Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

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StevieRay
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Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by StevieRay »

It was the spring of 1990. Our hero is poised for action in the basement level of a Colorado University student building: cash in hand, but no ticket. Sold out? Yes. A band hailing from Vermont (his native New England), is playing a tiny tap-room at the school student center. His better prepared friends are already inside. Is this under-age college student on a Wed. night content to wait outside for his friends to get done rocking? No. Tricky for him though: the place is a small spot – basement room, no windows, etc. Deliberately, he then walks down an adjacent corridor, acting purposeful, expecting to find a locked door or someone who might tell him to get lost. Instead, he turns the corner and realizes this is the service entrance behind the venue’s only bar. In he goes waltzing right toward this back doorway. Suddenly, in his left-side peripheral vision, a small closet-sized room appears. There are four guys sitting in the room – one fleeting impression is of a red-headed, red bearded man seated and holding a guitar… laughing about something. Our hero does not stop to gawk, though. He continues in, walking around from behind the bar... He reaches his friends (who had given up thinking they’d see him until much later in the evening - no doubt rubbing his nose in what he missed out on).

I’ll start by saying – look elsewhere for hyperbole about how great the band is or isn’t. If you clicked through to read further, this piece is about Phish as I remember them 19/20 years ago (before they signed with a record label). At that time they were already producing their own original recordings themselves: four music students from Vermont. Since 1990 they’ve sold enough concert tickets to arouse the ancient envy of Croesus himself; but, back then they were a fearless group of kids who cared about little else than rocking as hard as they knew how. I can count myself lucky to say I was there when these guys were playing collegiate bars and offering free concerts in northern New England.

I checked Youtube for some live performances from the ’89-’90-’91 time that is the focus of my energy here. I guess I must still possess cassettes taped from the era with sketchy audio... Why did I care about those occasionally terrible audience recordings again? They had two self-produced albums that could be purchased on cassette or CD at their live shows: ‘88’s “Junta” and ‘89’s “Lawnboy.” Fans like me rabidly traded their live and studio tapes. These were two of my earliest compact discs. I was a freshman at Denver University in the spring of 1990. I didn’t yet know that one year later I’d be seeing Phish at The Boulder Theater on my 21st birthday.

ImageImage

Here's the setlist from my first Phish show(courtesy of phish.net):
Wednesday, 04/04/1990 Quigley's, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Set 1: Golgi Apparatus, You Enjoy Myself, Walk Away, Take the 'A' Train, Possum, Foam, The Divided Sky, Carolina
Set 2: Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Esther, Uncle Pen, The Sloth, The Lizards, I Didn't Know, Good Times Bad Times
Encore: Contact, Highway to Hell

For reference: here's a contemporary example of that Bill Monroe cover:


Basically, I couldn’t believe my ears that night in Boulder. What I remember is four guys onstage afraid of nothing. Fearless. Frank Zappa one minute, Duke Ellington the next. They covered Hendrix’s ‘Bold as Love’ the second time I saw them – a small bar on Broadway in Denver called Herman’s Hideaway… that album was in heavy rotation for me in those years – and, I was sold. I also recall the ongoing visual comic relief that was their stage antics. The drummer Jonathon Fishman wears a polka dot house dress and comes out from behind his kit to play vacuum cleaner. They have small trampolines that they use for synchronized jumping up and down during songs… and meanwhile carrying through with the most intense instrumentation… Mike Gordon flawlessly emulates the style of Phil Lesh who is a classically trained bassist; yet, he can lock in and sing ZZ Top's “La Grange” with equal conviction. Trey Anastasio too owes his quick handed-ness to classical training, but with a penchant for Django Reinhardt. Jon Fishman is equally at home singing Syd Barrett, or the classic song from The Wizard of Oz: "If I Only Had A Brain." Page McConnell understands Gershwin; but can just as easily sing "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" in key like Ronnie Van Zandt. The original music they created in their early years was a function of them having grown up studying the disciplines of Jazz, or Bluegrass, and meanwhile playing live, covering Grateful Dead. They put together ambitious original compositions with prog-rock complexities. Occasionally the lyrics were intricate, other times spare and abstract. One additional thing that made these guys so unique (as if they needed another) was their stunning ability to drop their instruments and sing A-Capella.

