I find it funny that when you really like something and someone else doesn't they just assume that you have never been on tour or seen very many shows.

After seeing over 50 shows I still say the first 4 songs of the first set is still some of the best ever.

The Them>Punch>Ghost>Taste is still fresh in my mind 13 years later.

this show is a doozey! i won't call you an idiot if you argue me here, but this is the best 2 set show of the 1997 summer tour. in my opinion, the '96 alpine show was not all that great, but from here on out, alpine valley has been a steady winner, with maybe the lone exception of '03.

anyway, they open with one of my favorite openers, theme from the bottom. this is a very sharp version. page and trey have some very nice back and forth in this one. punch you in the eye, in true '97 fashion, gets that nice dark, funk thing going. they carry that vibe over to a fantastic ghost. gordon really cuts lose, and don't miss page on this one either. after some very nice funky explorations, they dip down into a very nice taste. the playing here is similar to some of the areas they were hitting in theme, so of course, it is damn good! dogs stole things gave everyone a much needed breather. then they dive into an absolutely rediculous reba. they are all over this one. trey is immaculate on this reba. in fact, i must say, this is my favorite one since nye 95, which puts it in my top 2 of all time. lawnboy gives everyone a chance to say hello to their good friend page. then they spring a pretty hot cross roads break out to close down the set. i like the effort, but i feel phish is just a little too "white" to pull this one off, at least without some tinkering. either way, it's a shit load better than hearing another character zero!

wilson brings the crowd back into the game quickly. nothing too fancy here, but it's played well. foam works really well out of wilson. also, they toss in a nice exploratory, jammy section in the middle of foam. mike's song really soars. it may be a best of year contender; although, '97 was not an over the top year for mike's song, especially after europe. page really has some strong playing under trey on this one. they peter out into a nice little ain't love funny. i really like this odd little tune, and i wish they would pull it back out a little more often. they bring it back up into a very solid version of simple. fishman has some very strong playing throughout this one, managing and driving some very nice subtle tempo changes. eventually, it gives way to a very straight forward swept away/steep. then the fun really cranks up. this mule is insane! the middle section gets real nuts, and when they come out of the jam, they rip right back into mule. without skipping a beat, they drift into a dreamy slave. they really float through the front section of this song, but they soar through the back section. they just keep driving the ending jam before they explode into another best of the year candidates, weekapaugh. a sets worth of energy has carried over into this one song. they just bury it. it one of those great moments where they are all in sync. what a trio to close a set. phish does a nice job bringing everyone down at the end of the show. circus is probably my favorite slow songs phish does. this one is well done. rocky top is straight forward.

if you do not have this show or have not heard, aquire it asap. it is top notch from start to finish. some nights they nail the setlist, but it still never really takes off. well, this one, is actually better than it is on paper, and imo, it looks pretty goddamn good on paper.

highlights:
set 1:
theme, ghost>taste, reba

set 2:
mike's>funny as, scent>slave>weekapaugh(must hear this whole sequence)

Ah yes, the coolest Foam ever. It was so nice finding this after phish.net and countless (ok, counted: 4 haha) PT threads told me that the only changes between one Foam and another were based on execution and that there was literally "No room for improv" - Sometimes I just feel like people are doing. it. wrong. Of course, most people also think there is no way that the Benevento/Russo/Gordon version is the best of all time, even though it's so amazing I can't even wrap my head around it. Sometimes I feel like that Foam was a response to Gordon reading some know-it-all claiming that it was physically impossible to find space for improv within the song Foam.

Now, if I could only find the slightly jammier Lizards, PYITE, Bouncin, Sample, Sparkle and etc which I've also been assured never happened. I wouldn't bat an eye if I found some super atypical version of any of them that nobody ever bothered paying attention to.

