Set 1: Bold As Love, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Divided Sky, The Price of Love[1], On Your Way Down, Ya Mar, Fluffhead, Run Like an Antelope
Set 2: The Mango Song[2], Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, You Enjoy Myself, Undun[1], La Grange, Golgi Apparatus
Set 3: Peaches en Regalia > Foam, AC/DC Bag > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Satin Doll, Rocky Top
Encore: Makisupa Policeman
[1] First known Phish performance.
[2] First known performance.
The SkiRack (formerly The Front) looking up Main St. towards The Woodbury Armory (formerly Hunt’s).
We finally get another full show after some segments and what a beauty we have to go over today! This is the best show of 1989 so far and not just because we get to hear everything. It starts off with a solid “Bold as Love” which Trey has dropped the horrible flanger effect he played at the end. “McGrupp” builds to a soaring dissonant peak in the jam. “Divided Sky” is played with such fire. Phish slays local colleagues’ Ninja Custodian’s “The Price of Love”. A fiery “On Your Way Down” with delicious Page vocals goes nicely with “Ya Mar” to bring the mood up. “Fluffhead” has some very nice licks by Trey to accompany the composition. “Antelope” is the best yet with whole band movement during the jams and a fun dissonant undercurrent to the Marco Esquandolas section.
Set 2 we get the first recording of “The Mango Song”. The song is not the powerhouse it will e like most early Phish versions but it does have really tight licks from Trey and the general feel is there. “Mike’s Groove” is pretty good. The “Mike’s” is very short but hot, the “Hydrogen” is perfect, and the “Weekapaug” is the fastest yet but unfortunately gets cuts short. “You Enjoy Myself” is also quite nice with great interplay between Trey and Page and an awesome drop into a tease of Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good” and hen working it around the “Wash Uffizi Drive Me to Firenze” of the vocal jam. The Guess Who’s “Undun” here is a Fishman song and continues what began with “If I Only Had A Brain” but this time has less theatrics and is more a fun romp through the song. No longer just singing with his head down and mumbling Syd Barrett, here he duets with Page and puts some real emotion in the song. Well done Fish! A ripping “La Grange” follows and then “Golgi” closes the set.
Set 3 kicks off with the always strong “Peaches”. “Foam” continues to be a strong showcase piece for all 4 members of Phish with Page and Trey trading licks, Mike playing inventive bass lines, and Fishman playing a strong underlying rhythm. “AC/DC” is good but nothing special. “BBFCFM” is fun as usual. “Satin Doll” has excellent solos by both Mike and Fish, demonstrating their abilities at the time. Trey tries to explain the band at the end by introducing them as “The Phish Fusion Hardcore Jazz and Bluegrass Band”. Little hard to fit on a marquee. The band then rips into “Rocky Top” to end the set. An encore of “Makisupa Policemen” with a solid Mike-heavy reggae jam ends the show.
Chris Kuroda – The Early Years. (Photo Credit: Phish.com)
This show would not only be noted for the music but it was also Chris Kuroda’s first night on Phish’s crew as a simple roadie, lugging gear. Apparently, Trey asked Chris he if he knew anyone bring their guitar lesson and Chris responded by suggesting himself. This is why 2/7/89 might be CK5’s favorite show as it was one of his last as a common fan.
As most of you probably know, Phish announced their 2015 Summer Tour Dates this afternoon. In this post, we’ll take a look at the history behind each venue and if there’s no history, then the venue location.
7/21 Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend, OR
7/22 Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend, OR
Times played: Zero
Last Time Played: None
First Time Played: None
Phish opens the proper tour in Bend, OR. Phish has never played in Oregon east of the Cascades before. With its laid-back attitude and ample craft beer, Phish and Bend should be a match for fans. The venue itself looks very similar to Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor, ME and should have a similar vibe but with half the capacity at 8,000. The last time Phish played Oregon was October 17, 2014, opening the fall tour, marking the first Oregon show since 1998. They’ve been playing the state since 1991.