Setlist from my second show:
Wednesday, 04/18/1990 Herman's Hideaway, Denver, CO
Set 1: Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Uncle Pen, The Curtain > Foam, You Enjoy Myself, My Sweet One, Take the 'A' Train > Possum
Set 2: La Grange, Fee, The Sloth, Funky Bitch, Reba > Walk Away, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Bold As Love, Lawn Boy, David Bowie -> Jägermeister Song -> David Bowie
Notes: This show featured the debut of Jägermeister Song. The beginning of Bowie included a return to the Lawn Boy melody, a tribute to Chris Kuroda and his abilities at the light board, and a tribute to Jägermeister.

a contemporary performance (including trampoline routine) of the James Gang cover "Walkaway":



A noteworthy item from Wikipedia: Phish played the Paradise Rock Club in Boston (Jan.'89). The owners of the club had never heard of Phish and refused to book them, so the band rented the club for the night. The show sold out due to the caravan of fans that had traveled to see the band.

I went to see them on New Years in Boston, but, they had already outgrown The Paradise:
Monday, 12/31/1990 Boston World Trade Center Exhibition Hall, Boston, MA
Set 1: Suzy Greenberg, The Divided Sky, I Didn't Know, The Landlady, Bouncing Around the Room, My Sweet One, Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove -> Auld Lang Syne, Buried Alive > Possum
Set 2: Golgi Apparatus, Stash, The Squirming Coil, Runaway Jim, Magilla, You Enjoy Myself, Rocky Top, Hold Your Head Up > If I Only Had a Brain > Hold Your Head Up > Run Like an Antelope



Here's the setlist from a free show in Maine during the summer of '91. I had my camera with me for that one. Also, I've attached below some pictures I took that day(some while standing on hay bales beside the stage):
Saturday, 08/03/1991 Larrabee Farm, a.k.a. Amy’s Farm, Auburn, ME
Soundcheck: Poor Heart, Crimes of the Mind (with the Dude of Life), Bitchin’ Again (with the Dude and Sofi Dillof)
Set 1: Wilson, Foam, Runaway Jim, Guelah Papyrus, Llama, Fee, The Squirming Coil, Poor Heart, The Sloth, The Divided Sky, Golgi Apparatus
Set 2: The Curtain, Reba, Chalk Dust Torture, Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer, Esther, Cavern, I Didn't Know, You Enjoy Myself, Rocky Top
Set 3: Stash, Ya Mar, Fluffhead, Lawn Boy, My Sweet One, The Lizards, Buried Alive > Possum
Encore: Magilla, Self, Bitchin' Again, Crimes of the Mind
Encore 2: Harry Hood

Some pics I took at Amy's Farm
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that's Amy to Paige's left
Image

Some more contemporary Youtube clips:





Thanks for reading/listening.

-StevieRay

Here's another memorable setlist, by way of post-script, from Holloween. My imagination dressing up as a pirate was sorely lacking (comparatively).
Thursday, 10/31/1991 Armstrong Hall, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Soundcheck:
Set 1: Memories, Brother, Ya Mar, The Sloth > Chalk Dust Torture, Sparkle, Foam, Bathtub Gin, Paul and Silas, You Enjoy Myself, Runaway Jim
Set 2: The Landlady, Costume Contest, Wait > Llama, Fee -> Wait -> My Sweet One > Wait -> David Bowie, Horn, Dinner and a Movie, Tube > I Didn't Know, Harry Hood
Encore: Glide, Rocky Top
Notes: During the costume contest, there was a brief full-band tease of Jesus Just Left Chicago, inspired by a fan in a Jesus costume (with a cross on his back!). The first round of the contest closed with a rendition of Can't Turn You Loose. After each unsuccessful entrant was eliminated, Trey forced them to stage-dive. HYHU was also played briefly during the contest. First prize - free admission to all Phish shows for one year - was shared by The Bergen County Woman Cop and Captain Bong Hit.

another random tidbit from Wikipedia:
As his senior project, Anastasio penned The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday, a nine-song concept album that would become their second studio experiment. {The first had been their legendary "White Tape."} Recorded between 1987 and 1988, it was submitted in July of that year, accompanied by a written thesis. Elements of the story — known as Gamehendge — grew to include an additional eight songs. Beginning in the spring of 1988, the band began practicing in earnest, sometimes locking themselves in a room and jamming for hours on end. Dubbed "Okipa Ceremonies" (also spelled Oh Kee Pa), one such jam took place at Anastasio's apartment, and a second was at Paul Languedoc's house in August 1989. The band attributes the sessions to Anastasio, who discovered the concept in the films "A Man Called Horse" and "Modern Primitives."
Last edited by StevieRay on Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:54 pm, edited 9 times in total.

