As we celebrate the third anniversary of Hampton’s comeback run—yesterday, today and tomorrow—let’s take a ride back in time with an audio retrospective of this era. In only three years, Phish has brought us from Hampton to Red Rocks, from the Gorge (two times) to Telluride, and from The Greek Theatre to Hollywood Bowl. It has brought us up and down the east coast and through the Midwest more than a couple times, hitting all the staples and then sime. This era has brought us two Halloween shows, two festivals, three more New Year’s Runs, and a whole lot of memorable multi-night stands. And above all else, this era has brought us a hell of a lot of great music. Today, lets start with my some of the earliest highlights from 2009. How long has it been since you listened to these? Enjoy the look back.
A profound, ambient take on their classic jam on only the second night of June ’09. If you were reading this site then, remember how hard I freaked on this one? Good times.
This era’s first “Sand” was a revelation, as the band infused a palette of melody into jam. This Camden excursion only foreshadowed the song’s transformation into a whole-band jam in 2010. In my opinion, the most dynamic “Sands” now live in the 3.0 era.
Paired with “Rock and Roll,” the band’s first exploration of “Light” came in Bonnaroo’s final set. These two songs would transform into the preeminent launchpads of the modern era thus far.
The standout jam of June ’09’s final show at Alpine.
As we celebrate the third anniversary of Hampton’s comeback run—yesterday, today and tomorrow—let’s take a ride back in time with an audio retrospective of this era. In only three years, Phish has brought us from Hampton to Red Rocks, from the Gorge (two times) to Telluride, and from The Greek Theatre to Hollywood Bowl. It …
Amidst a song-driven show, Phish blew out an unsustpecting, mid-second set “Back On the Train,” and crafted one of the jams of the year in the process.
This first-set “Split” in Cincy upped the bar for the song in the 3.0 era.
**** “Tweezer > Light” 12.5 II On of the most impressive jam sequences of Fall ’09 with one of the darkest and most abstract “Lights” the band had dropped to that point. *** “Wolfman’s > Piper > Joy” 10.30 II A dark-horse segement of 10.30.09 that may includes the most creative jamming of Indio. *** …
Phish has been remastering recent shows at a torrid pace, seemingly holding onto their goldmine of archival releases for later down the road. The recent remasters have provided lush upgrades of three standout shows from last summer in Merriweather and the two final two nights of The Greek. Audio engineer, Fred Kevorkian, has also given his treatment to three shows that wouldn’t have been close to the top of my list in the Alpharetta stand and Deer Creek’s second night—well played shows with significant peaks and valleys. With no idea if the band has further plans to remaster modern era shows, here are three can’t-miss nights from 2009 (in chronological order) that certainly deserve Kevorkian’s aural enhancement.
In one of the first, truly great performances of this era, Phish had one leg and one show under their belt, and came out swinging at Red Rocks on night two. Though the band opened the show with a potent “Jim,” “Chalk Dust,” “Bathtub” triumvirate and punctuated the first set with a terrorizing “Split” amidst an oncoming monsoon, the everlasting story of this evening came in the second. Served up in three musical suites, Phish annihilated their best set to that point in 3.o. Featuring a flawless segue (“Drowned > Crosseyed”), exploratory jamming that found gold (“Crosseyed”), liquid dance grooves (“Tweezer”), copious risk taking (such as transitioning out of the “Fluffhead’s” peak into “Piper”), and a classy cover to close the set that had debuted at Red Rocks in 1995 (“A Day in the Life), this show had it all. A top shelf effort through and through, and a hallmark show on Phish’s return to greatness.
I: Runaway Jim, Chalkdust Torture, Bathtub Gin, Time Turns Elastic, Lawn Boy, Water in the Sky, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Split Open and Melt
II: Drowned > Crosseyed and Painless > Joy, Tweezer > Backwards Down The Number Line, Fluffhead > Piper > A Day in the Life
You want jams? This show has got ’em. On their first night back in the Columbia River Gorge in six years, Phish dropped an instant classic. The improvisational peaks of this night have become household jams of this era—the intergalactic “Sneakin’ Sally,” “Light”-turned-calypso, and the monstrous show-closing combo of “Bathtub Gin > Harry Hood.” Throw in a dynamic first set “Stash” and solid daytime versions of “Disease” and “Ocelot,” and you’ve got quite the improvisational smorgasbord. But far more impressive than the quantity of jams (which in this day and age is scare), was the quality of the band’s interplay. On his night Phish was nothing short of majestic. Weaving patient, open-ended tales that could only have sprung from The Gorge’s inspirational surroundings, Phish had their cosmic portal functioning in full force all night long. This show’s delicate jamming would greatly benefit from Kevorkian’s love.