8/9/97 This show had some incredibly memorable moments for me. I was 21, I was crazy, and I fell in love that day.
I don't think I have talked much about my show experiences yet, and It's probably about time.
When we got to Alpine, we started out with a general party. A car load of 4 girls drinking and smoking, wandering around. (I have a shitty memory, but I'm trying here) We ran into some people selling goo balls, we ran into some people selling mushrooms, we ran into some people selling gel caps. There was a brain mess going on, but I stayed away from the gel caps as I didn't want to mess with my mushroom buzz. I think that may have been the smartest thing I ever did.
During Reba, I remember looking up at my friend Jota and he was singing to me...for some reason that is vivid in my head. We ran into some younger girls that had pouches of glitter and they blew a handful into mine and my girl Rae Rae's faces. My eyelashes were coated and my eyes were dazzled. I think I'd have been pissed if I weren't of an alternate reality, but I totally dug it. Ran into some guy from high school and I smeared my glitter all over his face..that was funny. He looked at our general admission tickets and informed us that we had the hologram that was on the tickets for the reserved seating. We went to the gate toward the left side of the venue and flashed our tickets; they let us through. As we were running down the grassy hill toward the stage, Rae Rae tripped and did a roll down. The funny thing is she ripped her pants, the amazing thing was she didn't spill her beer. We got right up to the stage, Rage Side, during Scent of a Mule, and danced our asses off. Umm... the duel may have been a highpoint of my life, as I look back now. We got kicked out of the area toward the end, but I appreciate the free time I got in front...my love for the entity that is Phish was solidified during those moments. I wish I was a little more aware at the time. I feel like I'd appreciate the whole scene way more now. But it is an experience that I will never forget, no matter how fuzzy it may seem now.

This show is fantastic. The opening run of songs is a nice smooth build that keeps pumping up the energy. Theme and Punch were both very strong in '97 so topping them with a killer Ghost>Taste makes for a perfect first half. The Dogs Stole Things is well-earned, and then once again Reba is an inspired call. And this Reba delivers, patient and powerful. The closing Lawn Boy and Crossroads are what you'd expect. I like the "shape" of this set with the big start, breather, REBA, fun close. I don't like it when they drop rest tunes early in the first set.

Set II . . . tremendous. Wilson, Foam is not the most high-powered way to open set II compared to, say, tweezer or DWD, but they work really well here because the Foam has some extra muscle in the middle. This is where the magic of '97 shows up, when fun songs are given unexpected depth and anything is possible. Mike's rages, thunders, and then settles and segues naturally into Ain't Love Funny, which has a nice spacey feeling. They are able to bring the energy down without losing the intensity, which doesn't always happen. The last 30 seconds are another '97 moment, they crank it up in a cool way and slide into a standard Simple. Swept>Steep gives another breather in a three-part set. The end of Steep sounds like it's going to be something like weekapaug>cavern to close, making the Mule drop all the better. That "end of set" feeling fades . . . there's a lot more phish to go!

Mule, Slave, Weekapaug. That's a hell of a 4th quarter. Mule is like Coil for me, they either work or they don't and I don't have many favorites. I am loving the 3.0 mules with the marimba lumina, that's a sweet addition. Anyway this mule is sufficiently weird in the breakdown, nice groovy segment with the circus-y '97 sound. and then it seems like they go more bananas than usual before trey hits the twangy lick. Slave gets powerful before trey starts climbing the neck, and he starts dropping Peak Slave licks in a lower octave than usual. And then it keeps building from there, big long hold from Trey before he blows the roof off! And then they build a wall of sound and trey hits the lick one more time, very satisfying!! Finally, we get our weekapaug and it is wild. Great machinegun trey.

I a big Type II fan myself and I'm not a fan of people saying "it's all about the flow" but . . . this show is all about the flow. It doesn't have a huge centerpiece jam, and it doesn't need one.

After the Rupp Arena show, I decided that I couldn't avoid going on tour any longer. This was also my first journey to Wisconsin and it turned out to be the best show of the run. From Theme to Rocky Top, there wasn't a single song that lacked energy or flow. The band was hot all night long. The band totally wore me out! I had to sit from ALF to Weekapaug because I raged it so hard earlier. I learned a lot about how to pace one's self during a multi-show run.
Many people have already discussed the musical highlights, but I was also blown away by the crowd. Huge, raucous and probably the most musically educated group of people outside of my music school that I had met up to that point. This was the first time I started meeting large numbers of wonderful people who wanted to talk about music instead of how to get wasted. Go figure.
This was the biggest Shakedown I had ever seen. Remember, this was back in the day before Alpine turned into a police state. Things were wide open. After the experience of 8-9-97, I knew Alpine was THE midwestern venue for me and summer tour was a permanent fixture of my life.