7/24 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Times Played: 13
Last Time Played: 8/5/09
First Time Played: 8/29/92
The first venue with history on the list, Shoreline is, of course, best known as the place where Phish played the last show of 1.0 before the hiatus. The last few times Phish played the Bay Area, they’ve usually skipped Shoreline but as this might be their lone appearance this year, the bigger venue may be necessary at 22,000. Phish first played Shoreline on 8/29/92, opening for Santana. Phish has been playing the Bay Area since playing the DNA Lounge in San Francisco on March 29, 1991.
Photo credit: Rene Humer/Phish.
7/25 The Forum, Inglewood, CA
Times Played: 2
Last Time Played: 10/24/14
First Time Played: 2/14/03
Phish returns to the Fabulous Forum less than one year after playing a great show on the Fall Tour. With Kuroda able to play with the starlights in the ceiling and MSG Entertainment’s renovation of the space as a premier concert facility, I look forward to the Forum becoming a Phish tour staple for years to come with a good size at 17,505 capacity. The band first played the Forum in 2003, debuting Dr. Hook’s “Cover of the Rolling Stone” in honor of the band’s first and only appearance on the cover. Phish first played Los Angeles on 4/15/92 at the Variety Arts Center.
7/28 Austin360 Amphitheater, Austin, TX
Times Played: Zero
Last Time Played: None
First Time Played: None
One of two venues involving motor speedways, the Austin360 amphitheater sits alongside the track, right behind the observation tower at the Circuit of the Americas. It’ll be interesting to see how the crowd is on a hot July night in Texas but local fans are excited the band is back. This venue is medium-sized for the tour at 14,000. Phish last played Austin at the Austin City Limits festival on 10/8/10. They first played Austin on a multi-band bill at the Cannibal Club on 10/26/90.
7/29 Verizon Theatre at Grand Praire Dallas, TX
Times Played: Zero
Last Time Played: None
First Time Played: None
Phish hasn’t played Dallas since 7/26/1998. It is currently the largest US metropolitan area with the longest Phish drought. So the excitement for them to return is palpable. This is a new theater about 25 minutes west of downtown Dallas. Another small venue might also make this a tough ticket with a capacity of only 6,350. Phish first played Dallas on 10/27/1990 at the Rhythm Room, where the first known performance of Llama occurred. Of course, the band’s most famous night in Dallas was the 5/7/94 show at the Bomb Factory, where a monster “Tweezerfest” happened.
7/31 Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA
8/1 Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA
Times Played: 9
Last Time Played: 8/25/12
First Time Played: 6/15/95
Phish this year opts for the older confines of Lakewood as opposed to Alpharetta this year. It’s also much larger with a capacity of 19,000 compared to 12,000 at Alpharetta. The band has some serious history with the place having played it for 20 years now. Phish last played this space in 2012. The 1995 show has Mike play electric drill for the first time in the band’s history. Phish first played Atlanta on 2/3/1990 on a split bill with local favorites Widespread Panic.
8/2 Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, Tuscaloosa, AL
Times Played: Zero
Last Time Played: None
First Time Played: None
One of many new venues on this tour, Phish tries out another new spot in Alabama after last year’s stop at The Wharf in Orange Beach in addition to the old standby of Oak Mountain in Pelham. This venue is interesting for the tour as it has no lawn behind the seating due it’s small capacity of 7,470. Phish last played the college town of Tuscaloosa (Home to the University of Alabama) in 11/8/91 at the Ivory Tusk. They first played the city on 10/20/90 at Solomon’s.
8/4 West Riverfront Park, Nashville, TN
Times Played: Zero
Last Time Played: None
First Time Played: None
Last of the new venues, West Riverfront Park is actually still under construction for the upcoming season. That’s why we only have a rendering. With the skyline of Nashville as the backdrop, it looks like a gorgeous place for a night of Phish. The show will also boast intimacy as it barely outsizes Grand Prairie at 6,500 capacity. The band last played Nashville on 11/29/95 at the Municipal Auditorium. They first played Nashville on 2/28/1991 at the Sarratt Student Center on the campus of Vanderbilt University.
