The day has come where things are fully getting back into motion. Trey has announced an eight show run, billed as the “Northern Exposure Tour,” covering ten nights in October. For the tour, Trey is getting back to playing smaller venues and remaining largely in the northeast. This format seems like a chance for Trey to get his tour legs back, with out pushing it and staying on the road for too long. It may be these type of runs we see from Phish when they comeback- eight nights here and eight nights there. Enough shows to satiate the masses, while few enough to remain sane, themselves. The days of 20+ show tours have most likely passed us. I’ll be the happiest one of all to admit I was wrong, but given the circumstances around their return- short and steady may be the way to win the race. The tortoise beat the hare, right?
Simply the announcement of dates has breathed life into the entire community. Texts flew wildly from coast to coast. People posted all over message boards. Hearts accelerated knowing it is all coming to fruition. Great stuff, indeed, all on a sunny September afternoon. With Mike’s tour raging, and Trey about to head out on the road, things are gradually moving back into alignment. Just knowing that Trey is about to tour- armed with an arsenal of new songs and a renewed enthusiasm for being on stage- is enough to make me jump out of my shoes. Can you imagine the feeling next year when Phish.com had dates posted on their page?! That will be the day. It doesn’t matter when it happens, “the only rule is it begins.”
The first four-night run opens on October 16, at the Capitol Theatre in Portchester, NY- a classic Phish
venue that the band frequented in the early ’90s. Then onto the Cheverolet Theatre, formerly known as the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, CT. A relatively obscure stop that was played by Trey’s band in November of ’05. Third up is the Palace Theatre in Albany. A routine stop for both Phish and Trey, the ornate theatre will once again house Big Red in a show that is sure to be a highlight of the run. Batting fourth, in the cleanup poistion, Classic TAB is going home- to Burlington, VT, and own turf of Higher Ground. With a miniscule capacity of 550 people, this room certainly has Phishy past. It was at Higher Ground that Trey played a one-time gig with the “8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes”- the first version of the Trey Band- back on April 17, 1998, less than two weeks after the Island Run. Featuring Tony, Russ, Tom Lawson on guitar, and Heloise Williams on vocals, they debuted so many of the TAB and Phish songs we know and love on that night. The band’s backyard club, strangely located in a strip mall, is a frequent stop on Trey’s solo tours. Phish members always seem to pop up with other bands at Higher Ground, and I don’t see why this would be any exception. Expect some sort of Phishy collaboration during this one
One day off.
The tour picks back up at Lupo’s in Providence, RI on the 21st. A small club with a capacity of 2000, this one should be an intimate affair- though four times the size of Higher Ground! Lupo’s is a classic New England club with lots of history, just none of it involving Phish.
One day off.
Moving on, we will head to the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, where Phish stopped in May of their legendary Spring ’92 tour that produced so many great analog tapes. Sticking close to home, Trey will travel south to the neo-jam band mecca, the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, and play to a crowded-ass room before finishing off the eight nights by dipping into the Mid-Atlantic region at The National in Richmond, VA- a room I know nothing about.
All in all, the run looks like something that will remind Trey of the wonders of being on the road- the good wonders. Invigorated to play guitar, and with fans foaming at the mouth to see him, this combination will make for an excessively exciting ten days of October. To describe the feeling that will swell in these undersized clubs and theaters, I look to a famous quote from a wise sage- the late WWF star and broadcaster, Gorilla Monsoon. “The intensity is so thick in here, you could cut it with a knife!” Stay tuned people- it’s all just beginning!
10/16 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
10/17 Cheverolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT
10/18 Palace Theatre, Albany, NY
10/19 Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
10/21 Lupo’s, Providence RI
10/23 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
10/24 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
10/25 The National, Richmond, VA
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A day before December ’95 got underway, Phish threw down a classic in Dayton, OH. This is the true OG Nutter Center show. Dayton ’97 step off! Seriously- it was because of this show- and the insane Tweezer > Makisupa > Antelope- that so many fans were so psyched for Nutter ’97. On this very Phishy day of 11.30, Phish’s 1995 installment was as hot as ever. Getting towards the end of a long fall tour, Phish could see the home stretch and were heading for the ribbon. The last show before the epic December, this one proves that November wasn’t all that different. Download and listen- this one is sure to please.
I: Sample in a Jar, The Curtain, Ha Ha Ha, Julius, NICU, Bathtub Gin, Rift, Fast Enough for You, Lizards, Fire
II: Cars Trucks Buses, Tweezer> Makisupa Policeman> Run Like an Antelope, Scent of a Mule, Free, Strange Design, Amazing Grace
E: Harry Hood
