This quality ’94 nugget features the a dip into the abyss with “David Bowie” and as strong version of “YEM” anchoring the first set. “Forbin’s >Vibration of Life > Mockingbird” stand out in the first, as well as The Beatles “Helter Skelter” from The White Album to open and a bluegrass session to close. This selection goes out via reader request to Butter.
I: Helter Skelter, Scent of a Mule, Maze, Bouncing Around the Room, Wilson, The Divided Sky, Dog Faced Boy, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > The Vibration of Life > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Down with Disease
II: Also Sprach Zarathustra > David Bowie, Sleeping Monkey, Sparkle, You Enjoy Myself > Hold Your Head Up> Love You > Hold Your Head Up, Slave to the Traffic Light, Golgi Apparatus
E: I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome*, Nellie Kane* My Long Journey Home*, To France**> Fixin’ to Die**
Where: Club Six – 60 6th St b/w Market and Mission, San Francisco
An art and music show showcasing the art of Stanley Mouse, Alan Forbes, Dave Hunter, David D’Andrea, Tripp Shealy, Erin Cadigan, Mark McCloud and the Blotter Barn Collection, Kyle Carter, Michael Matel and I.A.M.U. Presents artists Mark Henson, Android Jones, Xavi and Carey Thompson
DJ Sets from 9 pm – 2am
Downstairs: 10-11pm DJ Citizen Ten and MC Abstract Rude, 11pm-2am DJ Logic
Upstairs: SF’s own DJ Sleepyhead, Kaptain Harris, and Coopdville
After the second show on the 6th, this late-night cruise will set sail from 1:00-4:00 am with live music on board provided by The Jug Dealers and Acacia. This special after-party will take place on The Fume Blanc, a magnificent three-deck replica of a New York State Hudson River Steamboat of yesteryear. See below for more information.
The opening sequence of the second set during Phish’s first visit to Deer Creek.
====
VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND:
“Wolfman’s Brother” 6.26 II – Merriweather (Official Release)
DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEKEND: 11.17.1994 Hara Arena, Dayton, OH < Torrent 11.17.1994 Hara Arena, Dayton, OH < Megaupload This quality ’94 nugget features the a dip into the abyss with “David Bowie” and as strong version of “YEM” anchoring the first set. “Forbin’s >Vibration of Life > Mockingbird” stand out in the first, as well …
Before we plunge head first into Leg II of summer 2o10, let’s pause for a moment to reflect on Leg II of 2009. Phish came out at Red Rocks and redefined this era after a tentative run in June. Boasting far more confidence, Phish showed up in Colorado in a relaxed musical state, willing to take risks they weren’t prepared to take only five weeks earlier. When the year came to close, Leg II of summer stood out as, perhaps, the strongest segment of 2009, with musical highlights abounding. Today we hit the brakes for a moment and glance in our rear-view mirror at The Top5 “Moments” of Summer 2009 – Leg II.
***
5. “Number Line” 8.16 II – SPAC
While this SPAC show didn’t quite provide the final exclamation point that people expected, Phish did throw down one of the standout jams of August in their final show. Morphing their shiny-new anthem “Backwards Down the Number Line” into primordial soup for the soul, Phish built upon their Chicago rendition from a week earlier. Until Phish threw down Blossom’s “Number Line” this June, SPAC’s version stood as the crowning moment of the song’s young career. This jam provided a dark final excursion to end the tour before the rest of the set turned to fun.
***
4. “Icculus” 8.14 II – Hartford
Hartford (T.Salido)
In this moment, we realized that Phish was still comprised of the same four zany guys that started the band back in the day. With his addiction and glassy-eyed stare years behind him, Trey used “Icculus” to launch into classic rant about the technological overload of modern culture, and how everyone needed to get back to reading The Book. The Phishy spirit that had grabbed us all at one point in our lives and dragged us into Gamehendge had returned. To see the look on Trey’s face when this went down pretty much said it all. Everyone left Hartford smiling that night.
***
3. “46 Days” 8.15 II – Merriweather
8.15.09 (K.Pusey)
Buried in the consensus “worst show of Leg II” was perhaps the best jam of the tour in the ludicrous version of “46 Days.” Remaining in the song’s structure for approximately three minutes, the band shifted into full destruction mode immediately. Trudging through a cosmic sludge, Fish hit a change and Phish took off for the heavens. Flowing like they seldom have this era, the band locked into one of the more magical jams of this era. Any semblance of “46 Days” was left in Phish’s vapor trail as they took a hose-powered journey to the edges of groove and bliss.
