Category: Phish

Show #57: 6/24/88

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A statue of Big Joe Burrell, a Vermont music icon, stands guard outside Halvorson’s on Church Street in downtown Burlington, VT.

Friday, 06/24/1988
Halverson’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: The Lizards,  Possum,  Blue Bossa[1],  Alumni Blues >  Letter to Jimmy Page >  Alumni Blues,  On Your Way Down[2],  Golgi Apparatus,  Fee,  Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,  You Enjoy Myself,  The Ballad of Curtis Loew,  Fluffhead

At the end of 6/21/88, Page comments that the band will be playing at Halvorson’s that Friday. It’s interesting to me that Phish only played Halvorson’s one time. Halvorson’s has always been a pillar of the Burlington music community since the 1970s. Every week, Big Joe Burrell and the Unknown Blues Band would play in the courtyard to the delight of Vermonters. This is important to note because there are probably two local bands that were the biggest influence on Phish. The more obvious one is the Sneakers Jazz Band. Every Tuesday, Sneakers, a small restaurant in Winooski, around the corner from the band’s house, had their house band play. In 1998, Trey recalled to local music ‘zine Big Heavy World strolling over and spending the evening. listening to some of Vermont’s finest players. The horns of the Sneakers Jazz Band would go on to form the Giant Country Horns in 1991. But Big Joe and the Unknown Blues Band were just as important. Big Joe’s rhythm section consisted of two guys names Tony Markellis and Russ Lawton, who would in turn form Trey’s solo band’s rhythm section. The original incarnation of Trey’s solo band really was a veritable Vermont all-star band with the Unknown Blues Band’s rhythm section and the Sneakers Jazz Band horn section coming together and viperHouse’s Ray Paczkowski on keys. Adding another angle to this importance, the guitarist for both bands is Paul Asbell, who also gave guitar lessons to Trey. Clearly two very important influences, so much so they both ended up in the liner notes for A Live One. Halvorson’s also is of note for hosting a weekly gig for Grace Potter before she became a national recording artist.

So the fact that the band only played Halvorson’s once is a curious stat but nonetheless, the venue still left its mark on the band. Different than the usual bars, Halvorson’s was always known as a more upscale bar and restaurant in town with a more laid-back vibe. Maybe that’s why they weren’t booked there often. As for the show, we only have part of a recording. Also, according to the notes, most of it may not be from this show. I do believe at least the “Lizards” and “Possum” were recorded at Halvorson’s. “Blue Bossa” appears to be from a later gig but would make sense to be played at this venue. The short “Sneakin’ Sally” would also fit as it keep tighter than other versions around this time. Worth a quick listen to bridge the gap but not noteworthy musically.

Shows #53,54, and 55: 6/19-21/88

Sunday, 06/19/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: The Curtain With,  Funky Bitch,  Possum,  Golgi Apparatus,  La Grange,  Suzy Greenberg,  Big Leg Emma,  You Enjoy Myself[1]

Set 2: Good Times Bad Times,  Cities,  Alumni Blues >  Letter to Jimmy Page >  Alumni Blues,  Big Black Furry Creature from Mars,  Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,  Contact,  Run Like an Antelope

Set 3: I Know a Little >  Mike’s Song,  Corinna,  Rocky Top,  McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters

Encore: Jesus Just Left Chicago

[1] Vocal jam based on the word “down.”

Teases:
· When the Levee Breaks tease in You Enjoy Myself
· Theme from The Flintstones and London Bridge Is Falling Down teases in Big Black Furry Creature from Mars
· Iron Man tease

Hello and welcome back,

I have been on a bit of hiatus. My wife and I moved coast to almost coast from Boston, MA to Ellensburg, WA, which has pretty much turned my life upside down. Combine that with some very boring shows and it makes this a little difficult. But here I am ready to lay it down. The summer of 1988 appears to be an odd time for Phish. You can feel how important is to the band but they just haven’t had the right move yet. They haven’t had the burst of new material that will come in the next two years and also they haven’t moved past being Burlington’s best bar band. Out of 66 known shows with setlists, 62 of them came in the state of Vermont with 3 in New York and 1 in Massachusetts. The average amount of times each song has been played at this point is 7.68. Meaning that, I’ve heard each song about 8 times by now if not more since some are more in rotation than others.(Stats from ihoz.com)No wonder I have a bit of fatigue from hearing 1980s Phish. We must plow on however. 6/19 is forgettable. There are no necessary highlights here. It’s just an average night.

