TAB > PHISH ?
As we approach our final stages of preparation for Phish 3.0, many readers have put out the practical request to review some of the new music we could hear from Trey’s new catalog come Hampton and beyond. On his Classic TAB tour last October, he played many new songs that he and Tom Marshall had recently finished; and something tells me Trey and Tom didn’t sit down to write a bunch of tunes for Tony, Russ, and Ray to play! If things are as they appear, Trey wrote most of this new material with Phish in mind.
Having played some of his new songs once, and others only a few times over his eight shows, it seemed that Trey was holding out on the most significant songs, waiting for his “other” band to chart their destinies.
Obviously, any TAB versions of these songs represent mere templates of what they could be. What Phish will do with these pieces if, and when, they play them is a whole different story. Here are ten selections we may hear come 3.0.
Backwards Down the Number Line
Debuted acoustically at Rothbury last summer, and played over the second half of Trey’s tour, this is the new song that all fans are familiar with. The song’s poignant theme of old friends reuniting captures the tone of the moment in the Phish world. With an uptempo rock-based jam and a lyrical reprise at the end, this song seems like the new-school “Down With Disease.” Odds are favorable that we will hear this at Hampton, potentially opening one of the three second sets.
Light
“Light” is the song that *sounds* like Phish the most. With sublime harmonies and melodies within a transcendent milieu for improvisation, this song seems specifically written for our favorite foursome. With an ambient intro, reflective lyrics, and a soaring jam, this one brings shivers just imagining what Phish could do with it. Trey only played this song once over his tour, most likely signaling its place in the Phish universe. When they bust this one out, you will know- it will be one of the highlights of the show. “Tweezer > Light,” anyone?
Greyhound Rising
A multi-faceted compositional beast, “Greyhound Rising” is another song that seems custom made for Phish. Beginning with a gorgeous ballad-esque feel, the song progresses through wistful lyrical passages before moving into the distinctly different, and more grooving, second section. The song then slides into a blues-based jam before eventually building back to the original lyrical melodies. “Greyhound Rising” has a little of everything Phishy, and it is another that sounds like a perfect fit for the band.
Valentine
This song was only brought out twice along Trey’s tour due to the improvisational limitations of TAB. When this song first dropped in Brooklyn last summer, it was an immediate favorite with its soulful feel and unique lyrical path. An inspiring piece of music, this one seemed to be stashed away for Phish after TAB’s third show; a guitar solo could only take it so far. Add Mike, Page, and Fish to this tune, and you’ve got a Phish staple for years to come. This song catches you immediately and draws you right into its flow. This will fit in perfectly if Phish so chooses.
A Case of Ice and Snow
Trey included an acoustic version of this song on his solo album, Bar 17, but when he played it throughout his solo tour, the song took on a wholly different shape. Reflecting on hard times gone by, the mellow and gorgeous song could give way to surreal soundscapes, something that was merely hinted at via TAB. Again, this sounds very much like a Phish song, and it could be a tremendous addition deep in the second set- like how The Dead used “Morning Dew.”
Ruby Waves
Trey only busted this song out once over his eight shows. Representing the poppier side of his writing, this song could certainly fit in with Phish 3.0. Boasting a smooth palatable groove and an uplifting chorus, this could turn out to be a latter-day Phish “single” with legitimate improvisational potential when played live. This is a song that Phish could vibrantly enhance.
Burlap Sack & Pumps
Consistently introduced with the group of songs that Trey wrote with Tony and Russ, and that made the transition to Phish, it seemed that Trey was implying that this song would do the same. A centerpiece of Trey’s October tour, this was rearranged for a four-piece, with Trey taking adopting the horn’s lead melodies from TAB’s big-band incarnation. With two distinct jams, this “Burlap Sack & Pumps” could provide multiple launch pads for Phish. Many feel that due to the song’s long TAB history, this one won’t be brought into Phish. Yet, after hearing the psychedelic planes that this song traversed throughout Trey’s tour, I wouldn’t be making any wagers!
Let Me Lie
This could be the next beautiful Phish ballad, though due to its incredibly autobiographical nature, I’m not sure it will make the jump. Played extensively over TAB tour, this recovery-themed song seemed very appropriate for his solo comeback performances. Though the song would definitely translate beautifully to Phish, whether they choose to include it is another story.
Spin
An older song off of Shine, this was also played a on GRAB tour a few years ago, so Mike already knows it. Played twice over the recent TAB tour, “Spin” possesses an dark and open-ended ambient jam at the end that Phish could absolutely slaughter. A reflection on Trey’s less-happy days, this one could also be too personal to bring to his “other” band. If Phish does decide to play this- forget about it- the results will be huge.
Alaska
A straightforward, and somewhat comedic, blues song, Phish could adopt this for a diversity of feels. This could work, bringing some dirty blues-based jamming into the mix. As most fans seem to know the lyrics already, this one could be an underwhelming arena sing-along that morphs into improv. Only time will tell.