Flood18
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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Flood18 »

Always been a pretty big fan of Phish, thanks for the read. I feel like a lot of people always write these guys off as drugged out hippies, but they are in fact very interesting and talented guys.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by BigTom »

Phish is one of those bands that I almost never listen to but I love seeing them live. I have seen them close to 50 times since 1990 but still don't consider them one of may favorite bands.

First show

Wednesday, 05/23/1990 The Library, Richmond, VA
Set 1: The Divided Sky, Ya Mar, You Enjoy Myself, If I Only Had a Brain, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg[1], Uncle Pen, Bouncing Around the Room, Possum, Sweet Adeline

Set 2: The Squirming Coil, Reba, Tweezer, The Lizards, La Grange, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Take the 'A' Train, Run Like an Antelope[2], Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove


[1] Stairway to Heaven tease from Trey.
[2] 'A' Train tease from Trey.


Notes: Trey teased Little Drummer Boy before Divided Sky, teased Stairway to Heaven in Suzy, and teased 'A' Train in Antelope.


Last show

Saturday, 12/05/2009 John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA
Set 1: AC/DC Bag > Chalk Dust Torture, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, The Divided Sky, Ya Mar[1], Sneakin' Sally through the Alley[2], The Old Home Place > Cavern > Funky Bitch, David Bowie, The Wedge, Bold As Love

Set 2: Tweezer -> Light > Piper -> Free, Sweet Virginia, Harry Hood > Suzy Greenberg > Golgi Apparatus, Run Like an Antelope[1]

Encore: Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise


[1] Alternate lyrics referencing a naked stage crasher.
[2] Vocal jam.


Notes: At the start of Ya Mar, a naked guy jumped onstage and ran around for a bit before being rounded up by security, prompting Trey to observe that "Naked Guy's" antics "took a lot of balls." During Ya Mar, Mike changed the lyrics to "he was a naked pa." Sneakin' Sally contained a vocal jam. Trey sang the verses to Light out of order. The sound for Mike's bass dropped out during Golgi leading Trey to label it the "trio version." During the ensuing Antelope, Mike took a bass solo to make up for the bass everyone missed in Golgi. Antelope also contained several lyric changes referencing the naked stage crasher.
Tumble down shack in Bigfoot County

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Penny Lane
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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Penny Lane »

Thsi is great, Stevie. I'm a big fan of Phish.

Even though I never got the Phish followers mentality, I always appreciated them, and even liked Trey's solo stuff (which apparently is taboo for REAL Phish fans).

I'm gonna read this again at home when I can check out the links. Wow, you knew them WAY back in the day. Great pics!
In my blood, there's gasoline..

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by The Black Canary »

Great job !!!! Well done, I can see that you really dig the band from way back in the day. You have inspired me to check out more of them. :D :D :D

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Iowan »

I should have posted this in the Musical Blasphemy thread, but I honestly prefer studio Phish to live Phish.

Trey writes some incredibly beautiful songs. I could put together a 15-20 song Phish setlist that would blow my mind, but it seems like every Phish show I've ever listened to goes as such: 2 songs I know; 4 album songs that aren't all that great, but are extended with 20 minute jams; 5 songs that aren't on any album; 2 covers. Running time = 3 hrs for 13 songs.

It's a damn shame in my eyes that these phenomenal songs are so frequently buried in meandering jams. Don't get me wrong, I love a good jam, but a lot of the live Phish that I've heard is just too noodly.

Phish's Halloween shows are probably some of the coolest shit being done in music today, though. Fucking LOVE the concept.

End result: I enjoy Phish, but they'll probably never quite crack my Top 20 bands of all time.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Given to Fly »

This band rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I can take them in small doses. Not sure what gets under my skin quicker, Trey's guitar tone or Mike Gordon.

I do own 4 or 5 albums. I enjoy most of Lawn Boy & I'll reach for Billy Breathes first if I have a craving for some Phish.

Page McConnell is phenomenal and I think he is the reason that my Phish cds have not been sold to the local used book/cd store.

Talented musicians, but a little too much noodlin for me at points.

Stevie Ray- Very cool that you saw them before they were signed- what is your take of the modern day Phish?

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by StevieRay »

GTF - very good question indeed... I had hoped someone would get that angle started on this thread. I find, in fact, that I don't pay much attention to Phish these days. I almost never listen to them. Witness earlier post(s) of mine on P.3 of the overrated/underrated thread: http://www.threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=206

"Sub-question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?"