Monday, 06/20/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Slave to the Traffic Light,  Peaches en Regalia,  You Enjoy Myself,  Fluffhead[1], AC/DC Bag >  The Lizards

Set 2: Halley’s Comet ->  Wilson,  Ya Mar ->  Jam[2],  I Didn’t Know[3]

Set 3: Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,  Tela,  Fee,  Golgi Apparatus,  Satin Doll[4] >  Take the ‘A’ Train >  Possum,  The Ballad of Curtis Loew,  David Bowie

[1] Lyrics changed to “sure got some Betty Davis eyes.”
[2] Jah Roy on vocals.
[3] Fish on trombone.
[4] First known Phish performance.

Teases:
· One Love, Three Little Birds, and Stir It Up quotes in Jam
· Theme from The Flintstones tease in Take the ‘A’ Train

6/20 is a little bit better. The first set is stacked with heavy hitters, Slave, YEM, and Fluffhead all in one set would make anyone crazy but even though the beginning is cut, the AC/DC Bag into The Lizards is excellent. Set 2 is for the reggae fans as we get another Jah Roy guest spot. It might have been a fun party at the time but musically and on tape it’s stale. Set 3 is very good though, especially the “Jazz” sequence. The band’s jazz standards are the most overlooked influence the band has. Everyone knows Pink Floyd, The Dead, Frank Zappa but their willingness to bring jazz to the table and play it well gies them a skill set many other bands lack. These early shows are fantastic for putting those chops on display and you can really hear how it makes the band much better. Try the “Take the A Train” here which is almost 8 minutes long and has a killer bass solo from Mike. The extended “Tela” also makes an appearance and the fugue in the middle which would be dropped is sublime. Really you should just check out all of Set 3.

Tuesday, 06/21/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Fluffhead,  Rocky Top,  Mustang Sally,  Suzy Greenberg >  The Curtain >  The Lizards, Fly Famous Mockingbird[1],  Fire

Set 2: AC/DC Bag,  Flat Fee,  Alumni Blues >  Letter to Jimmy Page >  Alumni Blues,  Jesus Just Left Chicago,  Good Times Bad Times,  Contact,  Peaches en Regalia,  Golgi Apparatus

Set 3: Harpua,  I Didn’t Know[2] >  Whipping Post

[1] Aborted and had to be restarted.
[2] False start, “Daubs” and “Seth” lyrics, Fish on trombone.

Teases:
· Dave’s Energy Guide tease in Fire

A few highlights here but for the most part, a standard show. My favorite segment was “The Curtain” going into “Lizards”. Exactly where the “With” segment would begin, it just hits all the right notes as it flows. “Mustang Sally” rips again in its unique Phish arrangement. Some people ripped Trey for flubbing “Fly Famous Mockingbird” at NYE last year but you can see it’s been going on for 25 years as he botches it well enough to have to start over. “Fire” also is played intensely and has an interesting “Dave’s Energy Guide” breakdown to close Set 1. “Flat Fee” makes a nice appearance here. A fan yells loudly for “Peaches” and Fish gives it to him, ripping to the drum intro and the band joins right in. A rare request granted. That’s about all of my highlights. Some might like the “Jesus Just Left Chicago” but I think it’s not a top version. Fans might also like the 25-minute “Whipping Post” but it really goes nowhere. It’s all tension and no release. It just fuels why anyone would want the band to cover Eat A Peach for Halloween. The band did it’s Allmans/Dead era here in the 1980s and clearly it’s time to move on.

Show #52: 6/15/88

 

At far left, 85 Main Street, former home of The Front. At far right, the original building of the Ski Rack.

Wednesday, 06/15/1988
The Front, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Suzy Greenberg, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, You Enjoy Myself -> Wilson, Rocky Top, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Fluffhead, Golgi Apparatus

Set 2: La Grange, Fee > Timber (Jerry), I Didn’t Know[1], The Lizards, AC/DC Bag, The Sloth, Contact[2], Dinner and a Movie, Take the ‘A’ Train, Good Times Bad Times, Whipping Post, Dear Mrs. Reagan

[1] Fish on trombone.
[2] First known performance.

