Setlist
Set One
Set Two
Encore
Stream this show and the entire LivePhish catalog
Setlist
Set One
Set Two
Encore
Show Notes
- Birdland tease during David Bowie intro
- LeRoi Moore on saxophone(s) for Theme From The Bottom and Funky Bitch
- Theme From The Bottom had a full-band, multi-instrument jam
Production Credits
- Recorded by Paul Languedoc
- Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering
- Post-Production by Kevin Shapiro
- Technical Assistance by Ben Collette
On July 21, 1997 Phish played the opening show of their United States summer tour at Virginia Beach Amphitheatre in Virginia Beach, VA, home of the world’s longest pleasure beach. It was their first show at this newly-constructed outdoor shed opened in 1996 with a capacity of about 20,000. The band had just returned from their second European trek in six months and were primed and ready for the 19 U.S. dates up through The Great Went.
Set I featured the public stateside debut of four new songs: Ghost, Dogs Stole Things, Piper, and Dirt – all of which Trey introduced at the bottom of a stupendous Bathtub Gin. Set II was jam-packed with non-stop highlights starting with Wolfman’s Brother > Magilla > David Bowie. Magilla had been dusted off in Europe after a four-year hiatus and Bowie got a jazzy romp with teases of Joe Zawinul/Weather Report’s Birdland. Next came the first U.S. Wading In The Velvet Sea, and a grandiose, full-band, multi-instrument-blowout Theme From The Bottom with DMB’s LeRoi Moore sitting in on saxophone(s) for Theme and Funky Bitch. A dramatic Slave To The Traffic Light followed by a Loving Cup encore set the tone for the beautiful buzz of summer 1997.
Virginia Beach ‘97 was recorded by Paul Languedoc to 2-track digital and mastered by Fred Kevorkian. Video from this show was featured on Episode 9 of ‘Dinner And A Movie - An Archival Video Series.’
Reviews
Joel — 9/19/2025 3:50:11 AM
"The Bathtub Gin is off the hook!"
KJ — 7/30/2025 6:59:48 AM
"Peak phish. All-time best Theme. Funky as hell. "
Ravinus — 7/25/2025 8:01:52 PM
"Strong show. Sucks the VB police were arresting everyone in the parking lot the following year. "
Runaway Jim — 7/22/2025 9:39:12 PM
"A few of us decided to hit this show from Cincy and boy are we glad we did. Besides the first set of US debuts, they gave us a second set for the ages. Leroy segment had us trying to determine if what we were watching was real or fake. The Gin 1st set was amazing. wolfmans ->Magilla->bowie was relentless peak Phish. Of my 120 shows this is in the top 5. "
Streisand — 7/22/2025 3:44:40 PM
"First came to this show when it was a Dinner and a Movie. It holds a special place for me with it being shown during the pandemic, also how it’s just a fun freaking show. They are so loose and their playing is so tight. Unbelievable. Leroi Moore holds a place in my heart too, being a lifelong dmb fan. Love how Trey explains the names of the songs we have come to cherish. Must listen. Easily one of my favorite shows ever. So cool many of you wrote that you attended this show. Must have been amazing. "