8/5 Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO
Times Played: 1
Last Time Played: 8/22/12
First Time Played: 8/22/12
It’s good to see Phish giving this nice theatre in Kansas City another try, even with it’s smaller capacity at 7,958. People who went said it was a great spot and while the last show left a little to be desired by some, a few thought there was a good chunk of bliss in the middle of it’s “Mike’s Groove” with “Bouncing>Number Line>Heavy Things, If I Could” all finding their way there. Phish first played Kansas City, Missouri on 10/19/95 at the Municipal Auditorium. They played Kansas City, Kansas on 4/13/93 at Memorial Hall and opted to play the Sandstone Amphitheatre in Bonner Springs, KS from 1998-2003.
8/7 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Times Played: 6
Last Time Played: 6/24/12
First Time Played: 7/31/92
One of my personal favorites, Blossom is a gorgeous amphitheater located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The graceful sloping lawn is a wonderful place to bliss out for a night. The shed dates from 1968, making it feel like a different era. 23,000 can pack in, putting it on the large side of this tour but it still feels intimate despite the larger size. Blossom was first played in 7/31/92, again while opening for Santana.
8/8 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI
8/9 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI
Times Played: 15
Last Time Played: 7/1/12
First Time Played: 8/10/96
It’s all downhill from here. The place most played on this tour, Phish clearly has a connection with Alpine Valley, even releasing a live DVD from 2010 and making their 2000 show Live Phish Volume 5. The place is massive as well, holding up to 37,000 people; the largest non-festive venue on this tour. Phish surprisingly enough has not been here in 3 years. Usually played in tandem with Deer Creek in Noblesville, IN, surprisingly that combo was not scheduled this year.
8/11 Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
8/12 Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Times Played: 6
Last Time Played: 7/9/14
First Time Played: 7/18/92
The times played here is surprisingly high despite the long layoff. Phish returned to the Mann 19 years later last summer and apparently liked it enough to not wait another 20 to return. A quirky shed built for the Philadelphia Symphony in Fairmount Park, it’s proximity to Center City makes it an ideal spot. Even more ideal, not having to cross the river to Camden for the show. With no SPAC on the docket, this is your lone chance to make a balcony rock. Despite it’s capacity at 14,000, this proved to be a tough ticket last year. Like other long-time staples, Phish’s first gig here was opening for Santana.
8/14 Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, Raleigh, NC
Times Played: 8
Last Time Played: 6/18/11
First Time Played: 6/29/94
Phish returns to Walnut Creek for the first time in 4 years. The band had favored Charlotte for summer tour as of late. The band obviously has a love for the venue, releasing their “electrifying” 1997 show on DVD in 2008. (Electrifying because lightning hitting the stage forced a show delay). Unlike other venues, Phish did not get their first turn here opening for Santana but rather as a stop on their career-defining summer 1994 tour. 20,500 will be able to see this gig.
8/15 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
8/16 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
Times Played: 13
Last Time Played: 7/27/14
First Time Played: 7/17/92
The second most-played venue on the tour, the return to Merriweather looms large after last year’s “Tweezerfest”. Other highlights from the venue include a sick “Free>What’s The Use” in 1999. Once again, the band’s first performance was opening for Santana on 7/17/92. Similar to Blossom, it’s a tad smaller at 19,319.
Photo credit: Brantley Gutierrez/Phish
8/21 Watkins Glen International Raceway, Watkins Glen, NY
8/22 Watkins Glen International Raceway, Watkins Glen, NY
8/23 Watkins Glen International Raceway, Watkins Glen, NY
Considered to be the main event of the summer, Phish makes it’s triumphant return to Watkins Glen International Raceway. Attendance was supposedly about 48,000 in 2011, no New England, New York, or New Jersey dates would make it seem attendance will be higher this year. The raceway can have up to 100,000 in attendance for races.The stories that came out of the place the last festival Super Ball IX are enough to get anyone excited for another round. Easy in without the hassle of many other sites, the pinball lounge parties, the ditch party, the Storage Jam, plenty of bustouts and jams, the beach ball Tube party, it was a celebration on all fronts. Now, will they go bigger for number 10, known as the MagnaBall? Only one way to find out and that’s to show up to the Glen in late August.
