Set List
Show Notes
This was Phish’s eigth performance at MSG and the third show of a sold-out 3-night stand. Tickets cost $35.00. There was a strange white ball in the center of the ceiling (covering the scoreboard), on which various images were projected during the show, beginning with Emotional rescue. Ya Mar contained Auld Lang Syne tease(s) and Fish drum breaks. Mike’s Song included a Black-Eyed Katy tease. During 2001, fried eggs, UdderBalls, and olives were projected on the ball, referencing the 12/30/97 Harpua narration. This was followed by the countdown and balloon drop at midnight. During Tweezer, balloons knocked down both Page’s and Mike’s microphones as crew members ran around popping those that reached the stage. This moment was captured in Bittersweet Motel. Maze was unfinished and included a Birdland tease. Page, “the chairman of the boards,” sang the 1st Theme From New York, New York (Frank Sinatra cover) played by Phish. Surprisingly, this show was overall shorter in running time than the previous night’s marathon. After this show the band and crew stayed in New York before traveling home the next day. The Fall 1997 Doniac Schvice Phish News explained that “Plans for 1998 are still in the works, but it looks like the first half of the year will be spent working on a new album, due out in the fall of ’98. As a result, a spring tour is unlikely. We expect to resume touring in July and August with a national US tour and possibly a short trip to Europe.” The Winter 1998 Doniac Schvice Phish News announced that “Fish is about to head out on a three week tour as the special guest drummer for Jamie Masefield’s Jazz Mandolin Project. Other exciting news in Fish’s world is this month’s release of Bleeding In A Shark’s Tank by J. Willis Pratt and We’re Bionic, the follow-up to Willis’ debut The Lost Paradox. The CD is available through Dry Goods – Fish produced the project and plays drums on it as well. When asked to comment on the project, he stated without hesitation, ‘There is no human being I know who lives to rock more than J. Willis Pratt.'” Between this show and the next, Fish did some Pork Tornado dates including one with Full Metal Revolutionary Ensemble opening. Fish joined JMP (the band was Jamie Masefield, Chris Dahlgren and Fish) for the 16-date Tour De Flux, while Trey and Tom did some writing at the U-Talk and Windora Bug sessions (the former of which included Pete Cottone and Matt Kohut) and Mike and Fish sat in with Béla Fleck and The Flecktones at the Flynn and Gary “El Buho” Gazaway at Club Toast and Page started early edits on what would become The Siket Disc. The full band got together for the Ghost Meat session where they learned and recorded some of the new Trey/Tom material and wrote some of their own, and Trey held his first 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes rehearsal with Russ, Tony, Tom Lawson and company. The Winter 1998 Doniac Schvice Phish News dropped some info. about summer plans and foreshadowed what would come to be called Lemonwheel “At this point, the US tour is scheduled to run from mid-July to mid-August and will probably start on the west coast and move east – there’s a strong likelihood that we will do another large festival in the spirit of The Clifford Ball and The Great Went, but nothing is finalized yet. We’re also planning to do a short two week trip to Europe in the first part of July.” Sometime amidst the Ghost Meat sessions, the band decided they wanted to play a few shows and Island Tour was born.