DOWNLOAD THESE “TAB > PHISH?” SONGS NOW! < LINK
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Time Turns Elastic
The second movement of Trey’s orchestral piece that he debuted with Orchestra Nashville in September surfaced as a solo acoustic demo on the Internet. When listening to the acoustic piece, one can hear how this entire movement could translate into a latter day Phish epic. With lyrics rich in imagery and diverse musical approaches, this “song” could develop into a masterpiece.
LISTEN TO TIME TURNS ELASTIC (ACOUSTIC) ^ LINK (Roll over and press play)
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ANDY GADIEL ON THE RADIO / WEB STREAM TONIGHT! – 8-10 pm
Godfather of Phish Internet space, and good friend, Andy Gadiel, will be guest DJing a special “Phish Reunion Set” set tonight on KPFA’s “Dead to the World” radio show with David Gans on 94.1 FM in the Bay Area from 8-10pm. Manning the DJ booth for two hours, you can be sure he will throw down a juicy playlist! Regardless of where you live, be sure to tune in for what is sure to be a good time! Tune in to the broadcast at KPFA 94.1 FM in the Bay Area, kpfa.org or nugs.net online everywhere.
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
12.16.95 Olympic Center, Lake Placid, NY < LINK
Olympic Center, Lake Placid, NY
This is the first of the final two nights of Fall ’95. This would be show number 53 of 54, and Phish was clicking. Two weeks away from their legendary New Years Run, these two nights in Lake Placid are revered in Phish history. (The second show was posted a couple days ago.)
I: Buried Alive, AC/DC Bag, Fog That Surrounds, Ya Mar, The Sloth, The Divided Sky, Dog Faced Boy, Julius, Suzy Greenberg
II: Sample in a Jar, Reba, Scent of a Mule, Cavern, Mike’s Song > Simple > Weekapaug Groove, The Squirming Coil
E: Fire
Tags: Classic TAB, Comeback, Songs, Trey
You know, you are probably right.
I can’t stand the beatles so pardon my not-knowing.
I hope you guys don’t get mad at me for saying that. Never really got into them for some reason.
They did a lot for progressing music but I’ve known some people who don’t like them. I don’t think anyone will get mad at you for not being into them though.
Thanks for the new shit, Miner. Love to feel prepared going into a show. I’ll 9th that motion for Dark and Down. I got a free Jam Sound Sampler from I-Tunes when I bought a Ray Lamontagne record a few years ago and D&D was on it. I instantly fell in love. That is some fierce shit right there. Also loved Pages new record, saw him in Chicago and he encored with Monkey Man which is a cover I’d like to hear the boys do. Although the “all my friends are junkies” might strike a nerve. As for Shine, all I can think about when I hear that song is when Phish busted Collective Soul’s balls on New Years 95 for their Shine. As bad as Collective Soul’s lyrics were on that song, Treys are even worse. Thank God Tom Marshall is back in the ring with them.
Thank you Mr. Miner indeed on the download of the day.
The wife and I have been seeing shows going on 18 years. I proposed to her on that jaw dropping first night of the Lake Placid shows in December of 1995 during Page’s piano solo in Squirming Coil and the journey began…..we rolled out of the Olympic Arena and it was snowing flakes the size of silver dollars…..words cannot describe, but a few of you know what I mean………
We’ll see you in Hampton!
@ Miner, I hear ya on that, 100%. in my head, a couple of those tunes just come off a shade weak I guess. but regardless, it seems that’s water under the bridge for Trey, thankfully!
And that Asheville show WAS rocking! holy shit! every song. it was like “oh, he’s playing that now, okay. oh wait, he killing this one too, wtf, hell yeah”. Anybody remember Trey band at the Civic Center Halloween ‘O3? Somebody had carved the phish logo perfectly into a pumpkin, and left it out on a wall outside where everyone was lined up. Somebody near me said, “that’s cool, but wrong band”, which made me laugh. I remember thinking that it WOULD be cool if phish played there. but that was as far as I thought, because I knew it would never happen…
there was this one TAB show that absolutely blew my mind. 7.26.2001 in atlanta. got 10th row dfc tickets day of show from ticketbastard. it was kurodas bday. second set was on par with the intenssity of any great phish show i ever saw. really fun show from a great tour.
Great stuff Miner!! Now if the warriors could only get trey to play tonight, the lake show would be spun backwards down the number line!!!
