I'd brought some Phish virgins w/ me to the show....they couldn't stand still thru-out....despite the $8/bottle of water in 90+ degree heat...the David Bowie/Harry/Blister jam was impressive to all...especially my friend Angie who'd loved the Femmes from long ago...we ended up in a rest stop off I35 where everyone was raided by fire ants and had to split before dawn on the way to AZ...my friends and I went back to SA for a couple weeks and started drivin' to Chicago for Tinley Park....followed em all the way to The Went...needless to say the 1st timers I brought along were SOLD ON PHISH!!!! I wish Southpark Meadows was still around...they've turned it into ungodly stripmalls since....what a shame...

The very talented Gullotti is a somewhat uncomfortable fit in places - hey, even Bill Kreutzmann didn't quite fit with Fishman in 2009 - but he helps drive Hood and Free in interesting places, singlehandedly tightening Free's swing and encouraging Trey in his weird, awkward, joyous 'Blister' excursion. Exciting show.

About 30 seconds before the Blister jam starts, there is a very brief Crimson and Clover tease (Tommy James, not Joan Jett version) from Trey at 6:22. My guess is it was inspired by the wavy, vibrating sound his guitar makes at 6:13.

Mark it .net.

Also, not a big fan of the 2nd drummer and YEM>Izabella is great.

SET 1: Limb By Limb: Killer funk jam at the end. Crazy having Gullotti on this, overload.

Dogs Stole Things: Gullotti does not sound great in this intro, IMHO. >

Poor Heart: Standard.

Stash: This thing goes amazeballs around the 9 and a half minute mark. Just explodes. Things get very dirty and dissonant around 11:30 and beyond. Super intense. Things settle at 12:30 and things get very quiet. No peak and abruptly goes for the finish around 14:20. Kind of a lost opportunity.

Billy Breathes: Trey introduces Bob G. Sounds too aggressive with Bob G.

Cars Trucks Buses: Standard but lively!

Dirt: Trey crushes this solo as typical in summer 97. Super clean and big peaks. Perfect lead into…

You Enjoy Myself: Rock solid YEM. No B&D, no VJ. Trey messes with Izabella for almost a full minute before totally committing – pretty cool. ->

Izabella: Machine gun Trey, just blisters this one, Rock God!

SET 2: Timber (Jerry the Mule) – Trey’s tone starting at 3:18, that guitar GROWLS – LOVE THIS. Hard charging, largely psychedelic jam. Goes into very, very deep space around the 14 minute mark, sits there for about a minute and a half and then they go for the closing refrain and lyrics. All timer Timber >

David Bowie: Crazy long intro with nasty effects and an interesting jam from Mike and the two drummers get a nice groove going too. Finally breaks into the song proper around 6 and half minutes in. Still not as long as the 8.5 minute intro from 8.10.97 Deer Creek. Gullotti is all over the place in the composed section – lol – specifically in the late 7’s and early 8’s. Trey creates a really cool theme around 17:30 and rides that for one minute. Things really heat up from here. Page sounds amazing. Smoking closing section. Really enjoy this version and surprised it is not a jamcharts version.

Harry Hood: Standard…until… ->

Blister in the Sun Jam: Crowd loves it when they realize what is going on ->

Harry Hood: This section goes along as you would expect until it doesn’t, it gets a little crazy and then out of nowhere ->

Free: Trey goes way off the beaten Free path in the mid 4’s but is back to what you would consider for a 97 Free jam at the 5 minute mark. Very fun, bouncy jam in the middle portion. Definitely a solid Free that I would recommend.

Waste: Trey absolutely crushes this solo, outstanding work. >

Johnny B. Goode: Trey puts on a clinic on how to shred like a Rock God!

ENCORE: Bouncing Around the Room – Standard.

Cavern: Trey blows some lyrics and laughs it off. It almost sounds like something made him laugh first and then got him off track perhaps instead of him actually forgetting lyrics.

Replay Value: Limb By Limb, Timber (Jerry the Mule), David Bowie, Free

Summary: I feel like this show is slightly underrated - 3.935/5 (123 ratings) – I think with the all timer Timber and then other very solid highlights such as LxL with a very unique ending, very strong Bowie and Free plus that YEM > Izabella – this tome is a 4.1 out of 5. Definitely a nice pick as a dark horse type of show. Gotta love the Gullotti guest spot.