It was setbreak. About halfway though, I ran into a buddy and fellow secret agent of mine on our highly classified Phish mission. After strategizing for a moment, we made an executive decision to chill and burn one. As we sat down on the rubberized basketball court of the half-empty Boise State Pavilion, I pulled a pre-rolled blunt out of my pocket. (Although I live out west, I did grow up on the East Coast!) Very few of our friends had made the significantly out-of-the way drive from Portland to Boise, only to turn around and head to back to the coast for Shoreline, so when we met up, we took the last train to Sparksville.
As we inhaled our smoky delight, our spun minds turned to what Phish would come out with in the second set. I noted that they hadn’t dropped a “Bag” thus far this tour, and Sean responded that he had noticed the same thing about “Gumbo.” Hmm. “Sick!”, we thought, some sort of “Bag,” “Gumbo” combination in the second set! That would be great. Our conversation proceeded to drift in several different directions, as blunts burn for so long! Upon extinguishing, we decided it was time to stake out our second set spots in the undersold venue. He headed up front while I hung out about a third of the way back on the spacious floor. After meeting up with some other friends, my conversation with Sean was long gone from my memory—at least for now.
When the lights went out, I quickly ditched my stuff under some bleachers before the music started. As the band emerged, everyone had assumed their place of choice in the wide open gym of the Broncos. When Phish stepped up to play, Fish’s quaking drumroll led right into the beginning of “Peaches!” The band hadn’t broken out their old-school Zappa cover since 2.28.97 in Berlin, Germany. The intimate crowd was immediately treated to a special moment, as all were fully aware that the band hadn’t thrown down a “Peaches” in years. My mind was taken adrift by the bust-out, and when they dropped directly into “AC/DC Bag,” I never even considered my conversation of twenty minutes earlier.
As most know, this “Bag” transformed into an all-time highlight, as the band transcended the song with existential playing that spoke directly to the soul. Moving from funky “AC/DC Bag” rhythms into ambient beauty, this excursion became one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring Phish jams. Exiting the groove into dark and mysterious textures, the music patiently transformed into a divine portal, featuring some of the most inspirational playing of the fall. After peaking this gorgeous section of improv, the band dove back into a straight-ahead groove, hinting at “Crosseyed,” much like the Portland Meadows “Ghost” from days before, and taking the theme for an exciting ride.
As the music finally settled to the point of a wall of sustained effects, they peeled them all away at once for a heavy drop into “Gumbo.” Boom—our prophecy had come true! But shit if i realized it. I was so lost in the magnificence of what had just transpired, that even the plunge into “Gumbo” didn’t jog my memory of the prediction Sean and I had made. The music bellowed out of the speakers as if a living and breathing organism, overtaking an intimate crowd so centered in the moment, they no longer knew if there were five or fifty thousand people there. The slow paced song took its time loafing into the jam, and I embraced this compositional break from all encompassing, spiritual improv.
But when those verses ended, we knew to expect a dance party with ample room for everyone and their double. As the “Gumbo” jam began, it took almost no time at all for Mike to begin teasing Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” The set had quickly morphed from the uber-psychedelic realm to that of a dance club, and the band began churning out slow, methodical rhythms. As soon as Trey joined in the tease, the crowd exploded and the band returned their energy with a full-on jam of the 1980 classic. Some of the most engaging grooves of the night came when they began to improvise out of the Queen rhythms, creating a quasi-retro funk jam that reminded us of years past.
Concluding the magnificent set with “Disease” and “Frankenstein,” Phish selected perfect songs to feed off of the energy and emotion they had stirred up within their audience. After the show, I met up with my friend Adam inside the venue and began heading out, reveling in the post-show flood of emotional bliss. As I threw a sweatshirt on to head out into the mild fall night, I saw Sean walking up ahead.
“Wait a second!?” I thought to myself, as our setbreak blunt talk quickly replayed through my head in milliseconds. “They just ripped exactly what we had said they should!”, I thought, as my heart pounded heavier. “And I never even realized it the entire set!? Ha!” I laughed to myself out loud. I sprinted ahead and caught up with Sean and tapped him on the shoulder enthusiastically. As he turned around, he knew exactly why I was so excited, and we reflected on the bizarre connection to something bigger that we both felt at that point. Did we predict the future? Had we invented the set? Would it have happened if we hadn’t shared that smoke and spoken those words? Maybe so, maybe not.
These are the things that are beyond our explanation; strange predictions that turn out correct, synchronicities between you and the band. This time, the “Bag > Gumbo” was a tour highlight, not to mention one of the high points of all ’99. With Phishy magic in the air, an absurd backtrack to Portland to pick up my future wife, which seamlessly segued into a non-stop drive to our place in Santa Cruz, seemed like nothing at all, albeit a near-24 hour haul. Sometimes when larger forces are at play the menial tasks don’t seem so important. Puffing bubblers of Bubbleberry with Adam across the Northwest, pumping the “Bag > Gumbo” on the desolate Idaho highway, nothing could have been more perfect. It was one of those timeless moments on tour that you will remember forever; the moments that make up the fabric of it all.
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
10.15.98 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA < LINK
The announcement of this special show sent ripples through the Phish community as the band prepared to play a pre-tour gig at one of Bill Graham’s famous haunts. Once the on-sale location was disclosed over the radio, fans raced to a specific pier on the Embarcadero to get a place in line that would ensure them tickets. The show contained many highlights, including a first set that far outshone the second. Compiling two 90 minute sets, everyone got their hard fought ticket’s worth out of this night. Show highlights include “Ghost,” “Wolfman’s,” “Gumbo,” and “Reba”– all in the first frame! The second set brought a welcome rendition of “The Moma Dance” and a fabulous set ending “Hood.”
I: Ghost, Water in the Sky, Wolfman’s Brother, Gumbo, David Bowie, Brian and Robert, Reba, Character Zero
2: My Soul, Chalkdust Torture, Roggae, The Moma Dance, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Prince Caspian, Frankie Says, Birds of a Feather, Lawn Boy, Harry Hood
E: Dirt, Limb by Limb