Does anyone else that was there remember the big marshmallow war before the show? We were sitting pretty close to the front of the lawn, tripping our brains out in that awkward hour or so after you find your spot and then just sit there trying to keep it together before the show starts (oh to be in high school again). There were two or three guys that were dressed like clowns or something, and they had a bunch of big bags of marshmallows. They started opening them and throwing the marshmallows at random people on the lawn. After a minute or so, they started yelling "Throw them back!" and next thing you know it was a full-on 100+ person marshmallow war.

I've seen 25 Phish shows and this is my favorite, hands down. I'm surprised (and disappointed) that it hasn't found it's way into the LivePhish series.

In the 1st set, loved PYITE, the new (at the time) Ghost, and the rare Crossroads.

But... 2nd set is where the boys LIT IT UP! All the way from Mike's to Weekapaug is some of the best Phish I've ever heard. Favorite parts were the off-the-hook Scent with crazier-than-usual jam and Slave.

Nothing I would see after this would even come close.

(posted 13 years ago at rec.music.phish)
IMHO, Alpine was the best show from 8-8 on. This was the most solid, well
played show of the last leg of the tour that I was on. Deer Creek set II
was incredible, but set I was simply average. As a SHOW, Alpine was much
better. Pittsburg was also above average, but not to the degree of Alpine
Valley (Mike's, SOAMule, PYITE, Crossroads (smokin'!) Reba, incredible.)

Of course, the Went was fabulous, but it not a real "show" in the 2-set 3
hour sense. It is too difficult to compare the concerts on such seperate
levels (I mean, hey...they played in the Daylight!)

To the previous poster who claimed this show is no way special. What this show has that many (most?) of the summer '97 shows lack, at least in spots, is flow.

While there isn't a single song that can lay claim to being an all time great, the yang is that every song is played somewhere between well and great. It's not like anyone's off at all. There are no flubs here.

Ghost>Taste, Reba, Foam, and Slave were all closer to great. PYITE, Crossroads, Wilson, Mike's, Simple were just good.

Scent was incredible from up close, pungent from afar.

Slave was perfectly placed. It managed to capture the energy of the whole night, then build it back up into an excited, celebratory Weekapaug. (during which Trey took the time to point out how much fun the place is, 2nd time playing there)

But back to flow: The opening song of each set was a perfect stage setter. The goodness of Wilson as a second set opener requires no explanation. (breaking into a surprising Foam makes it all the better)

Theme on the other hand has always struck me as a strange, low energy opener. But at Alpine Valley? It was perfect. 40,000 very happy fans piled high, kinda sunk into the show just before the sun went down. The mellow opening, complete with pauses practically begs you to look around and smile while acclimating to beat. There was that x10,000 in the pavilion. The song itself was played very well. The people were happy.

So was it the greatest show ever? Of course not. But it's certainly special amongst many good and some mediocre summer '97 Phishing.

Agreed with a previous post...Ghost -> Taste is a swirling, hypnotic haze of majestic Phish-beauty...definitely check this out.

The opening four-song stretch of this show is top-notch Phish. Theme really developed as a nice set one opener during the Summer 97 tour, and this version sits high among them. PYITE is kind of the "classic" set one opener so they throw that in the mix and really get the party started.

You can't go wrong with Ghost->Taste anytime, and this Ghost especially delivers. Extra funky and danceable, this version can hang toe-to-toe with the Lakewood Ghost. Taste is its typical, gorgeous self.

I'm not usually a big Reba fan, but this one made me feel some feelings that I haven't felt about Reba in quite some time... there's a reason it was released on a LiveBait. Crossroads..awesome bustout.