***
2. 7.31.09 II – Red Rocks
7.31.09 (G.Lucas)
The second set of the second night of Red Rocks still stands, in my opinion, as the best single set Phish has dropped in this era. Featuring jams aplenty, fluid transitions, and the Red Rocks “Tweezer,” this frame can stand up to any other – easily. Played in three mini-suites, Phish graced the audience with “Drowned > Crosseyed > Joy,” “Tweezer > Number Line,” and “Fluffhead > Piper > A Day In the Life.” If you have any doubts or hazy memories of this night, go re-listen, it never ceases to amaze.
***
1. 8.7.09 – The Gorge
The Gorge ’09 (G. Lucas)
In Phish’s first night back to the Gorge in six years, they played a show that likened a soundtrack for the mystical natural surroundings. Fusing together several patient jams, Phish – literally – played differently at The Gorge, a trend that has held true throughout their career. While everyone has their favorite shows, this two-set Picasso featured three of the jams of the year in “Sneakin’ Sally,” “Light,” and “Bathtub Gin.” And you just don’t get that in one Phish show these days. That is without even mentioning the glorious combination of “Hood” and “Slave” that ended this special night. (And we might as well tack on the second night’s “Rock and Roll” while we’re here.) Needless to say, the band’s return to the Columbia River Gorge won’t soon be forgotten.
In Phish’s inaugural visit to Alpine Valley in 1996, they dropped significant versions of “Reba,” and “Bathtub Gin” in the first set, while showcasing “Fluffhead” and “Harry Hood” in the second. With this show, Phish inherited the massive Midwestern mecca from the Grateful Dead and prepared to blaze a legacy.
I: My Friend, My Friend, Poor Heart, AC/DC Bag, Fee, Reba, I Didn’t Know, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Rift, Bathtub Gin, Cavern
II: Wilson, Down with Disease, Scent of a Mule, Free, Fluffhead, Hold Your Head Up > Whipping Post > Hold Your Head Up, Harry Hood, A Day in the Life
E: Contact, Fire
Source: B & K 4021
Before we plunge head first into Leg II of summer 2o10, let’s pause for a moment to reflect on Leg II of 2009. Phish came out at Red Rocks and redefined this era after a tentative run in June. Boasting far more confidence, Phish showed up in Colorado in a relaxed musical state, willing to …
As Phish steps into Leg II of summer tour, they will undoubtedly bust out more songs, both old and new, digging deeper into their never-ending catalog. Beginning this process over the early summer, the band exhumed some of their oldest pieces, while also breaking out more elusive, contemporary songs. Between “Fuck Your Face,” “The Connection,” “Alumni Blues” and “Nothing,” Phish touched on their earliest days through their post-hiatus era. But despite the copious bust-outs over Leg I, Phish inexplicably continued to leave two shining gems of their post-hiatus years on the sidelines – “Scents and Subtle Sounds” and ” A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing.”
6.27.10 (B.Colligan)
These two songs, one moving towards the light and one moving toward darkness, provided defining jams of ’03 and ’04, and why Phish consistently ignores them has become baffling. Last year, the band played two versions of “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” – both in the first leg of summer. In Knoxville, the band didn’t jam the song, drifting thematically into “Waves,” while Deer Creek was a different story. After a 90-minute lightening-induced setbreak, Phish dropped the song as a heavy opener amidst the storm. Moving into a brief ambient section, the piece showcased one of 3.0’s first creative excursions, and was certainly a step in the right direction. Though it seemed to be gaining momentum, this song hasn’t been heard from again. Phish dropped only one version of “Scents and Subtle Sounds” in 2009, a succinct kick-down to lead off their last set at MSG.
6.25.10 (G.Lucas)
In the first show of Summer 2003, Phish introduced a new blissful jam out of the depths of “Wolfman’s Brother,” and before anyone knew it, “Scents and Subtle Sounds” made a splash on the scene. Working its way into regular rotation and and providing the springboard for two of the tour’s most impressive jams,”Scents” wasted no time becoming a staple of Summer ’03. Opening the third night of Deer Creek with a 20-plus minute jaunt, Phish broke the song wide open. However, the band one-upped themselves a week later in Camden, New Jersey, playing a first-set version that reached into very essence of Phish exploration. Organically building out of the theme, the band built a quintessential post-hiatus masterpiece that still stands the test of time. Segueing in and out of “Scents” in a prominent third-set slot during ’03’s end-of-summer festival, IT, Phish confirmed their passion for their new song.
