1996-12-30 A tasty Tweezer rescued this show from being bad. Its last pairing with Lifeboy? #phish

1996-12-31 2nd best post-ALS DWD so far, but good. Is this show real life or is it just fantasy? Alas, fantasy I'd say. It's fine. #phish

And now... my top five for Phish’s most maligned year.

5: 96 has great jams but jam of the year goes to the Clifford Ball Slave. This year, #phish didn’t have to dive deep for greatness. #96Top5

4: Mike’s should maybe get song of the year again, but I’ll give Simple some love. 11/18’s the best of them. #phish #96Top5

3: 12/6/96. Best show of the year imo. It made the NYE run feel perfunctory. I was ready for 97. #phish #96Top5

2: Remain in Light. Same as it ever was. #phish #96Top5

1: Clifford Ball. A beacon of light & 96’s greatest achievement. #phish #96Top5

1997-2-13 Rock A William > Walfredo, I guess. I like Love Me & Circus. I’ll tolerate My Soul. Ponderous post-PYITE jam feels extra. #phish

1997-2-14 This crowd, man. Mike seems to move up in the mix in this one show. By Funky Bitch, he’s on top. Dynamic YEM. DWD rages. #phish

1997-2-16 Fish flups C&P but so what? This show sounds (& looks!) so good. Doesn’t seem it on paper, but this is #phish refinding the fun.

1997-2-17 The best debut bar none & I’m not talking about SSP (tho it’s good too). Taste->DWD is tasty & sick. So good. 1997 starts! #phish

1997-2-18 Extended, appreciated, type 1 exploration in Stash. Here comes the cow funk in ASZ! Hood is melancholy bliss. #phish

1997-2-20 Tweezer in the 2nd spot, but the strange song selection works against the rest of the show. #phish

1997-2-21 Firenze! Hear this YEM. Interesting DWD jam. Techno C&P. Unfinished Antelope & Reba! Heavy metal Wilson! This show is cool. #phish

1997-2-22 I could point to some stuff–Chalkdust, Hood–but let's not pretend solid playing is gonna cut it in 97. This is average. #phish

1997-2-23 97’s only Rift, sadly botched. Last ATR ever! Just sad. This Mike's! This is a fantastico setlist & fantastically fun show. #phish

1997-2-25 A guest. Sure. Aborted MFMF. No return on Caspian. A sad step down from 2/23. #phish

1997-2-26 Interview ends w/ Winterqueen?! Rarities! Getting this tape early warped my expectations. Nice HaHaHa>YEM. Great Mule. #phish

1997-2-28 Odd, entirely jamless Carini. Europe has been a weird mix of rarities and repeats. Bowie gets fun. What happens in aDitL?? #phish