The question is - did Phish change, or did I, or both? Phish obviously still can get it done. Look at the show Big Tom saw last year (above) - that looks like a great time on paper... does it not? Yet, I almost fell asleep on the lawn at Alpine last summer...

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by mhc »

I loved Phish. I saw them and Widespread Panic within a week of each other.
My first show
Monday, 10/10/1994 Palace Theatre, Louisville, KY
Set 1: Sample in a Jar, The Divided Sky, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Sparkle, Stash, Guyute, The Old Home Place[1], Ginseng Sullivan[1], Nellie Kane[1], Chalk Dust Torture

Set 2: Golgi Apparatus, Maze, Esther > Tweezer, Fee -> Rift, Down with Disease > Hold Your Head Up > Love You > Hold Your Head Up, Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: Foreplay/Long Time[1], Tweezer Reprise
Monday, 06/19/1995 Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN
Set 1: Theme From the Bottom, Poor Heart, AC/DC Bag, Tela, Punch You In the Eye, Reba, Strange Design, Rift, Cavern, Run Like an Antelope

Set 2: Simple -> David Bowie[1], The Mango Song, Loving Cup, Sparkle, You Enjoy Myself, Acoustic Army, Possum

Encore: A Day in the Life
Sunday, 10/29/1995 Louisville Gardens, Louisville, KY
Set 1: Buried Alive > Poor Heart > Julius, Punch You In the Eye, Cars Trucks Buses, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Split Open and Melt, NICU, Gumbo, Slave to the Traffic Light, Sweet Adeline

Set 2: Makisupa Policeman -> David Bowie, The Mango Song, It's Ice -> Kung -> It's Ice > Shaggy Dog -> Possum[1], Lifeboy, Amazing Grace

Encore: Funky Bitch
Friday, 04/26/1996 Main Stage, New Orleans Fairgrounds, New Orleans, LA
Soundcheck: Funky Bitch, Poor Heart, Blues Jam, Wolfman’s Brother

Set 1: Ya Mar[1], AC/DC Bag, Sparkle, Stash, Cars Trucks Buses[2], You Enjoy Myself -> Wolfman's Brother[3], Scent of a Mule, Also Sprach Zarathustra > Harry Hood, Sample in a Jar, A Day in the Life, David Bowie[4]

Encore: Hello My Baby, Cavern
Thursday, 11/07/1996 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Weigh > Rift > Guelah Papyrus, Stash, Waste, Guyute, Free > Tela, Character Zero[1]

Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Bathtub Gin -> Hold Your Head Up > Bike > Hold Your Head Up, You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Frankenstein
Sunday, 12/07/1997 Ervin J. Nutter Center, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Set 1: AC/DC Bag -> Psycho Killer[1] -> Jesus Just Left Chicago[2], My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own, It's Ice -> Swept Away > Steep > It's Ice, Theme From the Bottom, Tube, Tube Jam -> Slave to the Traffic Light

Set 2: Timber (Jerry), Wolfman's Brother -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Reba, Guyute[3] > Possum[4]

Encore: A Day in the Life
Friday, 07/31/1998 Polaris Amphitheater, Lewis Center, OH
Set 1: My Friend, My Friend[1] > Ya Mar, Roggae, Rift, Cities[2], Water in the Sky, Stash

Set 2: The Curtain > Free > If I Could > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > Twist -> Izabella, Julius > Cavern

Encore: Punch You In the Eye > Slave to the Traffic Light
Saturday, 11/14/1998 The Crown, Cincinnati, OH
Set 1: Funky Bitch, My Soul, Reba, Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer > The Moma Dance, Sparkle, Character Zero

Set 2: David Bowie, Something, Piper, Golgi Apparatus, Guyute, Hold Your Head Up > Sexual Healing > Hold Your Head Up, You Enjoy Myself, Julius, Hello My Baby

Encore: So Lonely[1] > Tweezer Reprise

Friday, 07/23/1999 Polaris Amphitheater, Lewis Center, OH
Set 1: Ya Mar, NICU, Back at the Chicken Shack > Punch You In the Eye[1], Fast Enough for You, Back on the Train, David Bowie, Strange Design, Possum

Set 2: Ghost -> Free > Birds of a Feather > Meatstick, Fire

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Rocky Top
Saturday, 12/04/1999 Firstar Center, Cincinnati, OH
Set 1: Heavy Things, Simple > Ya Mar, Guyute, Tweezer > Dirt, Loving Cup