Songs that should make the 3.0 jump…
Back in the Basement, Runaway Bride, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Heavy Rotation from Page
Andelmans Yard, Another Door, Dig Further Down, Radar Blip, Traveled Too Far, Suskind Hotel from Mike
Time Turns Elastic in some form
Drifting third time is a charm fav. TAB song, # line, alaska, light, greyhound, hap nappy, peggy and whatever else trey wants to play
I only want to see Phish if they are creating new music, and I think they only want to go out if they are gonna make new music
will be at hampton, days inn on the strip. There are a few meetups at a bar nearby on saturday, some people got rooms and stuff reserved over there from some other message boards. Apparently the bar’s thrilled. I’ll post the name here when I get it from my wife.
seen every trey show in asheville except the 99 tour .. it’s amazing how diverse the experiences have been:
00 at thomas wolfe with the horns band was insane — When the band marched in at the beginning to When the Saints go Marching In down the middle of the venue and hopped up on stage, Trey almost ran me over coming in the side door with this giant marching band drum, was very surreal. then Mike showed up for the encore, they did an acoustic possum, then marched out to Yellow Submarine.
next was halloween 2002 with the big band in the civic center .. that show was a serious peak experience.
Then the bar 17 tour which I also enjoyed, back in the theatre, though in a fully different way. Goodbye Head tore it up that night.
Oysterhead came through at some point and played the civic center, but I was less impressed.
^^ I agree Kyle, on with the new!
@ everyone- YES, Gadiel’s show is 8-10 West Coast / 11-1 East Coast
no detention guys.. jsut can’t waste my life away on this site.. im trying to wrok two jobs and go to school at the same time so i can afford college and maybe Knox> Bonnaroo…..excuse me for trying to have a life
If anyone is interested…here’s some footage of trey @ Ocean Way Studios in Nashville from last October.
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/0a9addb01c19e5c387
Here’s the first part (Divided Sky).
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/0a9adcb61914ebc287
Oh yeah, oysterhead at the civic center! that was pretty sick I thought. they had been playing together for a while, it was later in their tour, they were on point. though, they only did one set. but it was pretty powerhouse.
I’m in agreement with some of the Mike and Page tunes making the cut. That’s one of first things I thought of listening to those cds was what they would sound like with the depth and intensity in phish. just to state the obvious. Although in a way, its nice to think they could be left alone in their individual solo project glory, but a couple are begging to get blown to pieces. It’s kinda like Treys trademark workaholic solo stuff was becoming blah (though it didn’t matter as much live), Mike and Page have solid efforts in the studio, and now Trey’s bringing it back home with his latest. that’s a real group man, they’re inspiring each other when they weren’t even together. and it’s like, look where that got us! I’m gonna calm down now. no fuck that! bring the PHISH!!!
I’m sure the Oysterhead show was fine as Oysterhead shows go .. I’m just not a huge Les fan and that show was more Les than Trey to me…
I’ve enjoyed Mike’s Green Sparrow, though almost every song sounds a little like destiny unbound to me! Mostly the lyrics are a little trite, not as silly/disturbing Mike as in the past, but the song structures are decent. I do like the ballad pretend — pretty clever for sure.
I was going to mention Les earlier. didn’t want to get carried away. my college roommate was a big les/primus fan and I warmed up to his style. It was wild, we show up to college, me a big phish fan, him a big primus fan, neither of us know shit really about the other band, and oysterhead had just put out their album. and we both had a copy prior to us meeting up. so we both came to appreciate the other group. anyway…
I love Andelman’s Yard. whether or not I think phish should play it, I dunno, whatever they want. but it’s got such a great progression of textures during the groove that immediately harkens to the phish trademark. a perfectly concise jam that fits great on the recording. the music does what his mind is doing in the lyrics. great lyrics man. he really nailed it with the cleverness, like was said above. and still quirky. and the fact that he played everything himself on that track makes it that much better.
thanks, miner–can’t wait to check out the TAB stuff
possibly time sensitive up, passed on from PT:
Barn Sessions
http://www.mediafire.com/?wz3njky2nny
http://www.mediafire.com/?n12zhmyhyvz
The Flotsam Five
http://www.mediafire.com/?xtdyymtuwjv
No bad vibes meant by that camm. I was wondering where you were.
Andy can’t tell his Tweezers from his Tubes.
Any lurkers on here??? Gadiel and Gans are spinning some good tunes on Dead to the World right now
andy’s phish days are numbered … he’s a learned music fan like the many who matured … and i remember that was the first site I found my way too when I was a mere pup in college 13 years ago…so let me say this minor you can lay praise too him no doubt, but what you have done has elevated my perspective and enjoyment, and i’m sure many others, 100 times more than anything Andy ever did … i wish i could go back and replace my time coping some spots to trade tapes, getting basic info on other net spots and reading some marginal reviews by JJ and a few others, to enjoy your site and writing … No doubt Dean was there early, an important and excellent writer, but I see spots in the middle now that I’ve read what i’ve read recently …. thanks and never mention any of their names again, we’ll maybe in a very forelong reverence … thank god someone up’d the ante, casue they look a bit small now … however i’m glad they moved onto bigger and better things which I know they are good at, and I know they helped you and the scene …..the page has now turned for a third time … VIVA LA PHISH THOUGHTS … time marches foward