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Phish: Star Lake 98 and The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI (12/6/97)

JEMP

In the late-‘90s Phish was evolving at warp speed, traversing the lines between art-rock, funk, jamband and all out arena-rock-like lightning bolts dashing across a divided sky. And while their lightning never struck twice—in so much as two shows were never the same—their thunder was held down by the continuum of identity, an ascribable sound despite the filter. That point is driven home on the two latest archival Phish releases—12/6/97 Auburn Hills, Mich., (offered as a Live Phish download) and 8/11/98 Burgettstown, Pa., (offered as the DVD, Star Lake 98).

While both of these shows are stand-alone gems from the Phish vaults, listening to them consecutively offers the additional reward of context. They took place just eight months apart, during a larger era that many consider to be the apex of the band’s golden age. And yet, the pairing showcases a band from two distinctive tours.

In Auburn Hills, an early first-set, 16-minute “Run Like an Antelope” quickly fires up the kind of cow funk that became the defining trait of December ‘97 Phish. Later in the set, a vibrant “Bathtub Gin” dissolves majestically into a funky “Foam.” But the main course is the second set’s opening sequence of “Tweezer > Izabella > Twist > Piper.” This “Tweezer” is a perfect artifact of something that could’ve only been played in Dec. ‘97, as it twists and turns through deep grooves and wah-filled rhythmic interplay before Trey Anastasio finally unfurls his superhero leads. Some 22 minutes into it, a segue into Jimi Hendrix’s “Izabella” furthers the cause with a stop-start jam that, again, is ever so emblematic of this particular tour.

Jump to the following summer. The band had been breaking out new covers on a nightly basis and surrounding them with summer rock anthems of their own, often composed on the spot and in the moment. At Star Lake 98, they open with Bob Marley’s “Trenchtown Rock,” putting band members in good spirits from the start, verifiable thanks to the DVD format. A scorching “Wolfman’s Brother” yields a notable segue into Little Feat’s “Time Loves a Hero”—but, again, the second set opening sequence steals the show with a 33-minute “Runaway Jim” that, as time has told, remains historic. Much like its trailblazing predecessor (the 59-minute version from 11/29/97 Worcester, Mass.), this “Jim” shape-shifts through spontaneous soundscapes, showcasing band abilities that seemingly didn’t know any limits. And, if the excursion somehow forms connective tissue with the previous fall’s “Runaway Jim,” then Star Lake 98 actually ends with the same
number that opened Auburn Hills, “Golgi Apparatus.”

“We had a great time tonight,” says Anastasio at the end of Star Lake 98. “We appreciate it—thank you.” Rest assured: The feeling was mutual.