9/4 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
9/5 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
9/6 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Times Played: 12
Last Time Played: 8/31/14
First Time Played: 9/2/11
Some didn’t know if Dick’s would be on if Festival 10 happened. Well it appears to be going on. One of Phish’s greatest 3.0 traditions is raging Labor Day weekend at the home of the Colorado Rapids MLS team. People love it’s proximity to Denver, the legal weed, and the fact that the band is mighty comfortable by tours end and throws down. Dick’s hosts up to 26,000 people, the field always sells out but stands are usually available. Throw in the usual first night setlist shenanigans, such as the “S” show, “Most Shows Spell Something Backwards”, and the “Lushington” fakeout and it’s easy to see why fans come back year after year.
So a good chunk of new venues and old favorites! Can’t wait to hear what comes out of these shows. I’ll see you at Watkins Glen!
Set 1: Possum, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Golgi Apparatus > Divided Sky, AC/DC Bag, If I Only Had a Brain, Take the ‘A’ Train, David Bowie
The exterior of the Paradise Rock Club before renovation.
I’m just gonna cut right to it. There’s no need for anyone to listen to this recording. It’s all songs, which there are better versions from this year. The songs aren’t even presented in the right order. “I Am Hydrogen” is cut out of the “Mike’s Groove”. “If I Only Had a Brain” sounds like it opens the show despite being in the number 7 slot on the recording. It does have an early vacuum solo, which is cool to to hear and also to hear Page advised Fish “take it around!” for another 8 bars of solo. A couple of fun “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” teases in “Possum” and “A-Train”. But for the most part, I’d stay away from this recording for a variety of reasons. Big show at the Front tomorrow.
Set 1: The Curtain > Ya Mar, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Fluffhead, Contact, AC/DC Bag > Wilson, You Enjoy Myself, Harpua, Foam
Set 2: Wilson, Fluffhead
Set 3: Fire, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, Alumni Blues, The Lizards, La Grange, You Enjoy Myself, Good Times Bad Times
Encore: Halley’s Comet
(Setlist may be incorrect)
The final nights at Nectar’s on the club’s booking calendar. (Photo credit: Nectar’s/Burlington Free Press)
Aside from the Paradise show, no indicator of how fast things were moving for Phish in 1989 is greater than the end of the Nectar’s era. This was the incubator. No one can honestly say that Phish would have done much without the safe space of their weekly gig there. Any place that’ll let you debut a rock opera after a Frank Zappa show deserves some applause. Nectar’s is fortunately celebrating its 40th anniversary. The ownership may be new and they may have renovated the place but that vibe of music above everything else remains. I wish I could say that we had the whole affair and it was glorious and moving but alas, time has not been kind. We have a conflicting setlist and a 1st set that seems patched together. It even has “Harpua” as the last song but conflicting reports says it is not so. I like to think that Nectar’s went out with one more story from Trey myself, so in my mind, it did. The circulating recording says Set 1 but with “Harpua” being introduced as “the last song”, I think it’s safe to say that’s incorrect. Others think the recording may have come from another show but I don’t think a show with this much weight would have been mislabeled. We’ll never know the real answer.
Phish on the Nectar’s stage. (Photo credit: Max Brown/Phish/Burlington Free Press)
What we do have is a nice set of club Phish. “Paul? You ready to go?”, asks Trey to kick things off. The band kicks into a vivid “Curtain”. “Ya Mar” happily follows it up and it’s clear from the tracks we have that this will be a grooving night. Also, this is the 1st “Ya Mar” on record since 1988, about 74 total shows, the second longest gap for the song. The “Mike’s Groove” here is really taste. Played very tightly and doesn’t wander too much. The “Weekapaug” is really slow though but makes a nice dance tune here. “Fluffhead” is strong as usual. “Contact” gets cut in the middle adding to my though that this tape is pieced together. We get a Gamehendge two-fer of “AC/DC” and “Wilson” that’s good. “You Enjoy Myself” never goes out there but again is super tight. The level of interplay is getting closer to what made the band legendary. The highlight here is “Harpua”. Trey tries to get the whole crowd into the intro, teaching them the oom-pa-pa and hand gestures. The song is a classic Harpua, with the perfect storytelling from Trey about Harpua’s search for raw flesh and finding Jimmy’s cat named, the cat whose name is, the cat who was known as…POSTER NUTBAG! The fight ensues and as always, Poster is dead. Real passion in this version that makes it fun. There’s a “Foam” tacked on the end but I think that that is filler from another show and not an encore.
