1997-06-24 Strasbourg, FR

 Happy Easter everybody!!!!

Onwards with Euro 97, this time it's 6/24/97 Strasbourg

After two festival gigs and a few very strange shows, tonight we get the most "balanced" looking setlist since the Albert Hall gig.

Set 1

Split Open and Melt - Surprise Melt opener! Great version. Teeters on the edge of falling apart. It never does, but there are several distinct moments that make you perk up and go "Oh? What's happenning?". Not really must hear, but it definitely shows promise, threatening heavily to go deep. It's like the ultimate "tease" version.

Beauty of My Dreams - is Beauty

Dogs Stole Things - is Dogs

Vultures - Good version but nothing special.

Guelah Papyrus - Trey abandons the song after the "Asse Festival" part because he forgets the lyrics. Must hear just for this, lol

Runaway Jim - KILLER!!!! Another "Gypsy Queen" version!!!! Nearly 13 minutes, this annihilates worlds!!!! MUST HEAR!!!! The jam is raging along, then all of a sudden the rhythm shifts and they bust into "Gypsy Queen". Trey is absolutely shredding it up like a madman! Then all of a sudden again, the jam magically, and smoothly, morphs back into Jim! X FACTOR MAGIC ALERT!!!!

Talk - Another rare full-band Talk is next. A little flubby on the lyrics, but always a treat to hear.

Free - Stellar version!!! 12 minutes on this sucker! HOLY MOTHER OF PORNOGRAPHY THIS IS ONE FUNKY SUCKER!!!!! During the section when Trey should "lay back" and let Gordo solo, instead, he funk-vamps it up to the extreme, moving to the wah and going nuts. Page joins in on the fun and the whole thing becomes the grooviest, slickest slice of music heard since the 70s. This isn't your typical "funky" Free. No, this is about 10 steps beyond that. I can't begin to describe how funky this is - it's RIDICULOUS! X Factor Magic for sure!!!!!

Prince Caspian - Very strong version, over 8 minutes long. You think it is over and it just keeps going and going! Killer!

Rocky Top - Is Rocky Top


Wow! What a set!!!! On the whole this was one of the most consistently strong, start-to-finish sets of the tour so far, if not THE strongest overall first set of the tour so far! The Runaway Jim through Prince Caspian is essential listening, especially that ridiculous Free and Jim/Gypsy Queen. A great listen, it flows like butter. A great mix of the old and the new. Solid stuff!!!  

Set 2

Wolfman's Brother - Yet ANOTHER excellent Euro 97 version!!! This one clocks in at a mammoth 17 minutes - was this the longest version to date at this point?!
Absolutely ridiculous, X Factor version. The destructive funk of the prior Free returns with a vengeance. Then, magically, around the 11 minute mark they shift into total Type II. Trey kicks on his "Great Went 2001" looper and we go into a more ambient-yet-rocking zone (yes, I'm aware that doesn't make sense!). This is absolutely must hear in every way. X Factor Magic abound! By the 14 minute mark, the ambience is totally abandoned and Trey is straight up spitting fire, doing chunky riff work, then laying down the leads. HEAVY METAL WOLFMAN?! Sometime around the 16 minute mark, the craziness subsides and the jam drifts into an uber-delicate haze as it fades itself out....It's like they simply, and slowly, turned the volume knob to zero, one notch at a time.....

Reba - And into a blazing 15 minute Reba we go! This is an absolutely exceptional, must hear reading of the song. The technical portion is executed flawlessly. And at quite a speed as well!!! Terrifically patient solo that builds so slowly and perfectly, Page playing along with Trey (or is Trey playing along with Page?!). This is a stupendous Reba that everyone should know. A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NICU - Great little version out of Reba to pick us back up. Good stuff but nothing special.

Twist - Strong, Type 1 version. Nothing special but still really, really nice!!!!

Piper - See Twist. Still stuck in "short land", though at 5:30, it's starting to grow! Longest intro ever? Holy hell guys, start the song already!

Wading in the Velvet Sea - Absolutely epic 9 minute reading. Killer version. Not really worth highlighting, but it's great.

Ghost - Hell yes! Uber-beast 16 minute version to close the set!!!! Incredible version, as expected they lay hard into the funk and proceed to just tear it the F up. If you want the funkiest Type I Ghost out there, seek out this sucker. Fantastic!! Incredibly funky type 1 HEAT. Must hear!!!!

Loving Cup - Standard excellent version to close the show


Wow!!! This show killed it!! Maybe it didn't go as far out into the strange as some of the more recent gigs, but this was hands down the most consistently excellent, front-to-back, top-to-bottom show of the tour so far. Most shows so far have been "piecemeal" affairs with highlights, but this is the first one to actually feel like a unified unit from start to finish (ok London did, but this so far exceeds that show it's not even funny). A fantastic gig - Wolfman, Reba and Ghost are all MUST HEAR in the 2nd set, and don't forget about the 1st set highlights too!

BEST SHOW OF THE TOUR SO FAR. HANDS DOWN!