The second set breaks from the typical Summer 97 structure a bit and delivers a lot of shorter but enthusiastic versions of songs that you might find elsewhere in the setlist normally. I dig the Wilson>Foam opener.. Foam had been and still is almost an exclusively first set song, this being the lone exception for many shows prior and all shows hence.

This monster Mike's Groove to close the set is really fun. I'm a huge fan of Ain't Love Funny, and although this version doesn't quite compare to the Amsterdam version, I still love its placement in this set. Five "S" songs come next and all are well-played.

You can hear the crowd really getting into it during SOAM when Trey and Mike start dueling, although the playing doesn't quite translate on tape. Overall a really great show during a summer of REALLY great shows

First show. First concert in my life. First time I ever drank Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. I was only 17 and stoked my mom let me go with some buddies to see a band she had never heard of. Why did I go? A Live One, particularly Stash, Gumbo, and Bouncin'. Honestly, I never listened to music before that album. I just didn't care for music that much as nothing intrigued me or kept my interest. So when I listened to my buddy's A Live One several times while playing basketball and actually craved it myself, I couldn't say no when he asked if we should get tickets. And boy, it just shows you how one small decision can completely change a person's life!

I listen to this show at least a couple times a year just to relive that day. Theme was the first song I ever heard live and I just remember thinking about how sublime and pure it seemed. "Don't you see anything that you'd like to try?" Well, all be! Yes, I do! And I'm here for it! And the last 3-4 minutes, I didn't know a band could play that fast. Woah. At that point, I assumed it was just a song to get everyone to stand up and then we would all sit down? (Note, I haven't sat since.)

PYITE really got my blood pumping. I didn't know how to dance at this point (wife would argue I still don't). I know I just stood there for Theme. But I know I started bopping my head during PYITE. Why are these people yelling "hey!" though? Hmm, seems to be part of the song.

Ghost --> Taste, well, I may have left a puddle underneath me. A puddle made of my sweat, the beer I remember spilling (that some dude bought us underagers due to our begging), and maybe some white sticky stuff came down my shorts leg. It was this moment that I knew I loved Phish. And I really had to pee, so I missed Dog Stole Things.

Reba, hilarity. I worked at a grocery store while in high school, so it seemed pretty fitting because I spent a lot of time bagging (not tagging). I had no idea that songs could be different each time played. So at this point, I was amazed they remembered all the notes. It seemed awesome at the time, but obviously much awesomer down the road once I realized the improvisation of this version. Still one of my favorite Rebas to this day, even if slightly biased.

Lawn Boy, ok I suppose. Kind of weird at the time. Crossroads, first song I recognized slightly. Later I figured out why.

Wilson, another song with fans shouting? Do they do this with every first song of a set? (At that time, I remembered PYITE being first and the yelling.)

Foam, weird. Kind of long and goofy and I need another pee break. Liked it, but nothing too awesome until the build-up that I still remember to this day, wide-eyed and swaying.

Ain't Love Funny, I don't know why this song didn't stick around. I loved it and forgot about it for years until I found a tape of the show. I still wish it would come back.

Simple, other than Reba, is probably the song I remember the most lyrically after the show. Something about the repetition of the lyrics hooked me and we were singing it on the way home. If there was a song I first fell in love with, it's probably Simple. It's the one I could still envision after laying down for bed that night.

Honestly, I don't remember as much about the rest. I recall one of the gals that came with talking about how bored and tired she was. I feel like we left at that point, yet I also feel like I remember Rocky Top. But maybe it's because we could here it from the lot, not sure. I was definitely disappointed to leave early, but I honestly didn't know concerts lasted that long and we had a two hour drive back home. So, I don't think I pushed the issue.

Do you remember your first love? You know, the one that just seemed to get you. The one that wasn't annoying. The one that seemed to touch you in all the right places. It was the day I met my first love and I can't wait to see them again at Alpine this weekend!

The first 4 songs of the set are just amazing.
The Ghost>Taste is my favorite part of the whole 97 summer tour.

I mostly just want to mention that the sound quality of the recording from Phish.in is absolutely outstanding. I've been listening to this entire tour, and this show is easily the best recording that I've come across yet.