Phish would continue to have a stage in Burlington until 1992, taking residence at the larger Front, eventually playing more gigs there than Nectar’s but Nectar’s importance in the first 5 years of the band will never be understated. Unlike the Front, which was Phish polished, Nectar’s allowed the band to find their sound and style in a way that is not usually how the industry works. The band said it best in the liner notes of their 1992 album A Picture of Nectar:
“Eight and a half years ago, we played our first bar gig at Nectar’s in Burlginton. Nectar Rorris, the proprietor, was happy to give us a gig despite out lack of experience, organization, or a song list long enough to last two sets. The night went well enough and soon we were playing a series of monthly three night stands – three sets a night on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Like countless other bands in Burlington’s diverse music scene, those nights at Nectar’s taught us how to play. We dedicate this album to Nectar Rorris for 16 years of bringing Burlington live music every night of the week with no cover and the best fries this side of…France.”
Thanks to Nectar and new owner Chris, and former owner Damon for being the cornerstone of Burlington’s music scene. Here’s to 40 years of Nectar’s and hopefully 40 more!
Part of what’s weird about history is what survives the years. Sometimes it’s the obvious things like the Rosetta Stone or The Magna Carta. Sometimes it’s President Harding’s pajamas or an ancient chamberpot. It is in the evidence of these stunning finds that we are presented with what we have from this show at Nectar’s on March 12, 1989. It doesn’t have any standout jams or even real bustouts. It has one theatrical debut that some might say is the ‘real” beginning of the Fishman song tradition and then it has probably one of the oddest moments of Phish history on tape. We get a well-played but boring Mike’s Groove, though it was enough for Fish to allegedly break his snare drum. This evolves into a cover of “If I Only Had A Brain” as the delay and song choice is due to his error. Such a setup for a cover. These Fishman theatrics continue today, most recently with the “Dem Bones” cover setting up the “Suck to Blow” New Year’s gag. Rather than just have Fishman come out to do another Syd Barrett cover, this one has a script attached. A good precursor to the “Hold Your Head Up” tradition.
Then, we get “Alumni Blues” with the alternate lyrics. “Letter to Jimmy Page” goes off the rails when Phish has Eyeburn take the stage and perform one of their own “punk rock” songs that sounds like a terrible CBGB-era band. Just awful and complete time warp. This might have been popular in 1981 but 8 years later and you’re still doing that schtick, yikes. I don’t know who in Phish let this go down, let alone bug their show at the Front 5 days later, let alone that they could get a gig at the Front. Maybe they had a better songs in the catalog but that would not have gotten me to the Front that weekend. No other information about Eyeburn could be found online, the only links were to this show. It’d be interesting to know more about them and how they appeared this night. Also, how their performance survives 26 years later on a Phish tape. The rest of the set has no real highlights. This show can be important though because it would be the 1st show of the last 3-night stand at Nectar’s. The 2nd show remains uncirculated but we’ll have part of the last Nectar’s show next.
The Wetlands at the corner of Hudson and Laight, NYC.
It’s hard for a band, especially an East Coast band, to truly get somewhere without making a splash in New York City. However, New York in the late 1980s was not really a hippie-friendly environment. Most of the clubs were places to be seen and not see music. Those that did host music were catering to Punk and New Wave bands lingering from the city’s own musical renaissance in the late 1970s. Not the most welcoming place for a noodling progressive jam quartet from Vermont. Enter Larry Bloch. Bloch was the visionary behind The Wetlands Preserve. Located at 161 Hudson St in the TriBeCa neighborhood, the club was both a nightclub and an activism center for environmental issues. The building was a former Chinese food warehouse. The club opened at just the right time on February 16, 1989 with a sold-out show from the Grateful Dead-influenced band New Potato Caboose instead of rising jamband Blues Traveler. Less than a month later, Phish played their first gig and really found their NYC crowd at the Wetlands. The club would be a lasting impact as totally different from anywhere else in the city. Several things set the club apart: a more laid-back attitude than another club, a unique downstairs “chill” space with couches and pillows but still a live feed from the main room, and an information center built into an old VW bus, where concertgoers could learn about environmental issues. Phish would go on to play 7 more shows at the Wetlands, 5 of which will be reviewed here. The Wetlands doesn’t get the nostalgia that CBGB gets in New York’s music history but in reality, it’s every bit as important. Nearly every band that made the early to mid 1990s rock scene, with the exception of Nirvana graced its stage. Heavy hitters included “house band” Blues Traveler, The Spin Doctors, Pearl Jam, Hootie and the Blowfish, Sublime, Ween, almost many others. I won’t give the entire Wetlands story away since we’ve got so far to go. The main point being where else could Phish play on a Saturday night in New York in 1989. It’s also key because if you follow the band’s career in a certain city, it will add another dimension to their tale. In the coming days, we’ll add City as a category so you can view every review per city to show that transition.