Another new room. Another chapter in the book of Phish. This is the 2nd overall but 1st recording of the band at The Front. Located at 85 Main Street in Burlington, it was just across Pine Street from Hunt’s. In 1994, when the band said they’d been playing US Route 2 their entire career, they meant it. You can’t go looking for The Front, it’s no longer there. The building is but it is now the Ski Rack outdoor goods shop and has been for quite sometime. I don’t even remember before the space was the Ski Rack personally. There also are not a lot of links about The Front on the web. Luckily at least one person does, Caravan2001 over at BackInMyDay.net had this to say about the space,

“The venue itself was fairly non descript.  It was right up the street from the Flynn (if I remember correctly).  Walking in, there was a small area where they would check IDs and take money (no advance tickets), and then you would go to the left and enter the actual performance space.  The room where the band played was a dark rectangular room, maybe 100′ long by 50′ wide?  When you entered from the front area, you entered the back of the room on the side, the stage was to your right.  Stage was only about 2 or 3 feet high (knee height) and the ceiling was fairly low too. Definitely one of the smaller rooms I have ever seen Phish in, but not quite as small as Nietzches or The Haunt.  If you went toward the stage there was an exit to a connected (and related?) place called (I think) the Outback, and it was a small bar that also had an outdoor patio.”

To me, it sounds a bit like Showcase Lounge at the new Higher Ground in South Burlington or the old Knitting Factory in TriBeCa NYC. Regardless, it clearly was a music venue most of all unlike the spaces the band had filled up until hat point. You can hear the larger room on this recording as it seems to have more space and less noise. As far as the actual show, there are some fun tracks but nothing outstanding. The big highlight is the live debut of “Contact”, formerly called “The Tires”. It’s a little rough around the edges but has a tight funk jam in the middle that’s worth listen. “The Tires” is indeed “hot” as Trey said a few shows ago. “Dinner and a Movie” is also a fun this go-round. Another long yet less fiery “Whipping Post”. A beautiful “McGrupp”. A sweet segue from “YEM” into “Wilson”. A silly “Dear Mrs. Reagan” with Contact lyrics intertwined to close the show. Also of note, a lot of fans have been commenting about how Page has become the spokesperson of the band. This show is worth a listen because Page does most of the announcements, such as remind fans of the bar in “The Out Back” conneced to the venue. A lot of the guys have been talking about how the band feels like the old days. Maybe Page’s new role is also a throwback actually. This may not be a highlight of the history of The Front but many more will come over the years as The Front eclipses Nectar’s in importance to the band.

Shows #50 and 51: 5/23-24/88

Monday, 05/23/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Take the ‘A’ Train, Golgi Apparatus, You Enjoy Myself, Rocky Top, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, I Didn’t Know[1], Peaches en Regalia > Possum, Good Times Bad Times

[1] Fish on trombone.

On today’s post, we get the rest of the 3 night run started at the last show. The last show’s date waffled between the 21st and the 22nd. Evidence from this recording of 5/23 points towards 5/22 being the correct date. Phish.com reflects this but Phish.net does not. During 5/23 at the start of “You Enjoy Myself”, Del Martin makes a request and the band reminds him they played a request for him last night. “Last request, we’re even gonna give you! After you graduate from graduate school, man. Del, if you get a Masters degree, we’ll play another request for you, ” says Trey. Which makes me wonder if Del Martin ever did go to graduate school? Did he get another request? After he allegedly fled with some of the 1980s master tapes, does the band even talk to him anymore? Trey and Del seemed to be such great friends during these recordings. I wonder what his story is. That’d be a great article to work on and blow wide open. Other than that nugget, not a lot of highlights here. A flubbed but roaming “You Enjoy Myself”, a tight “Light Up or Leave Me Alone”, and a solid “Possum” are the things to listen to here but you can really just focus on the next night.

Tuesday, 05/24/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: The Curtain With, Rocky Top, Funky Bitch, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page> Alumni Blues, Peaches en Regalia, Golgi Apparatus, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,Suzy Greenberg, Fire

Set 2: Jesus Just Left Chicago, Fluffhead > Whipping Post

Set 3: Ya Mar[1] -> Jam[1] > Halley’s Comet[2] > The Sloth, I Didn’t Know[3], La Grange,Fee, I Know a Little, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Corinna, Harpua, Run Like an Antelope

[1] Jah Roy on vocals.
[2] Richard Wright on vocals.
[3] Richard Wright on drums, Fish on trombone.