I: Down With Disease, Ocelot, Pebbles and Marbles, Possum, Sleep, Destiny Unbound, Stash, Sneaking Sally Through the Alley, Cavern
II: The Moma Dance, Light > Taste, Fluffhead, Joy, Bathtub Gin > Harry Hood
Phish turned a corner in Miami over last year’s New Year’s Run, and despite any backers of 12.30’s follow up, this is—unquestionably—the show that deserves enhancement. The first set contained a red-hot “Maze,” extended groove-sessions in “Wolfman’s” and “Reba,” a couple bust-outs in “The Connection” and “Access Me,” and a spirited “Divided Sky.” The main plot line of this night, however, would come after setbreak. After the greatest modern-era “Tweezer” bled into a regal “Caspian,” the rest of the set was pure gravy; but Phish never stopped. The playful sequence of “Jibboo > Wilson > Jiboo” went directly into “Heavy Things” before Phish capped the night with the can’t-miss combo of “2001 > Slave.” If the band is pumping out modern remasters, this Florida adventure should certainly be high on the waiting list.
I: Golgi Apparatus, Maze, Driver, The Connection, Wolfman’s Brother, Ocelot, Reba, Access Me, The Divided Sky, Cavern
II: Kill Devil Falls, Tweezer > Prince Caspian, Gotta Jibboo > Wilson > Jibboo > Heavy Things, Also Sprach Zarathustra > Slave to the Traffic Light
I: Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, You Enjoy Myself, Possum, Foam, Carolina, Rocky Top, Dinner and a Movie, Ya Mar, Walk Away, Bouncing Around the Room, Run Like an Antelope
II: Golgi Apparatus, Reba, Bathtub Gin, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Tela, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg*, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Highway to Hell
E: Contact, I Didn’t Know, Good Times Bad Times
*w / “Low Rider” jam
Source: SBD
Phish has been remastering recent shows at a torrid pace, seemingly holding onto their goldmine of archival releases for later down the road. The recent remasters have provided lush upgrades of three standout shows from last summer in Merriweather and the two final two nights of The Greek. Audio engineer, Fred Kevorkian, has also given …
Come one, come all! If you’ve been paying attention for the past couple years, you’ll have as good of a shot at this contest as anyone. Today’s main event is “Type II Trivia: 3.0 Style.” That’s right, all ten audio clips come from this era since Phish returned in 2009. Nobody can claim noobership in this contest, as most of you have all these jams stashed away in soundboard quality on your hard drives and iPods…but can you place them? You can earn a total of twenty points for this contest by naming the song and date (1 point each) of each two-minute audio clip. In the event of a tie, I will devise some sort of tiebreaker. Hopefully this contest will shine a light on some highlights and forgotten moments of the last two years. There are no repeats of songs. Please email your entries to me by 12 pm Pacific tonight to have a valid entry. The winner will be announced either tomorrow or Thursday and will have the choice of any piece of merch on-sale for $7.77 in Phish’s Dry Goods Seven Below Sale, including CDs, t-shirts and more. Good luck to all, and have fun!
This one goes out via reader request to a Phish Thoughts regular as a memento of his first show. Enjoy the band’s first-ever performance in Delaware from February ’93. As Garth once said, “Hey! We’re in Delaware.”
I: David Bowie, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, It’s Ice, Glide, Rift, Stash, Lawn Boy*, Maze, Golgi Apparatus
II: Runaway Jim, Wilson, Uncle Pen, Tweezer > The Lizards, Llama, You Enjoy Myself, Big Ball Jam > Hold Your Head Up > Lengthwise > Hold Your Head Up, The Squirming Coil, Cavern
E: Amazing Grace, Tweezer Reprise
*dedicated to Delaware & with guitar solo
Source: Unknown
Come one, come all! If you’ve been paying attention for the past couple years, you’ll have as good of a shot at this contest as anyone. Today’s main event is “Type II Trivia: 3.0 Style.” That’s right, all ten audio clips come from this era since Phish returned in 2009. Nobody can claim noobership in …
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 …