Set 2: Down with Disease > Split Open and Melt, The Moma Dance > Farmhouse, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, When the Circus Comes, David Bowie

Encore: Julius > Tweezer Reprise

Friday, 07/14/2000 Polaris Amphitheater, Lewis Center, OH
Set 1: Sample in a Jar

Set 2: Punch You In the Eye > Timber (Jerry), Gotta Jibboo > Boogie On Reggae Woman, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Foam, Dog Faced Boy, Farmhouse, Taste, Golgi Apparatus

Set 3: Mike's Song > Frankie Says > David Bowie, Waste, Sand, The Lizards, Weekapaug Groove

Encore: The Inlaw Josie Wales, Driver, Guyute
Saturday, 07/15/2000 Polaris Amphitheater, Lewis Center, OH
Set 1: AC/DC Bag, First Tube, Limb By Limb, NICU, Dirt, Roses Are Free, Wolfman's Brother > My Soul, Julius

Set 2: Down with Disease -> While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Makisupa Policeman[1], Piper > The Mango Song[2], Bug, You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Loving Cup
Saturday, 02/22/2003 U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH
Set 1: The Sloth, Dogs Stole Things, Piper -> Weekapaug Groove, Dirt, Scent of a Mule, Walls of the Cave, Mountains in the Mist, Sample in a Jar

Set 2: Tube > Bathtub Gin[1], Friday -> David Bowie, Bug

Encore: Suzy Greenberg
MY LAST SHOW!!!
They were so great
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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Flood18 »

Only seem them twice:

Both Shows at Bonnaroo 09

And then Charlotte a few weeks ago where we got Fuck Your Face!

I think a lot of the draw of Phish is that they are just plain fun...sorta like a Jimmy Buffet for hippies.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Jeremy »

I was 18 and had just gone to college at Elon in NC. Have never heard of these guys at all, in my little country town you didnt hear a lot about a lot of non mainstream non MTV bands. My roommate was a big fan, had an extra ticket and the rest is as they say, history. 2 months after getting to school i was headed to see Phish at the Charlotte Coliseum in 1996. I got a nice bag of nuggets in the parking lot, to that time had only smoked swag, and an 1/8 of mushrooms. I proceeded to eat half the bag of shrooms and smoke the whole bag of pot, got lifted to a level I never even knew about. I was with 3 experienced phish heads and so called experienced mushroom eaters, after 2 songs they all lost there shit and left the show. I started to freak a little, but Wolfmans Brother and Reba helped me out and I had the best time of my life, not too mention the 3 seats form my friends and mine that gave me plenty of room to get down. I was hooked after that and listened to them a ton. Introduced me to a whole new music scene. They arent everybodys cup of tea, but they are 4 very talented dudes. Last show I saw was last summer in Knoxville, and it was fun. Was trying to get tix to the asheville show, and found a guy trying to get rid of a few knoxville tix. We did a nice trade, I adjusted his back a few times and he gave me his 2 tickets to the knoxville show. Brought back some great memories. I had some great times and met some really cool people on my phish trips throughout college.

First Show:
10/26/96 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
Set I: Julius, Cars Trucks Buses, Wolfman's Brother, Reba, Train Song, Character Zero, It's Ice, Theme from the Bottom, Sample in a Jar
Set II: Down With Disease, You Enjoy Myself, Sparkle, Simple> McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Waste, Run Like An Antelope
Encore: Fire



Last Show:
06/10/09 Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN
Set I: Runaway Jim, Punch You in the Eye, Ocelot, Foam, Train Song, Undermind, Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove, The Squirming Coil, Character Zero
Set II: Back On The Train, Waves> A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing> David Bowie, Army of One, Reba, Hello My Baby1, Julius, Cavern, Harry Hood
Encore: Frankenstein

The worst thing about Phish was the neohippies that brought the hard drugs to the scene. The parking lot scene turned me off of them in the late 90's. Then the frat boys started showing up. The whole scene became as bad as a DMB show. Thats when i kind of scaled back the number of shows I was going to. 1996-1998 I hit about 25 shows. Since then I have seen about 5.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Cubfan06 »