As for the show itself, it (like the bulk of this tour... or 1997 for that matter) is just a joy to listen to. The first set is simply outstanding... maybe the best of the tour (not counting GW). The second set is solid, though in my opinion not as strong as the first. It's a very, very cool Mike's Groove though... especially Mule.

Some quick notes.

Excellent Theme. Ghost quickly goes into a Mike led groove. It is pretty straight forward with Trey messing around. Good Segue into Taste, which may very well be one of the best versions I've ever heard, it's intense and inspired. Reba sinks into a nice '97 style vibe and has a little stretch to it. Crossroads fits nicely at the end of the set. It seems like Izabella and Crossroads seem to have the same purpose in this year and both are fantastic.

Bizarre Foam in the 2nd slot of the 2nd set. Good straight forward Mike's song jam. Great segue into Ain't love funny. Fantastic Segue into Simple. Scent is fantastic with crazy screaming at the beginning. The Mule duel is extra weird. Slave is strong. Weekapaug might be the highlight of the night for me, just relentless peak after peak. Standard encore.

This show is STACKED. Listen to it.

Awesome parts of set 1: Theme, Ghost -> Taste, Reba (incredible)

Awesome parts of set 2: Everything. Literally the entire set, from Wilson to Weekapaug

I was only 12 years old in 1997 but this is one of the shows I'd attend if I could go back in time. Absolutely fantastic. There's humor in the setlist too, tons of lyrical references appropriate to Alpine Valley throughout the show to falling down (into a deep well) or being on the bottom / on the top, Lawn Boy references the massive size of AV lawn, Swept Away > Steep is obvious, then they encore with Rocky Top, haha.

Musically I think this show is where it needs to be, about a 4.3 out of 5. Really strong showing by the Phish from VT. Set 2 is just a monster, 100% must-hear if you haven't already. An improvisational Foam (!!!), the killer Mike's Groove segment (man, those segues), a 13-minute Slave and a raging Weekapaug to close. Honestly, how can anyone not love this????

I was lucky enough to see them play Alpine in 2015 (was about a 13 hour drive) and I'm considering going back for round 2 if they do it.

This was my first show (I had chances to see them at the Rave in Milwaukee - OJ Show, and at Dane County in 94 and 95 but decided not to. Dont ask me why). I remember going to Alpine and being overwhelmed by the lot scene, in a good way. We ate some Fungi before the show and it started kicking in as we were walking to the venue. I remember walking down the steep hill to our seats, 12th row center, during Theme and the lyric, "But all along the bottom, is Blue, Gray and Black" is still so vivid in my mind. I just remember feeling so Happy. Anyways, after the show, I ended up going to Deer Creek with another friend the next two nights after this show even though I hadn't planned on it because of the experience I had at Alpine. I have seen over 60 shows since then but there is always something special about the first time you experience IT!