One year later, on the brink of Coventry, Phish closed their last conventional show in Camden with another adventure into the void. Favoring darker, ambient textures that reflected the tone of the time, Phish crafted an abstract sonic mural as their last amphitheatre work of art, and their final truly sublime excursion of their “career.”
Undermind (2004)
After a album-version debut of “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” debuted during 2004’s opening set at Coney Island, Phish came back two shows later and redefined the song forever. Opening SPAC’s second set on June 19, Phish wove a stunning tale of psychedelia that reached more than one soul-caressing passage. With a jam so perfect that it sounded pre-written, Phish hit the nail directly on the head in their second voyage into darkness deep. In one of SPAC’s crowning moments, Phish threw down the only epic version of the “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing” before signing off later that summer.
7.4.10 (W.Rogell)
So that brings us to today. Phish has reached far and wide into their song repertoire, and barely touched upon these two pieces that drip all sorts of potential. Some fans posit theories that these songs bring unwelcome memories of a dark era in Trey’s history. Really? Phish has brought “Undermind” into the mix, and routinely play “Seven Below,” “and “46 Days” from that era, while occasionally reverencing Undermind (the album), so I don’t buy the “bad memory theory.” If this was the case, then why did they bring them back at all? Though I have no logical way to explain their absence, there must be something more going on here. No?
The mystery remains why Phish allows two of their most profound jam vehicles to sit in the wings as they continue to bring out every other piece in their songbook. The return of one or both of these pieces to improvisational prominence tops any list of pipe dreams I could write as we inch closer to The Greek. Likely? No, but at this point anything is possible. Maybe I should bring a sign.
Dipping into the archives, today we have a catch-all SBD download of the band’s first visit to Telluride, Colorado in 1988. In this one file set, not only is there the classic 8.6.88 show from The Roma, but also partial recordings from three shows earlier shows in the week, as Phish between The Roma and Fly Me To the Moon Saloon due to a booking oversight. Check the setlists below.
7.29.88 The Roma – Partial
Colonel Forbin’s > Mockingbird, I Didn’t Know, Good Times, Bad Times, Rocky Top, Light Up or Leave Me Alone, Contact, Whipping Post, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Take the ‘A’ Train, McGrupp, Bold As Love
7.30.88 III The Roma
Harpua, Fluffhead, Anarchy, Dear Mrs. Reagan, Terrapin, Antelope E: Fire
8.3.88 III Fly Me To the Moon Saloon
?: Freebird, II: I Know A Little, YEM, Jesus Left Chicago III: Peaches En Regalia, Mike’s > Hydrogen > Fluffhead, Happy Birthday, Harry Hood, Satin Doll, Funky Bitch, Walk Away
8.6.88 The Roma
I: La Grange, YEM > Cities, Take the ‘A’ Train, Funky Bitch, Dinner and a Movie*, Fire
II: Golgi, AC/DC Bag, Satin Doll, BBFCFM, Slave to the Traffic Light*
*track cuts off
All sources are SBD
As Phish steps into Leg II of summer tour, they will undoubtedly bust out more songs, both old and new, digging deeper into their never-ending catalog. Beginning this process over the early summer, the band exhumed some of their oldest pieces, while also breaking out more elusive, contemporary songs. Between “Fuck Your Face,” “The Connection,” …
With a nationwide, carpet-bombing of mail order tickets yesterday, the final countdown to the Greek Theatre has officially begun. Energy, anticipation, and anxiety has already flooded the scene, as the hype for Berkeley’s three-night stand has come to a head in recent weeks. While people finalize plans, scour the Internet for extra tickets, and prepare to head west, the appearance of second-leg stubs at doorsteps across the country yesterday, upped the adrenaline for all fans trying to focus through one more week.