Phish- 13 Night Run at Madison Square Garden titled The Baker's Dozen

http://phish.com/news/announcing-the-ba ... re-garden/


Putting in the lottery for 7/28 and 7/29

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Cubfan06 wrote:Phish- 13 Night Run at Madison Square Garden titled The Baker's Dozen

http://phish.com/news/announcing-the-ba ... re-garden/


Putting in the lottery for 7/28 and 7/29
Wow! This is actually 16 or so-years too late for me since my salivating for Phish shows died a whole before their first hiatus. Still, this is exciting and echoes the ABB's Beacon runs and the Dead's Boston Garden/MSG runs. I will be interested to see how this goes.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Hey Cubfan: as to your Assembly Hall Wolfman's, I am in total agreement. Hard pressed to find any bad versions of that tune in 97. Saw them in V.B., Raleigh, Hotlanta, and the Great Went that summer as well as Philly, Penn State, and MSG New Years Run. Yeah, I saw them a lot that year.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Cubfan06 »

211poundsofpork wrote:Hey Cubfan: as to your Assembly Hall Wolfman's, I am in total agreement. Hard pressed to find any bad versions of that tune in 97. Saw them in V.B., Raleigh, Hotlanta, and the Great Went that summer as well as Philly, Penn State, and MSG New Years Run. Yeah, I saw them a lot that year.
I was still in high school in '96 and '97, so I was able to see both Alpine and Assembly in each of those years. As well as the John Popper sit in at the Kiehl Center in St Louis in '96. However, from '98 to 2000 I maxed out multiple credit cards in college traveling around the country in the summer and fall. I've caught them multiple nights every year from their return as 3.0 and they are playing really tight shows compared to the Phish 2.0 years.
You should try to catch them when you get the chance. I'll be traveling for work when they come through Chicago this year, however I'll be catching them at MSG for 3 of their 13 shows on the Baker's Dozen residency. I believe that you are in Pennsylvania if I recall correctly. They play in Pittsburgh and Dayton in between 3 nights in Chicago and 13 nights in NYC.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Iowan »

Iowan wrote:I should have posted this in the Musical Blasphemy thread, but I honestly prefer studio Phish to live Phish.

Trey writes some incredibly beautiful songs. I could put together a 15-20 song Phish setlist that would blow my mind, but it seems like every Phish show I've ever listened to goes as such: 2 songs I know; 4 album songs that aren't all that great, but are extended with 20 minute jams; 5 songs that aren't on any album; 2 covers. Running time = 3 hrs for 13 songs.

It's a damn shame in my eyes that these phenomenal songs are so frequently buried in meandering jams. Don't get me wrong, I love a good jam, but a lot of the live Phish that I've heard is just too noodly.

Phish's Halloween shows are probably some of the coolest shit being done in music today, though. Fucking LOVE the concept.

End result: I enjoy Phish, but they'll probably never quite crack my Top 20 bands of all time.
My opinion remains relatively unchanged, although I've come by some more high quality live Phish recordings and get their shows more than I did when I wrote this.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Cubfan06 wrote:
211poundsofpork wrote:Hey Cubfan: as to your Assembly Hall Wolfman's, I am in total agreement. Hard pressed to find any bad versions of that tune in 97. Saw them in V.B., Raleigh, Hotlanta, and the Great Went that summer as well as Philly, Penn State, and MSG New Years Run. Yeah, I saw them a lot that year.
I was still in high school in '96 and '97, so I was able to see both Alpine and Assembly in each of those years. As well as the John Popper sit in at the Kiehl Center in St Louis in '96. However, from '98 to 2000 I maxed out multiple credit cards in college traveling around the country in the summer and fall. I've caught them multiple nights every year from their return as 3.0 and they are playing really tight shows compared to the Phish 2.0 years.
You should try to catch them when you get the chance. I'll be traveling for work when they come through Chicago this year, however I'll be catching them at MSG for 3 of their 13 shows on the Baker's Dozen residency. I believe that you are in Pennsylvania if I recall correctly. They play in Pittsburgh and Dayton in between 3 nights in Chicago and 13 nights in NYC.

Pennsylvania indeed - not far from Nutfat and that mollusk we know as Clams. I unofficially retired from seeing Phish after I last saw them at the IT festival in summer '03. I have several live shows of what they have done since then as well as studio albums in that same time period. At this point though, it would take a lot to get me to see them again. If they ever play like they did in '97 and '98 again, maybe that will change...

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Cubfan06 »

If y'all aren't whispering sweet nothings in John Moreland's ear while giving him a sponge bath, there is a free webcast of tonight's Dayton show at about 7:30 pm ET.