Teases:
· Theme from The Flintstones tease in Big Black Furry Creature from Mars
· One Love quote in Jam

Phish today is known as a jamband but on these early tapes, while they are great improvisers, I really don’t get the meandering feeling of a jam band. Most people wouldn’t recognize this band with how short the playing is. When people today complain that Phish “doesn’t jam enough”, I kind of laugh to myself because Phish is just being Phish. They’ve always just been a very tight rock band that happens to take things for a walk now and then. However if you want to hear early leanings of the band’s ability to jam then 5/24/88 is a show for you. A strong “The Curtain With” kicks off the show in grand style. The outro jam is a must listen. “Rocky Top” also has a strong early version here. This Nectar’s run really solidifies the song as a staple of the Phish catalog and the earliest of the band’s bluegrass leanings. “Here’s one for this guy right over here!,” says Trey. “Oh yeah, hey you!,” says Mike. “Way for you to show up man!” We’ll never know who that is but he’s getting a “Peaches en Regalia” and maybe some shots it sounds like. Nothing like a call out from the band. “Sneakin’ Sally” also gets loose and is well played.

Second set is the real highlight here. The band kicks off “Jesus Just Left Chicago” and Mike asks the band to “take it down” and to “take it down again” even though the band is playing the song about as slow as it can without falling apart. It also is real quiet below Page’s vocals. It as if they want to make it as dirty as possible. Page plays a great solo going from piano to organ. He sings another verse and then it’s time for Trey to ale over and he lifts the band back up to heights, playing a wailing solo. There are great moments of sustain in “Slave to the Traffic Light” and “Divided Sky” but Trey here is just urging so much out of his guitar, it’s a must hear. It’s every bit as good as the vaunted “Jesus” from Slip, Stitch, and Pass. Mike follows it up with “We’re gonna slow it down a bit. I’d like to thank Kevin, the owner oft his space for letting me use it tonight,” which is weird considering the gig is at Nectar’s, owned by a man named Nectar at the time. Maybe it’s a reference to another show. A really solid “Fluffhead” follows it up. Then, the band gets lost with “Whipping Post”. It starts off innocent enough with a basic reading of the tune but it starts to go off the rails slowly. It never goes type II, leaving the structure of the song. If this was 1997, it might have but for a huge Type I jam, this is stellar. It even almost breaks down at about the 8 minute mark with Trey playing some really dissonant playing in and out of time. Fishman goes nuts for the whole 26 minutes with John Bonham-like enthusiasm. He even has breaks to let Trey show off. The band even brings it down for another verse and then slowly builds to another screaming jam. A milepost on the journey of Phish. Trey announces a break and that’s it. A 3-song second set. Unprecedented. Even the set containing the longest Phish jam ever, 11/29/97 Runaway Jam, was a 5 song set. Whoa.

But they weren’t done yet. They fire up “Ya Mar” for a danceable third set opener. They then bring Jah Roy of Lamsbread on stage and he leads the band into a reggae medley, the centerpiece of which is a cover of Bob Marley’s “One Love”. This is not listed as a song played on Phish.net but upon hearing this, I feel like it should be. The whole band even gets into the call and response part of the song and feels as much a cover as “Cannonball” from the 5/7/94 Tweezerfest. Another guest comes up int he form of Nancy to play his two songs. He helps with vocals on “Halley’s Comet” but the song really is notable for the killer segue into “The Sloth”. Trey yells it out for the band an they nail the transition as if they had practiced it (which they might have.) Just another great flash of how all 4 members think together. Nancy moves over to drums so Fish can play Trombone on “I Didn’t Know”. While the band nailed “The Sloth”, they still have some learning to do as Fish misses the best on “Fee” where he’s supposed to match Trey’s lyric. He plays it twice to make up for it but you can hear Trey’s chuckle in his verse as he knows how badly Fish missed it. Also in this show, you can see how the band is starting to piece together set lists. The best example of this is the placement of “Corrina” to “cool down” the audience after the hard edge of “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars”. It’ll be interesting to see this develop over time. We also get the first “Harpua” THE RIGHT WAY as finally Poster Nutbag is “hot lunch” for Harpua instead of the other way around. It’s a standard “Harpua’ but important for this note. The set closes with a very strong “Run Like An Antelope”. Next show, we move on to the larger and more professional The Front, down Main Street and across Pine from Hunt’s! See you then.

Show #49: 5/22/88 (5/21??)