Inside the Wetlands at the info bus.
As for the actual show, we only have half of it. This is a great sounding early audience recording. Clearly there’s a crowd but doesn’t sound like a packed house. “A Train” features an extensive “Flinstones” theme tease. The “Mike’s Song” has a great jam with an ending lead by Trey instead of Page, which is odd. “Weekapaug Groove” has some unusual drumming from Fishman that’s worth checking out. First real standout track about Fishman so far. “Antelope” has a very neat and tidy jam for the song. Lastly, Trey says that Bruce Springsteen will be coming out to join them. Funny now that 20 years later at Bonnaroo, that would actually happen. It’s sad that we don’t have the 3rd set. Given the venue, it probably got a little weird and fun. Next, we head back to Burlington for the end of an era.
Addendum: I know that if you look at Phishtracks or Phish.in, you’ll see there was a show on 3/3/89. The setlists and information vary so differently between Phish.com and Phish.net that it cannot be historically accurate at all for this blog. Therefore I have opted out of reviewing to.
Set 1: The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, The Curtain > Foam, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Run Like an Antelope > Golgi Apparatus, Possum
Set 2: On Your Way Down > AC/DC Bag, You Enjoy Myself -> Camel Walk
Teases:
· Jean Pierre tease in You Enjoy Myself
The SkiRack (formerly The Front) looking up Main St. towards The Woodbury Armory (formerly Hunt’s).
Are you starting to see the pattern of the Front being a home base for the band during their early touring years? They still had that weekly gig, 3 nights a week to ground the band as their world got crazier and crazier. This is the second of three nights, the other two do not have recordings, and what we get is just good solid Phish. The problem here is the quality of the recording. This is most likely a later generation tape and that’s why the dubbing is incorrect. Because of the poor dubbing, we get everything a half step higher then it originally was played. Historically, it’s great we have anything at all but it’s a little hard to judge the playing because everything’s sped up. Did Phish really have crazy chops like that earlier on? Most likely yes and we can tell from other tapes but here’s other factors that we’ll see in following Phish’s history that are impacted by the quality of tapes we have access to. One of the benefits of early Phish is tapers had access to patch directly in to the soundboard. That means they could take their rig and plug it in for a direct recording of the soundboard. Starting in the early 90s, we’ll see a transition as many of the shows reviewed will become audience recordings as Phish cut off access to the soundboard. For more on the history of tape trading, check out this article by David Steinberg aka zzyzx.
It’s also important to note that some of the recordings on PhishTracks or Phish.in are probably 3rd or 4th generation tapes. I’m still grateful for what we have though. There’s no way an undertaking like this could have been done until at least the mid-2000s and even then it would have been difficult due to space constraints. Everything, even the bad shows, would have had to been downloaded to a hard drive. Those hard drives still exist but streaming the show makes it easy to listen anywhere and that is a timesaver. As for the show itself, it’s a solid night. Excellent to see “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday” back on a recording. The highlight is the “YEM->Camel Walk”. The “YEM” is the first time you really hear Phish’s signature tension and release jamming as the jam builds and builds until it hits that right moment to come down and then they effortlessly transition into “Camel Walk”. It’s really a great early highlight despite being presented a half-step up.
P.S. Happy 6th Anniversary 3.0! I’m so glad I’m writing about living history instead of just history! Thanks Phish!