I was on the floor at Northerly Island on Sunday and they played with more intensity than I have seen from them in a decade.


http://phish.com/news/free-dayton-oh-webcast-tuesday/

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by TW_2.0 »

Cubfan06 wrote:If y'all aren't whispering sweet nothings in John Moreland's ear while giving him a sponge bath, there is a free webcast of tonight's Dayton show at about 7:30 pm ET.

I was on the floor at Northerly Island on Sunday and they played with more intensity than I have seen from them in a decade.


http://phish.com/news/free-dayton-oh-webcast-tuesday/
That Simple from Saturday was pretty tasty.
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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by Cubfan06 »

TW_2.0 wrote:
Cubfan06 wrote:If y'all aren't whispering sweet nothings in John Moreland's ear while giving him a sponge bath, there is a free webcast of tonight's Dayton show at about 7:30 pm ET.

I was on the floor at Northerly Island on Sunday and they played with more intensity than I have seen from them in a decade.


http://phish.com/news/free-dayton-oh-webcast-tuesday/
That Simple from Saturday was pretty tasty.
Hell yeah it was! The official setlist didn't note it, however it sounded like they were teasing the idea of going into a Timber Ho mid jam and aborted it for something a little more ambient.
If you haven't heard it yet, you should check out the 21 minute Carini to start of the second set on Sunday. It was either on par or close to the Simple the night before.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Once a Dead or Phish setlist geek, always a setlist geek:
I am just wondering what will be the first repeat during the MSG run (nothing wrong with that -I am just interested). As far as newer, my money is on No Man in No Man's Land and Blaze On; older: DWD, Twist, and Light.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

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211poundsofpork wrote:Once a Dead or Phish setlist geek, always a setlist geek:
I am just wondering what will be the first repeat during the MSG run (nothing wrong with that -I am just interested). As far as newer, my money is on No Man in No Man's Land and Blaze On; older: DWD, Twist, and Light.
Those are good guesses. Fuego has become a nice jam vehicle that they like to go to, so if I had to pick one that would be it. It can get dark and heavy and span out from 15-30 minutes. They will definitely have to repeat stuff for the previous five "warm-up shows" at the 13 Baker's Dozen shows, but there is obviously some speculation that they may try to go no repeats from the beginning of that run to the end. The feasibility of that? I'm not sure. It would certainly help if they played fewer and longer jammed songs out of the gates, instead of the 8-10 first set tunes which has been a regularity in Phish 3.0.

Some other interesting nuggets about songs that have been away. It has been 19 shows since Sample in a Jar has been played. It has been something like 34 shows since Reba has been played. And PYITE hasn't been played in like 32 shows. I have a strong suspicion that MSG will get a strong 20 + minute Reba first weekend.

Here is an article from Relix about the Absolute Zero Phish Theory for the Baker's Dozen run.

https://www.relix.com/blogs/detail/the_ ... _ever_seen

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by TW_2.0 »

Cubfan06 wrote:
211poundsofpork wrote:Once a Dead or Phish setlist geek, always a setlist geek:
I am just wondering what will be the first repeat during the MSG run (nothing wrong with that -I am just interested). As far as newer, my money is on No Man in No Man's Land and Blaze On; older: DWD, Twist, and Light.
Those are good guesses. Fuego has become a nice jam vehicle that they like to go to, so if I had to pick one that would be it. It can get dark and heavy and span out from 15-30 minutes. They will definitely have to repeat stuff for the previous five "warm-up shows" at the 13 Baker's Dozen shows, but there is obviously some speculation that they may try to go no repeats from the beginning of that run to the end. The feasibility of that? I'm not sure. It would certainly help if they played fewer and longer jammed songs out of the gates, instead of the 8-10 first set tunes which has been a regularity in Phish 3.0.

Some other interesting nuggets about songs that have been away. It has been 19 shows since Sample in a Jar has been played. It has been something like 34 shows since Reba has been played. And PYITE hasn't been played in like 32 shows. I have a strong suspicion that MSG will get a strong 20 + minute Reba first weekend.