Sunday, 5/22/88
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Funky Bitch, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page[1] > Alumni Blues, You Enjoy Myself, St. Thomas[2], Golgi Apparatus, Fire

Set 2: La Grange, Possum, The Lizards, Timber (Jerry), Tela, Happy Birthday to You,Fluffhead, Bike[3], Good Times Bad Times

Set 3: Big Leg Emma, Rocky Top, Cities, Take the ‘A’ Train, The Curtain With, Suzy Greenberg

[1] First played by Phish, then played only by Fish.
[2] First known Phish performance.
[3] Fishman trombone solo.

The date is disputed as Phish.com states this was 5/22 according to the flyer but Phish.net maintains this was 5/21.

This show has some relevance to the current tour (which closes tonight and you can watch for FREE) in that it has the only known performance of the Sonny Rollins tune “St. Thomas”. A personal favorite, it’s a spirited calypso-tinged tune. It’s nicely played, despite ending in the wrong key and a wonder that it didn’t make it into the band’s rotation like other jazz covers that stayed until the mid-1990s. It did however pop up recently as it was teased at Randall’s Island and CMAC during the recent tour. It’s also a sentimental favorite as back in middle school, I was a tenor saxophone player myself and sat down and transposed St. Thomas so that I could learn the riff to play along with the record. It’s the only time I recall doing such a thing and I still remember being excited about it. So that Phish had played it themselves just a few years earlier fills me with pride.

As for the show itself, it’s a fun night at Nectar’s. Opening a 3 night set, the main feeling is how different the vibe is from the previous show. The band is still having fun but it feels more tight and business-like. The band is here to play the gig and get paid. The sets have more covers in order to maintain the crowd’s interest. Highlights include “Letter to Jimmy Page” by request for birthday boy Del Martin, in which the band plays the song and then just Fishman plays the song on drums. A guy yelling for “Fluffhead” all night until they actually play it and he goes crazy. Another dub version of “Happy Birthday”. It also has the only known recording of Phish covering “Big Leg Emma” by Frank Zappa. It’s a goofy cover and I wonder why it was also dropped from rotation. This is also the first time I noticed a “Dave’s Energy Guide” tease in “Sneakin’ Sally” without reading the Phish.net setlist first. Seems my ears are getting serious about Phish. Lastly, the World Premiere of “Tela”, despite them having already played it once and an audience member yelling “Oh no! Not again” and sounds exactly like the guy who yelled “Oh no!” when the band cued up “Show of Life” during the encore of 12/31/13. It seems fans even then disdained new material. Same as it ever was. We’ll see what nights two and three of this 3 night stand bring.

Show #48: 5/15/88

“We’re gonna have a 5 minute pause while we re-gas the generator.” So says Mike here.Those odd remote gigs in the Vermont wilderness. Should have taken my break after reviewing this show for the laugh factor. Anyway, a recent post on Phantasy Tour seemed to fit nicely with the thoughts for today’s show. The post was that new material is the key to good Phish. The recent influx of Fuego songs seems to have put more fuel on the fire and the band is playing one their best tours in years. Taking this walk through Phish history I can definitely say I agree. I’ve been getting similar setlist after similar setlist for a while now. They’re all tunes I adore but some new blood would be helpful. But Trey says new songs are on the horizon so they must be coming!

This show was part of an event called the Vermont Farm Festival in Hinesburg, VT. A Google search for that term only shows this performance, so it’s unclear what type of event it was. Phish.com says that Ian McLean threw the party. Hinesburg is not really known for anything. It’s not a ski town. It’s only about 20-30 minutes south of Burlington. My memories of Hinesburg is I had a camp friend from there when I was a kid and we used to drive through it on the back way to Burlington, sometimes stopping at Papa Nick’s for lunch. Not exactly riveting memories. This show is rely if you want to know what seeing Phish play a friend’s house or a wedding the 80s was like. Not having a real soundcheck so all adjustments have to be made on the fly as shown by all the breaks to do so. 

This show is more about banter highlights than musical highlights. The mics are open and live and catches some great moments, such as the generator comment mentioned earlier. It catches Trey asking someone to make a beer run after “Peaches en Regalia”. It catches Trey talking about his glasses falling off during “Fluffhead”. It catches Fish saying they always open with “Golgi” and Trey defending it. It catches a great bit about a lost dog. A great gag where Page is getting off and has forgotten everything about the show so far. If you love to hear the band having fun with an audience, this is the show for you. 

