Question 1

The Trey Anastasio/Tom Marshall funk song "Ghost" is the opening track of which album?

Accepted Answer

The Story of the Ghost. "Ghost" opens The Story of the Ghost (1998). It was born during the 1997 European tour, the era fans tie to the band's "cow funk."

Question 2

Which Ben & Jerry's flavor, launched in 1997, sends its proceeds to Phish's WaterWheel Foundation?

Accepted Answer

Phish Food. Phish Food royalties go toward protecting Lake Champlain, the big lake right next to the band's Burlington hometown.

Question 3

The Gorge Amphitheatre, a scenic venue Phish has played many times since 1997, is located in which U.S. state?

Accepted Answer

Washington. The Gorge sits above the Columbia River in Grant County, Washington, near the small town of George. Phish first played there in 1997.

Question 4

Since 2010, Phish has spent nearly every New Year's Eve at which arena?

Accepted Answer

Madison Square Garden. The exceptions were 2014, when the band rang in the new year in Miami, and the pandemic years. Phish had also played MSG on New Year's Eve in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2002.

Question 5

The 1997 live album Slip Stitch and Pass was recorded at the Markthalle in which city?

Accepted Answer

Hamburg. Slip Stitch and Pass captures March 1, 1997 in Hamburg, Germany, and was the first official release to include Mike's Song and Weekapaug Groove.

Question 6

The rehearsal and debut of which band's song "Roses Are Free" are captured in the documentary Bittersweet Motel?

Accepted Answer

Ween. Phish debuted the Ween tune out of a "Drowned" jam in Rochester on December 11, 1997. Ween reportedly shelved the song for almost two years afterward before taking it back in 1999.

Question 7

Who directed Bittersweet Motel, the 2000 documentary about Phish?

Accepted Answer

Todd Phillips. Years before The Hangover, Todd Phillips followed the band through 1997-98, ending the film at The Great Went in Maine.

Question 8

Which Jon Fishman side band released a self-titled album on Elektra in October 2002?

Accepted Answer

Pork Tornado. Pork Tornado formed in 1997 and mixed blues, country and rock, with Fish on drums and vocals.

Question 9

In which city did "Ghost" make its live debut in June 1997?

Accepted Answer

Dublin. "Ghost" first appeared on June 13, 1997, in Dublin, Ireland, kicking off a summer European tour remembered as the birthplace of Phish funk.

Question 10

Jon Fishman has said which actor's give-it-all-away food company inspired Phish to start the WaterWheel Foundation?

Accepted Answer

Paul Newman. Paul Newman gave all the profits from Newman's Own to charity, and Phish followed his lead when it founded WaterWheel on Earth Day, April 22, 1997.

Question 11

Phish's first-ever live webcast, on August 8, 1997, came from a venue near which city?

Accepted Answer

Chicago (Tinley Park, IL). The New World Music Theatre show also featured harmonica player Sugar Blue in the encore.

Question 12

Which new song debuted in Las Vegas on the opening night of fall tour 1997 and later evolved into 'The Moma Dance'?

Accepted Answer

Black-Eyed Katy. Its gooey groove helped define the 'cow funk' sound that ran through that tour.

Question 13

At McNichols Arena in Denver on November 17, 1997, the first set ended with 'Ghost' going into which Jimi Hendrix cover?

Accepted Answer

Fire. The Denver 'Ghost' had a tease of James Brown's 'Super Bad,' and the full show was later released as Live Phish 11.

Question 14

Which song opened the first set of the celebrated November 17, 1997 show in Denver?

Accepted Answer

Tweezer. Starting a show with 'Tweezer' was a bold move, and that Denver opener is listed on the 'Tweezer' jam chart as a popular fall 1997 version.

Question 15

At The Great Went on August 17, 1997, what was set on fire at the end of the encore's 'Tweezer Reprise'?

Accepted Answer

A tower built from fans' painted art. During the show the band members painted onstage, and fans' painted wood was assembled into an Art Tower that went up in flames as the festival ended.

Question 16

When 'Buffalo Bill' opened the third set at The Great Went on August 17, 1997, it was its first performance since which show?

Accepted Answer

New Year's Eve 1994 in Boston. Phish.net counts that bust-out as a 204-show gap, last played December 31, 1994.

Question 17

At The Great Went in 1997, the lights went out at Trey's request and fans filled the air with glowsticks. During which song?

Accepted Answer

Harry Hood. When the glowsticks came flying, Trey threw some back and told fans to go get more. The first known glowstick war actually happened during "Harpua" in Chicago in 1994.

Question 18

The Great Went (1997), Lemonwheel (1998), and It (2003) were all held at which former Air Force base in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Loring Air Force Base. The remote base in Limestone, Maine, near the Canadian border, is the band's most-used festival site.

Question 19

Page McConnell played keyboards on the title track of which band's 1997 debut album, Good Feeling?

Accepted Answer

Travis. Page's keys turn up on a Britpop-era record, and he also recorded with Tenacious D on their 2001 debut.

Question 20

Which album became Phish's first to be certified gold by the RIAA, in November 1995?

Accepted Answer

A Live One. The double live album went gold within months of its release and reached platinum in 1997.

Question 21

What greeted many fans as they raced in when the gates opened at The Great Went in 1997?

Accepted Answer

The world's largest fire truck hosing them down. The festival also had its own on-site radio station, 89.1 FM WENT, which carried traffic reports and archive shows.

Question 22

Campers at The Great Went in 1997 temporarily made Limestone, Maine what?

Accepted Answer

The largest city in Maine. With about 75,000 people, it was Phish's biggest crowd up to then and the summer's top-grossing rock concert in the U.S.

Question 23

In summer 1997, Trey started 'calling in' song choices to Page through a microphone hidden inside some unusual objects. Which object did he start using at Star Lake?

Accepted Answer

A rubber chicken. He began with a cup that had a microphone inside, then switched to a telephone on Page's piano, then the rubber chicken, and later a doll.

Question 24

During 'Scent of a Mule' at Alpine Valley in August 1997, how did Mike and Trey play their 'mule duel' solos?

Accepted Answer

Lying on the ground with their feet in the air. The goofy duel was part of Phish's second visit to Alpine Valley, a night that also featured a 'Mike's Song Sandwich.'

Question 25

During summer tour 1997, Page played what unusual electronic instrument during a 'Run Like an Antelope' jam?

Accepted Answer

A theremin. By that summer tour, the band had already premiered most of the songs that would end up on The Story of the Ghost.

Question 26

At Darien Lake in August 1997, which famed counterculture group made its first appearance alongside Phish, in costume?

Accepted Answer

Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters. The show also fell during Elvis Week, and the band nodded to the King with a version of 'Love Me.'

Question 27

The song "Carini" takes its name from a real person who held what job with Phish?

Accepted Answer

Drum tech. "Carini" is named for Pete Carini, a drum tech for the band. The song debuted in Amsterdam in February 1997.

Question 28

The name of Phish's 1997 festival, The Great Went, comes from a line in which film?

Accepted Answer

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. The Great Went borrowed its name from David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

Question 29

Who wrote The Phish Book, the band's first authorized book, a chronicle of their 1997 built from roundtable interviews?

Accepted Answer

Richard Gehr. Richard Gehr worked with all four members on The Phish Book, which paired interviews with 200-plus archive images.

Question 30

'Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley' opened the December 30, 1997 show at MSG after a gap of more than 900 shows. In what year had it last been played?

Accepted Answer

1989. Phish.net gives its previous performance as May 28, 1989, so it had been gone for over eight years when it returned at the Garden.

Phish 1997 Trivia