Here is an article from Relix about the Absolute Zero Phish Theory for the Baker's Dozen run.

https://www.relix.com/blogs/detail/the_ ... _ever_seen
They got a PYITE in Pittsburgh last night.
I can't dance a lick but sometimes I can flat rock and roll

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Cubfan06 wrote:
211poundsofpork wrote:Once a Dead or Phish setlist geek, always a setlist geek:
I am just wondering what will be the first repeat during the MSG run (nothing wrong with that -I am just interested). As far as newer, my money is on No Man in No Man's Land and Blaze On; older: DWD, Twist, and Light.
Those are good guesses. Fuego has become a nice jam vehicle that they like to go to, so if I had to pick one that would be it. It can get dark and heavy and span out from 15-30 minutes. They will definitely have to repeat stuff for the previous five "warm-up shows" at the 13 Baker's Dozen shows, but there is obviously some speculation that they may try to go no repeats from the beginning of that run to the end. The feasibility of that? I'm not sure. It would certainly help if they played fewer and longer jammed songs out of the gates, instead of the 8-10 first set tunes which has been a regularity in Phish 3.0.

Some other interesting nuggets about songs that have been away. It has been 19 shows since Sample in a Jar has been played. It has been something like 34 shows since Reba has been played. And PYITE hasn't been played in like 32 shows. I have a strong suspicion that MSG will get a strong 20 + minute Reba first weekend.

Here is an article from Relix about the Absolute Zero Phish Theory for the Baker's Dozen run.

https://www.relix.com/blogs/detail/the_ ... _ever_seen
Well, all things reconsidered (pun intended)- I'd rather seem repeats judging by the needless amount of new tunes the past several years (quantity in this case IMO, does NOT equal quality. I see no problem with repeats when you play the tried and true as well as dusting off tunes that may have not been performed in a long while. YEM, Bowie, Free, Divided Sky, Theme, Reba, Coil, Twist, No Man's, Blaze On, Fluffhead are just a few examples of repeats I would not mind in the least. And as Cubfan stated - why not try the '97 routine of long-ass jammed out sets with only 3-5 tunes (worked for the most part in '97 didn't it?). Should be interesting...

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

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I thought the 3 shows from this weekend to kick off the Baker's Dozen were great.

I am slowly getting pulled back into the Phish world as a result. Never thought that would happen.

So far, no repeats. And the Suggie Otis cover on Saturday was cool.
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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

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TW_2.0 wrote:I thought the 3 shows from this weekend to kick off the Baker's Dozen were great.

I am slowly getting pulled back into the Phish world as a result. Never thought that would happen.

So far, no repeats. And the Suggie Otis cover on Saturday was cool.
Totally agreed. Strawberry Letter 23 kicked serious ass. I was floored when they opened up the run with Junior Senior's "Shake Your Coconut" on Friday night, since it was a very under the radar album which I owned. They are taking a lot risks and playing well within those risks. If you have watched any of the webcasts, Chris Kuroda's lighting has been superb as well. The theme of a different flavored doughnut handed out at the door each night and the musical theme associated is kind of a cool touch. I saw on Twitter this morning that they announced that Tuesday's doughnut is Jam Filled (Honey Rasperry filled), which is sparking up a lot of interest in speculation over what covers could be played. With the tone that Trey was playing with in Chicago, I swear that they teased Mountain Jam at least once there. Obviously Raspberry Beret seems like a possibility.
Most importantly outside of a couple of cover's each night pertaining to the nightly theme, the band has been totally on. Setting up in one place for 13 nights seems to really have the band being loose in the mind, but tight in playing. It seems that many songs that were once considered to be first or second set songs respectively have been showing up in atypical spots.

I can't wait to get to NYC for 3 this weekend! I hope that I get the Boston Creme night, not only because that is my favorite doughnut, but also because there are endless possibilities with that theme.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Boston Crème: Only one thought: Foreplay/Long Time- not even sure they have played that since '94. As for Strawberry Letter #23 - I was floored when I saw the setlist. Never heard of Shuggie until a few years ago and absolutely LOVE this tune!

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

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211poundsofpork wrote:Boston Crème: Only one thought: Foreplay/Long Time- not even sure they have played that since '94. As for Strawberry Letter #23 - I was floored when I saw the setlist. Never heard of Shuggie until a few years ago and absolutely LOVE this tune!
;) Was thinking the same. Once in '99, which was an electric version. All other performances were acoustic and took place in '94.

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by 211poundsofpork »

Anybody catch the setlist for last night?! Yikes! I think we had been discussing less songs/jammed out sets earlier, no? A total Phish WTF?! moment indeed. (Never thought I may be discussing versions of Sample in a Jar at any time, ever. :shock:

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Re: Artist of the Week: 8.2.2010 - Phish

Post by TW_2.0 »

30 minute Lawn Boy.

So awesome.
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