Fish - Park West Chicago 1997 Video Bootleg

[devoidzer0]

Does anyone know if the complete Fish concert at Park West in Chicago on August 15th, 1997 (Sunsets on Empire tour) exists? If so, has ever been seeded in DVD format on the live BitTorrent sites (i.e. Dimeadozen, The Trader's Den)? I came across these three videos from the show on YouTube, but I haven't been able to find the complete show (I've collected audio/video boots from these torrent sites for years, but have never seen it).

I am very interested in obtaining a copy. If anyone has this complete show on DVD I would be willing to trade for it for blanks and postage or favors. Or if you could seed it on Dimeadozen, that would be even better.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fish/1...-1bdf0554.html

[SteveSly]

I saw this tour in Grand Rapids Michigan, and have very vivid memories of it. We were standing outside the club waiting for the doors to open when we see a small crowd of people coming down the road and crossing the street. In the middle of of this group of about a dozen or so folks, was Fish. He had been down the block having a beer with a bunch of his fans before the show, and just walked down the street to the club. When the show started, the opening of the 6 foot whatever Fish walking in through the back of the club through the crowd with his Flashlight staring people down was incredible. As in the video above, everyone was looking towards the stage and all of a sudden he was there in the middle of the floor. Very effective, and “Johnny Punter” is about as good an opening track as you could ask for. The whole show was fantastic and Fish at his peak as a solo artist as far as I am concerned. Mastermind opened and also kicked ass. Ahh…….those were the days……….

Thanks for posting the clips, I enjoyed them.

[Man In The Mountain]

I have it. Only the first half of the show apparently was filmed, about 42 minutes worth. I have a 1st generation VHS transfer from the guy who filmed it, probably a bit deteriorated by now, but decent. There's some other stuff on the VHS too, like a rare unedited local interview with Ian Anderson & Andrew Giddings in 2000, and John Novello & Billy Sheehan. I traded it for something a long time ago, just before the "upload it to the net, it belongs to the world, you evil hoarder" crowd came and killed all our hard work. Dimeadozen, The Trader's Den? Never been there.

[devoidzer0]

I have it. Only the first half of the show apparently was filmed, about 42 minutes worth. I have a 1st generation VHS transfer from the guy who filmed it, probably a bit deteriorated by now, but decent. There's some other stuff on the VHS too, like a rare unedited local interview with Ian Anderson & Andrew Giddings in 2000, and John Novello & Billy Sheehan. I traded it for something a long time ago, just before the "upload it to the net, it belongs to the world, you evil hoarder" crowd came and killed all our hard work. Dimeadozen, The Trader's Den? Never been there.

Forgive me, but how is sharing a show on a torrent site killing your hard work? If anything, it's doing just the opposite by spreading it to far more people than is possible with snail mail trading. Isn't the point of taping and trading to share the shows with others? You were a trader, so you know what it's like to desire a show. I don't see how technology that makes the process of propagation more quick and efficient is a bad thing.

[devoidzer0]

I saw this tour in Grand Rapids Michigan, and have very vivid memories of it. We were standing outside the club waiting for the doors to open when we see a small crowd of people coming down the road and crossing the street. In the middle of of this group of about a dozen or so folks, was Fish. He had been down the block having a beer with a bunch of his fans before the show, and just walked down the street to the club. When the show started, the opening of the 6 foot whatever Fish walking in through the back of the club through the crowd with his Flashlight staring people down was incredible. As in the video above, everyone was looking towards the stage and all of a sudden he was there in the middle of the floor. Very effective, and “Johnny Punter” is about as good an opening track as you could ask for. The whole show was fantastic and Fish at his peak as a solo artist as far as I am concerned. Mastermind opened and also kicked ass. Ahh…….those were the days……….

Thanks for posting the clips, I enjoyed them.

I agree, Sunsets is probably my favorite of his solo albums, and the tour was amazing. I caught the Providence show. Fish was such an intense presence, the way he stared down the crowd (as you said) and owned the stage. But at other times he seemed very approachable. His banter between songs was so funny, you would think the man was a professional stand up comedian. I remember Mickey Simmonds being quite a jovial character, slapping fans' hands and taking a drinks tray from a passing waitress.

His band was phenomenal, Simmonds is a fantastic player. Steve Vantsis and Dave Stewart are such a solid and underrated rhythm section and they injected a great youthful energy into the band. J.J. Belle (RIP) was a great guitarist that used his own unique style on Fish's tunes. He didn't last long on the tour, and was later replaced by Robin Boult. I actually would've loved to have seen Robin, as I think he is the best guitarist Fish has played with (aside from Mr. Rothery of course).

After the show I remember someone saying that the stage lightning was such that the band members couldn't see the crowd and felt like they were playing to a sea of blackness. It certainly didn't show, because I felt a great connection to what was happening on stage. Great memories of a great night.

[SteveSly]

After the show I remember someone saying that the stage lightning was such that the band members couldn't see the crowd and felt like they were playing to a sea of blackness. It certainly didn't show, because I felt a great connection to what was happening on stage. Great memories of a great night.

The Grand Rapids show was at a club called The Intersection. Today The Intersection is in a new building and has become a great club to see concerts at, but back then it was a long narrow room (I have been told it was once a small bowling alley) with small stage on one end. The ceiling on the stage was so short that Fish hit his head on the minimal lighting rig a several times. He was literally taller than some of the lights that were hanging down the front of the stage. The P.A. was also old and outdated and not really adequate for the show. I remember Fish making some comments about how crappy it all was. Even with all this working against him, he still put on one hell of a performance and as you mention it was probably one of the best bands he has ever toured with. Marillion / Fish had a special relationship with the city of Grand Rapids for many years, but unfortunately this was right around the tail end of that period. Neither has played the city since.

[JKL2000]

I was at the Philly and NYC shows. Don't think anyone has mentioned that this was Fish's FIRST solo US TOUR. For those of us who had been in his various fan clubs for years, the anticipation of seeing him walk out on a stage was almost tangible.

[Man In The Mountain]

Forgive me, but how is sharing a show on a torrent site killing your hard work? If anything, it's doing just the opposite by spreading it to far more people than is possible with snail mail trading. Isn't the point of taping and trading to share the shows with others? You were a trader, so you know what it's like to desire a show. I don't see how technology that makes the process of propagation more quick and efficient is a bad thing.

Eh. No sense arguing with BitTorrent users. I'm just a guy with a VHS tape.