This is from a TikTok I made on 8/9/23 @gettingreadyfortour over there.
Today in Phish history. On Saturday August 9, 1997 Phish played at Alpine Valley in East Troy Wisconsin. And yes, I was at that show. My lawn ticket cost $25 plus fees though I lost my stub. I walked to the train station in Fox Chase Philadelphia took it to 30th St. Station and got another train to the airport and then I flew from Philadelphia to Louisville, Kentucky. Jess who I met and gave a ride from Virginia Beach through Atlanta then I drove them home “On my way back to Philly,” picked me up at the airport and took me back to her apartment in Indiana. The next day we headed up to Alpine with her brunette, curly haired friend who I think her name was Erica, I feel like she was a Jewish girl from New Jersey. The things I remember, I guess because I’m a Jewish girl from Bucks County Pennsylvania. ????‍♀️
Amber was still on tour, I left after Lakewood. It was a whole thing with my dad because my car was in his name and he wasn’t letting me take the car across the country. I was free to go whatever I wanted so that’s what I did this part of the tour sans car. We met up with Amber in the lot but I honestly cannot tell you how we did so without cell phones. I feel like we just bumped into each other kinda like at The Clifford Ball. We didn’t use the message board, that much I know. I do remember that it was super hot during the day in the lot! And so much walking on gravel uphill in my Birks. Oy, that incline in the lawn was rough even at 22 and 23, I can’t fathom doing it now as I’m about to turn 50. Which sucks cause they always kill it at Alpine!
It is so funny to me. I have remembered bits and pieces of this experience, but it wasn’t until now listening to the show that I was able to piece it all together. The music helps bring it all together for me, so maybe it’ll help you too. I highly recommend you listen to your earlier Phish shows! I mean I was only 4 years in but I felt like a vet ????
My highlights:
Set one off to a great start with Theme. PYITE and the “Ghost” was sick especially since I called 1997 the summer of the Ghost cause I got it most of the shows I did. Got my third “Dogs Stole Things” and it gets better every time I get one. ALWAYS FINISH REBA PLEASE!! It’s my hook song and it was the whistle that got me. My first of three “Crossroads” which was just so good.
Second set opened with Wilson > Foam which was stellar. I always forget about how huge and long this “Mike’s Groove” was! Like I think at one point I referred to it as a sandwich. There are just so many meaty layers within this second set. It’s absolutely amazing to me. Omg that “Scent of a Mule” is just superb! It’s probably my favorite Mike song, no definitely my fav. Give me the jig, yes please! Why is Slave so beautiful? This one is just glorious! Dude, when they finally played “Weekapaug Groove,” I had a hard time staying upright on that Alpine lawn cause this was my mf jam in the 90s and I used to spin. The encore for me, nothing to write home about not throwing shade.

Attended! My first time at Alpine. The vibe and scene here versus the day before at Tinley Park were polar opposites. I loved everything about Alpine except the ankle breaking lawn.

SET 1: Theme From the Bottom: Big, ol’ peak. Audience loves this one. I do too.

Punch You in the Eye: Nice energetic and extended intro.

Ghost: Like so many from this tour you have your funk section, then a hard rocking section. This one mellows out a good bit around the ten and a half minute mark until the end. Nice ambient section. ->

Taste: Very strong as you would expect from this tour. Big pause after the song as the crowd goes wild.

Dogs Stole Things: Standard.

Reba: Awesome version, absolutely soaring. Feel like this one is an all timer and one of the best I have seen in person. Live Bait Vol. 11

Lawn Boy: Standard. >

Crossroads: This blew me away! Super fun first set.

SET 2: Wilson: Standard. >

Foam: Very, very rare to see this in the second set. This was the last time ever that Foam has showed up in the second set as of this writing on June 9, 2023, and it has only happened I think 44 times in 348 times played. How about that funky 97 Trey plays for a good while in his solo? Pretty cool and surely unique for this tune! Awesome version, all timer!

Mike's Song: LOOOOOOOVE the loops at 11 and a half and how ominous things get after that ->

Ain't Love Funny: Last time played. ->

Simple: Standard. ->

Swept Away > Steep: Standard. >

Scent of a Mule: Huge, huge wall of sound built up – crowd goes wild. A few false endings.

Slave to the Traffic Light: >

Weekapaug Groove: Great stuff here, an absolute barnburner. The 3 and a half minute mark and beyond has some glorious Trey.

ENCORE: When the Circus Comes:

Rocky Top

Replay Value: Theme From the Bottom, Ghost, Taste, Reba, Foam, Scent of a Mule, Slave to the Traffic Light, Weekapaug Groove

Summary: An absolute barn burner. I have attendance bias, but it is well documented that this is an epic show loved far and wide by many, many fans and for good reason. Reba and Foam are all timers supported by tons of other great highlights! Phish.net has this one nailed as it’s rated at 4.469/5 (209 ratings).

Anyone stay at the Hoppe Homestead after this show? Those people are awesome stayed there 4 times seeing Phish at Alpine. So much fun! Yes it was a great show!

This was an average show for summer 97- nothing too special at all. I suspect the people saying how great this show was, one dude says it was the best of 97, had not been on tour before this.
I had been to the Gorge.
Ladies and Gentleman, this show couldn't hold 8-2-97's jockstrap!

I also don't think this show could polish the shoes of Walnut Creek (7-22-97, among others from this great tour)