Set 1: The Sloth, Divided Sky, The Curtain > I Didn’t Know, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > The Lizards, Walk Away > Possum, Good Times Bad Times
Set 2: Golgi Apparatus, Wilson > Peaches en Regalia, You Enjoy Myself > La Grange, Slave to the Traffic Light, Contact, David Bowie[1]
Set 3: Whipping Post, Corinna, AC/DC Bag
Encore: Fire
[1] “Fish’s Birthday” lyrics.
The Stone Church in Newmarket, NH
I’ll probably say this a lot more but in over 1600 shows, you’re bound to get a few where that’s just not a lot going on. This is one of those shows. The tape quality is not very good and the playing just isn’t as hot as you’d expect. This is the second of 2 nights at the Stone Church. It’s more notable for what we don’t get here. The first night Phish debuted a new song called “Split Open and Melt”, a song that would quickly become a fan favorite. But we’ll never know what that first version was like. Even Phish.com says 2/17/89 is not in their archives at all. Aside form that, it is exciting to hear a larger crowd in the Stone Church. Clearly, Phish was brining a good audience in on a Saturday night. The lone highlight here is the band doing a birthday version of “David Bowie” for Jon Fishman. The following day was Fish’s 24th birthday and the band replaced UB40 with Fish’s Birthday as the lyric and then yelled for him to do 100 pushups. Fish apparently did do some push-ups after “Bowie” but with the tape cut, we’ll never know. Still an interesting snippet since we just celebrated Fish’s 50th.
Set 1: Esther > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters[1] > Foam, The Sloth -> Possum, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Golgi Apparatus
Set 2: Makisupa Policeman, Dinner and a Movie, AC/DC Bag > The Lizards, Timber (Jerry), Contact, Alumni Blues[2] > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Fee > Run Like an Antelope
Set 3: Sanity[3], Fluffhead, Suzy Greenberg > Slave to the Traffic Light, Bike > Whipping Post[4]
Encore: Fire
[1] Fish on trombone.
[2] Additional lyrics.
[3] Fast version.
[4] First known Fish vocals.
The SkiRack (formerly The Front) looking up Main St. towards The Woodbury Armory (formerly Hunt’s).
While we don’t know what happened the first night of this three night stand, I can easily say that this is the better show between the two that we do have. With a more varied setlist than the shows that became before it, it gives that band a chance to work on some lower tier tunes. The Phish catalog is very interesting in that it’s very clearly layered. You have the top tier of compositions. In this layer, you’d find “You Enjoy Myself”, “Fluffhead”, “Divided Sky”, “Mike’s”, “Weekapaug”, “Harry Hood”, among a few others. However, there’s another stellar layer but not considered essential by the amount of times played by the band. I would put in this level “McGrupp”, “Esther”, “The Lizards”, “Fee”. This is still an amazing bunch but if you were making the essential Phish, they might not make it. When they string a bunch of these together, it always makes for a more interesting show. This night at The Front, we get a whole bunch of this tier of Phish and it makes for a fun night and breaks up what had become a fairly monotonous run of important shows. The band was just getting into more varied setlist as their repertoire grew and it’s here on this night that you get that feeling of changing the sets every night that would become a Phish trademark. It also important to note that this is lighting director Chris Kuroda’s favorite show, as mentioned in an interview with JamBase. He said if he ever got to pick some live shows for release, this show would be number 1. It’s a curious pick but I think it’ll become very evident why it might be one of his favorites in upcoming shows…
We get a really interesting open in the form of “Esther”. The song is presented here with its updated and current lyrics, where the mob attacks Esther instead of the old man at the end of the song. I also like how it opens with the omnious circus music and I don’t get what the audience member yells but Trey’s reaction of “Damn Right”, kind of hits the determination of the band in a way that makes me laugh. This is also interesting because this will be the only “Esther” opener in the band’s history. I guess a story and menacing circus music isn’t a great show opener outside a Tuesday night in Vermont. Another thought while listening to “Esther” is you hear the organ coming out a lot more. I have to believe it was some time in ’88 that Page augmented that Yamaha CP-70 piano with his Hammond M-100 and that enabled him to play more organ parts, a signature that would only continue to develop. “McGrupp” follows continuing the theme of lesser-known compositions. “McGrupp” is very beautifully played and subdued. Almost a downer but why not start the night off easy? “Foam” continues the trend as it seems to be taking the spotlight in the ramp up to Junta. These three songs are also very Page heavy tunes. An odd trio to kick off the set but that makes it interesting. A lovely pairing of “The Sloth->Possum” seems to really signify the start of the evening, at least for Trey. “Possum” itself has a really nice lead and gets nice and quite before ramping back up for the ending. The “Mike’s Groove” in my opinion is the highlight of the set. It starts of timid. Mike’s vocals are a still little shaky with the existing melody just a hair out of his range. But around the 4-minute mark, the jam begins to build and led by Trey, the intensity picks up. It’s as if a tiny whirlwind is now a tornado. The 4-headed monster build and builds. Trey even continues to play licks, despite cues from his band members that the end is coming. A fan would get the feeling this would have a second jam if the year was 1994 or 1995. However, it drifts off to a very slick “Hydrogen” before dropping down into “Weekapaug” for a nice danceable jam.
