[We've been reviewing the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on their respective 14th anniversaries. The final installment: Sunday, November 23, 1997, Winston-Salem, NC.]

Sunday, November 23, 1997

After the truly amazing show in Hampton on the 22nd, my friends and I spent the night on Coliseum Drive and then did what it seems like most people I encounter did: we drove home. In my case, it was north back to UConn. The correct move was to drive south. Throw caution to the wind, turn a short pre-thanksgiving week at school into an extended vacation. We fucked up. Seriously, screw you conscience. We missed a great show, the three or four times we stopped for Waffle House and Denny’s is hardly a consolation now.

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[Over the next three days we’ll look back on each of the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on the respective 14th anniversaries. Next up: Saturday, November 22, 1997, Hampton Coliseum.]

Saturday, November 22, 1997

Following Friday’s show, we had an interesting evening at the Days Inn. Our string of rooms were on the ground floor and opened to the parking lot. We settled into our spaces, enjoying a few late night beers and having a bit of fun. I remember it was when I found a spot to rest my head that some sketchy tour kid approached Tim who was hanging outside the door. The kid spied a cooler of our beer and was very interested in acquiring one. One in particular, the much sought after “Dank Sammy Smith.” Now remember we have a keg of Long Trail in our trunk, beer supply was not an issue, but Tim was dead set against this kid getting what he wanted. When met with resistance the kid resorted to a little trade proposal in the form of microdots. Now, I’m pretty sure he had a roll of those sugar dot candies because there was no amount he was unwilling to part with. The beer, however, was not for trade. We all began to stir from our rooms just to see what these things were or were not worth. Needless to say no transaction was completed, but at one point I think we could have procured an actual automobile with what he seemed to be offering. To this day, we laugh about The Microdot Exchange on Coliseum Drive.

We spent our day relaxing, definitely with a trip to Waffle House. Those poor waitresses, they definitely weren’t prepared for that morning. The Waffle House was more Halfway House than anything else. But there’s just something so endearing about hearing exasperation in a southern accent. We made our way back to the lot and prepared for showtime.

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[Over the next three days we’ll look back on each of the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on the respective 14th anniversaries. First up: Friday, November 21, 1997, Hampton Coliseum.]

Friday, November 21, 1997

The Phish shows in Hampton, VA the weekend before Thanksgiving 1997 are ones of legend. They’re probably the most complete show experiences I’ve ever had and they probably will never be topped. I was a student at the University of Connecticut, but with one of my best friends at school in Virginia there was no way I was missing it. My friend Tim and I had made the trip a year previous (10/25/96) and the weekend was a blast. Now we had two shows, even better. We loaded up his Chevy Blazer with a bunch of tapes and a pony keg of Long Trail IPA, there wasn’t a need for much else. When we rolled into Fredericksburg late Thursday night we were greeted by plentiful smiles as the Vermont beer was nectar from the north. We spent the night and made the trek to Hampton the following morning.

Hampton was a scene, but nothing like what it became in later years. People everywhere, but it wasn’t chaotic. We stayed at the Days Inn on Coliseum Drive, but I remember a low key afternoon that made its way into the parking lots to wait for the show. When it finally came time for the show, we entered the venue early, scouting out our area on the rail of Section D. Every show I’ve seen at Hampton has been from this spot. It just feels like home.

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With the release of "Hampton/Winston-Salem '97" coming up on Dec 7th, the fine folks at Phish, Inc. have passed on three copies of the 7-CD Box Set to give away here. Now with a prize as cool as this, not just any average Mystery Jam was going to suffice. In an effort to really test you guys and gals, we've got a very special 5-song Mystery Jam for you today. Taken from five different date/song combos we've packaged them all together in a Mystery Jam that should be a formidable opponent.