Not that there isn’t any great music here. We get a hot “Good Times, Bad Times”. A gorgeous early “Lizards”. The “AC/DC Bag>Possum” is no slouch. A really fun “McGrupp” with Fishman on trombone for the outro. A great “The Curtain With”. “Wilson” is getting closer to resembling its now world-famous form, still does not have the E chord intro though. A wild, dissonant version of “Take the A Train”. My favorite track of the show is “Harpua”. Unlike the late, rambling Harpuas fans have come to know and love, this is a very straightforward telling of the story. The other interesting part is Poster Nutbag is described as just as mean and ugly as Harpua. So instead of innocent Poster Nutbag, they are two evil creatures destined to face off. The outcome remains the same. This is a very solid 1988 show and I would recommend it to get a feel for the band at this time but not a must-listen. I would probably put it just below the Colorado ’88 shows.

Shows #46 and 47: 4/22/88 and 5/14/88

Friday, 04/22/1988
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

Set 1: I Didn’t Know, Golgi Apparatus, The Lizards, Fee, Shaggy Dog, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, You Enjoy Myself, Suzy Greenberg, Ya Mar, AC/DC Bag -> Possum,The Ballad of Curtis Loew, David Bowie

Set 2: Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Fire, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues > Run Like an Antelope,

Hey I’m back! I went a little catatonic listening to 4/22/88 but I’m reloaded after hitting the first 6 shows of the current Summer tour and ready to get back on the Horse, despite it missing from the band’s rotation. These two shows are really more about banter than the music. 4/22/88 is anther UVM Earth Day gig. Highlights include a smoking “Antelope” to close the show, a great early “Forbin>Mockingbird”, and a “Fire” that just shreds. At the end of “Fire”, Trey introduces some songs “coming soon”, “The Tires” (now known as “Contact”), which Trey calls “hot”, “The 4-Track Song” (now known as “Poor Heart”), and “Marijuana Hot Chocolate” (now known as “Foam”). These songs clearly were not ready in time for the next gig either as they do not debut there. The reason I went crazy listening to this show is the Fluffhead through Harpua versions on PhishTracks are IDENTICAL to 3/11/88 and I thought I was losing my mind. Fortunately, Phish.net seemed to agree even though they are still listed on the setlist. When you listen to hours of Phish and you find an identical track, it’s a little scary.

Saturday, 05/14/1988
Goddard College, Plainfield, VT

Set 1: Fire, I Didn’t Know[1], Halley’s Comet[2] > Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, You Enjoy Myself, The Lizards, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Jesus Just Left Chicago[3],Fluffhead > Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Take the ‘A’ Train[4]

[1] Richard Wright on drums and additional vocals. Fishman on trombone.
[2] Richard Wright on additional vocals.
[3] Bobby Brown on harmonica.
[4] Carl Boyle on saxophone.

5/14/88 has more in common with 2014 Phish than you would think but listening to it along side the recent shows gives you the feeling that Phish is still the band we know and love all these years down the line. This show is more about being silly and banter than other shows. Much like the end of 7/27/14 from Merriweather Post, the band here has fun with the performance. Trey dedicates “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars” to Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan. Trey sings “Who is She?” to Marley, a precursor to the band’s publishing company. He also asks “Who’s the Mar-Mar?”, a phrase that would find its way to the headstock of one of Trey’s Languedoc guitars. Playing bits of .38 Special’s “Rockin’ into the Night” and Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up” before playing the set closer. In an even more direct link, Trey introduces Fishman as “Moses Heaps, Moses Brown, and Moses Dewitt” again and at the 7/8/14 show at the Mann, Trey still called Fishman these nicknames. Who remembers that 26 years later? Obviously, friends with a deep connection and history. It’s these little quirks that reveal how tightly woven the band is and how integrated the history is. The music here is pretty weak. The main highlight is a smoking “Light Up or Leave Me Alone”, an interesting Page led section after the “Bundle of Joy” section of “Fluffhead”, and a honking sax guest spot on “Take The A-Train”. Just as today, sometimes Phish is serious business or sometimes it’s just 4 goofy guys having fun with each other and an audience. Here’s to more fun.