More rarities second set. We get a fun “Makisupa” to set the scene and then “Dinner and A Movie” gets a welcome return to rotation. After that, the show loses its uniqueness and we get a lot of the same things we’ve been hearing throughout 1988. There’s a hilarious “Timber (Jerry)” where Trey doesn’t seem hooked up with the band at all and keeps missing the rhythm of the lyrics. Despite the train-wreck, it has a hot fiery jam. “Alumni” has the story lyrics as opposed to the regular lyrics. “Antelope” is very nice as always. The fast version of “Sanity” kicks off Set 3 and is still a lot of fun to hear. The set ends with a fun double dose of Fishman singing not only Syd Barrett’s “Bike” but also doing a tortured version of “Whipping Post”, which is a nice deviation from the previous night’s “straight” version. All-in-all a fun night at The Front. With its unique setlist and antics, it’s easy to see why Kuroda would enjoy this one so much.
Set 1: Suzy Greenberg, The Curtain > Wilson > Peaches en Regalia, Fee > La Grange, You Enjoy Myself
Set 2: All Blues > Sanity[1], Take the ‘A’ Train, Golgi Apparatus > Divided Sky, On Your Way Down, I Didn’t Know
Set 3: Good Times Bad Times, Walk Away > Harry Hood, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Whipping Post, Corinna
Encore: David Bowie
[1] Fast version.
The SkiRack (formerly The Front) looking up Main St. towards The Woodbury Armory (formerly Hunt’s).
While the band was beginning to grow in statue outside the Green Mountain State, Phish remained deep in the fabric of the Vermont music scene for years to come. So after taking Boston by storm, the band played Dartmouth College, their usual Wednesday night gig at Gallagher’s in Waitsfield, and their first New York City show at Forty Worth, an art gallery/performance space in Tribeca. Unfortunately none of these shows exist in circulation. The leaves us with night 2 and night 3 of the band’s first Burlington shows since the Paradise gig. The band is continuing to establish the Front as their home base but they haven’t quite left Nectar’s yet. The only problem with 3 nights and no albums yet, the material stays about the same as recent shows. That’s not to say there are no highlights here on Night 2. The “Wilson>Peaches” combo is back. A really tasty take on “La Grange” happens though that I like. We get a taste of Phish’s version of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” into the fast version of “Sanity” again. “Divided Sky” continues to be amazing. The ending jam to “Harry Hood” has some interesting interplay between all 4 members. But the standout is “David Bowie”. The band has fun with the opening segment as that tradition seems to be improving. Trey does the Batman TV theme to open, when the composed section is about to break into the jam, the whole band gets in on the riff. Then Trey starts the jam on the Batman riff and they use that as a launchpad into the jam. It’s an interesting look at the band listening to each other early on and moving as a unit, rather than just Trey wild over the top. At 8:46, you can hear Page signal to the band and he initiates a call and response with Trey that’s just magnificent for them to build off. Also, Mike plays almost the base line to Wipe Out at such a fast pace that holds it down. Tight playing indeed. Night 3 next!
The Phishsonian Institute - Researching Phish's impact in the world-at-large 