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Updated rules: 11/23/2011

To enter identify the (5) song/date combos (you must identify the song and date to be correct)

To enter, identify as many of the songs and dates as you can and EMAIL your guesses and phishnet user ID to [email protected]

Do not post your guesses in the thread, you must EMAIL your entry.

We'll be drawing one winner from ALL SUBMISSIONS and giving away the other two to the users who get the most correct on the song/date combos. In the case of a tie, we will randmoly draw from the highest totals

This is clearly a tough assignment (let it be a lesson to you kids who solve the Monday Mystery Jams with such ease) but more importantly we want to make sure you guys have a great chance to win an amazing prize! So please don't be shy to enter, even if you know you are wrong. If you want to update your guesses based on hints, that's fine just make sure you identify who you are and only one final entry per person.

Deadline for entries is Thursday, December 1st

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Sound tough? Sound easy? Sound confusing? We're here for any questions, but don't expect any hints! Good luck!

Hint #1: All of the songs are a part of 1.0 (as the kids call it)

Hint #2: The songs are not in a chronological order by date, they're all mixed up

Less than two weeks remain to win a Phish NYE ticket in Section 105 from our supporting partner GlowStickWars.com. According to the contest rules and details on GSW's Facebook page here, there are four ways to enter the contest sweepstakes drawing which takes place on December 3rd:

You can buy four or more 100 stick tubes of Showsticks(tm), and get one entry per tube purchased. GSW is also offering a 10% promotional discount for the NYE orders, as well as some free extras shipping with every mail order: an LED Wand, Beach Ball, pair of Glow Glasses (frames only), two Glow Ball Connectors and a vinyl GSW Sticker. Use promotion code "PHISHNYE" in the online order form for the discount and special premiums.

You can also enter the contest drawing without a purchase, by "liking" their Facebook page, tweeting or making a video submission. See the GSW Facebook page for full details. The contest ends on November 30th.

GlowStickWars.com sells only the "thin" glowsticks (glowrings), and each tube of 100 sticks includes free ring connectors. A portion of each tube sale benefits the Mockingbird Foundation's charitable programs of music education for kids and the operation of Phish.net. GSW has generously contributed over $5,000 to the Mockingbird Foundation this year alone from Showstick(tm) sales.

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We received a wonderful email from a student teacher named Jennah Mazour about her use of the song "Contact" with her students and, with her permission, now share it with you:

My name is Jennah Mazour and I am a student teacher from the University of Northern Iowa. I teach Elementary ESL (English as a Second Language) and Middle School Spanish in the District of Columbia Public School System. I am an active Phish fan, but beyond that, I am a passionate supporter of The Mockingbird Foundation's cause, and of the integration of Arts and Music into mainstream curricula. Although my field of language teaching is not mainstream, I believe that music is a language all its own. When a common tongue is not shared between people, music can be that meaningful, communicative medium in which to convey, teach and elicit authentic language. I just wanted to share how I put my philosophy into classroom practice.

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Welcome to the 76th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Uhhh... guess we didn't need a hint.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to jerrytimber for calling the 11/13/96 "Suzy." See you all on Monday...

The master of the Spreadsheet, Kevin Hoy (@Hoydog23 on both Twitter and Phishnet), has alerted us that because Mediafire upgraded their site yesterday, the links to most (over 80%) of the folders hosting the audio files are currently broken. The audio files themselves are fine, it is simply the links to many of them that are currently broken.

It is unclear at this time if the links will need to be manually fixed, or if this problem can be reversed or repaired in an automated way. Kevin will keep people apprised of the situation via his Twitter account, and an update also will be posted here when more is known.

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Welcome to the 75th installment of Mystery Jam Monday here at Phish.net. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Again, no hint needed this week...

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to Phurk for correctly ID'ing a tough Mystery Jam: the 8/17/93 "YEM." The Blog will be back on Monday with another Mystery Jam for your listening pleasure.

I pull Trey to the dark side, he pulls me to the light side, and Stewart says, 'Hey, you guys, work it out.'