The tickets for Leg II sport venue-specific designs, the Greeks decorated with a graphic take of the theatre’s backdrop. With “Phish” written in lightening bolts on the tickets, the band gave a subtle nod to the Grateful Dead as they prepare to set up shop on their forefathers’ home turf. The excitement is peaking for many, but others are still trying to get their hands on that last ticket to complete their three-pack. By not releasing multi-night packages, Phish and Ticketmaster left a lot of fans to face the worlds of ticket trading and brokering. With Saturday night stubs being the scarcest, prices in the secondary market have climbed over $300 a pop for the intimate GA shows. Since these are the only west coast dates scheduled, the migration to the Bay will come from far and wide, as this is the closer to home Phish will come for thousands of left coast fans. All of these factors have converged to create quite the pre-show hubbub for the upcoming nights in Northern California.
Phish’s only previous visit to Berkeley’s famed amphitheatre came on August 28, 1993, as the finale of Summer ’93. Concluding one of the most prolific months in their history, Phish capped August with a start-to-finish smoker that provides a quintessential portrait of the band in that era of history. “Maze” and “Stash” stood out in the first set, while highlight versions of “Antelope” and “YEM” sparkled in the second. The Dead had just finished a summer run at Shoreline the day before this show, and many first-timers crossed the Bay to check out an up and coming Phish. But since that night, relived countless times through the soundboard tape that became a staple any collector’s stash, Phish has never been back to the Greek.
6.22.10 (P.Harrington)
Ever since 1995, Phish has made Shoreline their routine Bay Area tour stop. With a capacity of 22,000 (almost triple The Greek’s 8000), it simply made more economic sense to play the larger venue. But those days are gone and in this modern era, Phish plays where they want, when they want. With the ability to sell 44,000 tickets over two-nights at Shoreline, Phish, instead, chose the less profitable route of selling 24,000 tickets over three nights in Berkeley – but the experience will be incomparable. Despite being Bill Graham’s baby, Shoreline’s design likens most amphitheatres across the country. But when one steps into the Greek Theatre, it becomes quite apparent they have arrived somewhere special. And when Phish looks out onto the classic stone amphitheatre, they will also feel the mystique of he Greek, and their music will likely reflect their surroundings.
6.27.10 (B.Colligan)
These upcoming Berkeley shows represent the Red Rocks of 2010 – a multi-night party in one of music’s hallowed venues to kick off the second leg of summer. Last year, the band’s improvement between Leg I and Leg II grew so significant, it became virtually inexplicable. The five-weeks between tours – whether used for practice, sorcery, Oh Kee Pah Ceremonies or family time – produced a far more evolved band in August then we’d left in June. I’m not sure we can expect such a colossal leap of progress over this month-long break, but if a musical shift brings any semblance of congruity to 2009’s giant steps, we are in for some good times. Having established a new sound and style for 2010, Phish looks to further their exploits of the early summer…next week!
Phish’s last visit to The Greek – seventeen years ago in August ’93; a completely different animal altogether.
I: Llama, Bouncing Around the Room, Foam, Ginseng Sullivan, Maze, Fluffhead, Stash, The Squirming Coil, Crimes of the Mind*
II: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Rift, Run Like an Antelope, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Sparkle, It’s Ice > Big Ball Jam, Purple Rain > Hold Your Head Up, You Enjoy Myself > Oye Como Va Jam > You Enjoy Myself > Contact**, Chalk Dust Torture
E: Daniel Saw the Stone, Amazing Grace
* w/ Dude of Life on Vocals, **out vocal jam, JJ Cale opened
Source: SBD
With a nationwide, carpet-bombing of mail order tickets yesterday, the final countdown to the Greek Theatre has officially begun. Energy, anticipation, and anxiety has already flooded the scene, as the hype for Berkeley’s three-night stand has come to a head in recent weeks. While people finalize plans, scour the Internet for extra tickets, and prepare …
After several weeks of listening and analysis in the Phisht Thoughts sound labs, the time has come to unveil the latest installment of “Miner’s Picks” for the first leg of summer tour. Because first sets and second sets contained such divergent vibes over the month, I’ve split the picks into a highlight-reel setlist, containing Set I, Set II, and an Encore. Though it was hard at times, I limited myself to one version of each song, so there are no repeats throughout this seven-plus hour compilation. With only a week and a half to go before The Greek kicks off Leg Two, here’s an audio retrospective of Phish’s first month of 2010. Enjoy the selections!
After several weeks of listening and analysis in the Phisht Thoughts sound labs, the time has come to unveil the latest installment of “Miner’s Picks” for the first leg of summer tour. Because first sets and second sets contained such divergent vibes over the month, I’ve split the picks into a highlight-reel setlist, containing Set …