Show #45: 3/22/88

Tuesday, 03/22/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Harpua, Wilson > Peaches en Regalia, Funky Bitch, Golgi Apparatus, Suzy Greenberg, You Enjoy Myself, The Lizards, Good Times Bad Times, Happy Birthday to You[1], Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Icculus > Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > AC/DC Bag

[1] “Dub” style.

The third in a 3-night stand at Nectar’s (Night 1 doesn’t exist on tape) finds again no jams here. That does’t mean this recording is a waste, in fact quite the contrary! We only have one set so there might have been more going on, but there’s some very nice selections here. The lead-off of “Harpua” is classic Phish. Trey gives an amazing band introduction. I wish there was video to see what he did during this. Mike also chimes in with his bike/clown horn, giving a glimpse at his know well-known goofy side. We get the basic narrative with no deviation and the classic story of the nice cat Poster Nutbag facing off against the mean dog Harpua here. The rock opera ending. It’s all here and played amazingly. “You Enjoy Myself” also slays all day. Again, not mind-blowing just tight perfectly performed compositions. “YEM” unfortunately gets cut off just before lift off but we follow it up with a tight “Lizards” featuring outstanding work from Page. It’s all going so well and then Trey begins the “If I Were A Dog” outro. And then….clapping? Seriously? One of the most beautiful pieces of music in the Phish catalog and the crowd starts clapping along. You think the Woos are bad? This is just disgraceful. Luckily, it didn’t stick or else I might just wait for Soundboard recordings. Yuck. The outro remains very nicely played though. The most interesting section closes the set. Trey announces it’s time to go back to Gamehendge and that they’ll skip the beginning and move to the middle. Hey begins to describe “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent” before asking if everyone knows who Icculus is? People respond no so Trey calls an audible and the band goes into “Icculus”. Now, most fans know Icculus as a silly song where it builds and builds as Trey eludes to who Icculus is. This version is the most straight version I’ve ever heard. Trey actually describes who Icculus is and why he’s important to Gamehendge. If you’re new to the song, this would be a great place to start. “Colonel Forbin” begins with the lounge singer/piano style intro. It’s interesting and might work in a small club but no surprise it eventually got dropped. It goes seamlessly into “Mockingbird” with no narration but again just change after change is getting nailed. The recording closes with “AC/DC Bag”. It has finally lost it’s intro, which is a shame because I dug the little funky intro it had. Alas, it is a bit more effective dropping to the main groove. The band starts to finally loosen up but then the cut. Who knows what delights the rest of the veining had but it’s a fun little glimpse into the waning days of Nectar’s.

Show #44: 3/21/88

Monday, 03/21/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Suzy Greenberg, Golgi Apparatus, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters,Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, Divided Sky, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Timber (Jerry), The Lizards

Set 2: Fire, AC/DC Bag > The Chase > Possum, Dinner and a Movie, I Didn’t Know[1],Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird

[1] Fishman on trombone.

A complaint amongst a portion of today’s fans is that Phish doesn’t “jam” enough. In defense of today’s Phish, I’d like to present a glimpse of what a jam-less show is really like. This show at Nectar’s has only two long tracks and they’re not that great. We have a meandering 8-minute “McGrupp” and an 11 minute “Lizards”. Every other track is quite short and does not deviate much from the song structure. The whole first set is effectively a throwaway. Not a lot going on here and you can tell that the energy of the crowd is not that into the set. Not even the resurrection of “Boogie On Reggae Woman” is a highlight here. 2nd set is where all the action is but there’s not even any jam vehicles. The “AC/DC>Chase>Possum” is quite good with the Possum being the top pick there. The crowd also starts to get into the vibe a little more. “Dinner and a Movie” is slayed here, if short. The recording closes out with “Forbin>Mockingbird” without narration, which is interesting considering, two shows ago, Gamehendge was debuted. The “Forbin” is coll because it has an odd jazz piano intro, where Page plays the melody of the verse and then accompanies Trey’s vocal but as a solo player before the band come sin. That’s very cool and worth a listen; my personal highlight. The recording cuts out during “Mockingbird”. Maybe all the jams were in the 3rd set that night. We’ll never know.

Show #43: 3/12/88

Saturday, 03/12/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Jump Monk[1], McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > The Lizards > Tela[2] >Wilson > AC/DC Bag > Colonel Forbin’s Ascent[2] > Fly Famous Mockingbird > The Sloth >Possum, Run Like an Antelope

[1] First known Phish performance.
[2] First known performance.

One of the problems in reviewing a band’s career in retrospect is you know what happens next. In addition to the problems reviewing 3/11/88 that were explained in that post, there’s also the anticipation for a bigger show that’s just around the corner. Such is the case for 3/12/88. The importance of 3/12/88 is that it marks the first live The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, or Gamehendge. The story of this gig is so much more though. The entire band, by all accounts, had previously gone to see Frank Zappa play Memorial Auditorium, just a few blocks up Main street from Nectar’s. At some point during the show, someone had thrown a Phish t-shirt on stage. Frank held it up and the crowd went nuts. Maybe with the knowledge that freaks were out and about that night for the FZ show and that letting their freak flag fly would be par for the course, or that Trey knew he would have a large audience to unleash it on spurred the decision. Regardless, the band decided to go for it.

This would also prove to be an extremely important decision for the band’s future as well. That night, local band Ninja Custodian had a friend in town named John Paluska. Ninja Custodian insisted that they head to Nectar’s to see Phish. He walked in and caught the Gamehendge set and thought they’d be great for his Zoo house parties at Amherst. This ended up with him booking them for April and they quickly built a following in western Massachusetts, the next enclave outside Burlington to take to the band. Paluska’s success lead to him begin asked to manage the band later in 1988. Paluska’s Dionysian Productions would manage the band from that day until the band’s “breakup” in 2004. You can read more about Paluska’s experience on Phish.com with the “This Month in Phish History: March 1988” entry.

As for the recording itself, we only have one set. Luckily, it’s the Gamehendge set and if you’ve ever heard the studio recording, it’s very similar. However, the narration is a bit clearer here. Trey sounds less scripted and more off the cuff. The set opens with Charles Mingus’ “Jump Monk”, a jazz cover that would only be played once more; which is a shame because it’s very well done in the same manner of later cover “Donna Lee”. Quickly though, we get to the main event. The band launches into “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters”. This is important because “McGrupp” was actually the poem that launched Trey into writing the “TMWSIY” story. It’s odd that other versions don’t use it again as this is the only rendition that opens with “McGrupp”. “McGrupp” closes, which I don’t think is as effective. “McGrupp” sets up the tale much better. Over Page’s outro solo, Trey begins to tell the tale of Gamehendge, which I will narrate here as well. “Once upon a time, there was a man…” That man turns out to be Colonel Forbin, a retired military man who stumbles upon a door in the middle of a field. He opens the door and begins making his way down the corridor found within. In the corridor, he finds Rutherford the Brave. Rutherford begins to tell him about the strange land he is now in during the song “The Lizards”. This “Lizards” is pretty note perfect. It doesn’t even have much of a pause between the verses and the “If I Were A Dog” outro. With Rutherford having drowned at the end of “Lizards”, Forbin doesn’t have much time before being spotted by Tela and her two-toned multibeast. Forbin is instantly smitten with here and contemplates this in the song “Tela”. The version here is much longer than other versions and it does drag for a bit because of it. Still sounds great though. Tela and Forbin ride to the rebel camp and Trey describes Errand Wolfe, actually in more depth than in his senior thesis. We learn more about Errand in his singing of the song “Wilson”. We then get a song from Wilson in “AC/DC Bag”, which the crowd loudly cheers. Forbin realizes that the only way to help everyone is to get help from the wise and knowledgeable Icculus, who lives on the mountain over the land. Forbin climbs the mountain in “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent” and Icculus’ response is to fly the Famous Mockingbird to get the Helping Friendly Book from Wilson in “Fly Famous Mockingbird”. Much has been made about the narration between “Forbin” and “Mockingbird”. Recently some said they wished the one from the JEMP truck set on 12/31/13 was too short but here, in the first ever rendition, the narration is also very short. The playing is also amazing here. The band just nailing it like a well rehearsed Broadway pit band. The Famous Mockingbird successfully gets the Helping Friendly Book and Forbin returns to give it to Errand. Errand, now consumed with power, kills Wilson with the help of “The Sloth” but also puts Forbin in jail. The “Forbin in jail” story isn’t repeated here. It really does’ thane an ending except for Icculus’ musings captured in Possum. This version of Gamehendge is also the only live one that ends with “Possum” and really isn’t as neatly tied up as others. How do you follow that up? With a scorching “Run Like An Antelope”. Not as powerful as the previous night but still a lot of fun until the recording cuts off. A historic evening at Nectar’s indeed.