Tag: phish

Show #62: 7/25/88

Monday, 07/25/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 3: Skin It Back,  Harpua,  Big Black Furry Creature from Mars,  Sanity

Encore: Icculus,  Camel Walk

“We’d like to do a little Jimmy Buffett now.” A short show today as Set 3 is all that exists of this one. However, it’s still an important show in fact for some fans this show contains the first live tracks they might have ever heard. The set opens with a nice “Skin It Back”. The band’s really grooving here. Page lays down a real nice bed of Hammond organ and then Trey and Mike push and pull on top of it in a deep groove. We then get “Harpua” dedicated to Paul Languedoc. Trey changes Jimmy to Paul in a playful way. Mike also gets Page to riff on alternatives to goldfish such as crawfish and halibut. This “Harpua” is also played at a much slower than usual pace adding odd tension to the song. “Big Black Furry Creature for Mars” comes next and it has Mike really having fun with the audience. “TAKE IT RIGHT AROUND!”, Mike yells and Trey drops into a punk rock “Theme from the Flintstones” as he yells “KEEP TAKING IT AROUND! PICK IT UP! PICK IT UP!” Never heard Mike so animated during this song as he’s a but more demure on current versions. After another verse, he turns his energy on the crowd yelling “HERE’S YOUR TURN TO SING ALONG! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” Mike’s shenanigans continue introducing “Sanity” as a Jimmy Buffett tune as quoted above. This is the version of “Sanity” that appears as bonus tracks on the Elektra CD re-release of Junta that most people know so well. This might have even been your introduction to live Phish. It’s a fairly straight forward version of Sanity but with a seat rumbling trombone solo from Fishman that’s quite impressive. “Thank you good night! How’s everybody doing tonight? We’re Jimmy Buffett, good night!”, Mike yells as the audience claps for more. Make me wonder what got into Mike that night. They come back on stage and Mike informs everyone that “We’re gonna lighten it up a bit” and we get the second track that appeared on the Elektra version of Junta, “Icculus”. “This is a special song, this is an important song,” starts off Trey. “This is a dance song,” interjects Mike, over clearly a beat to slow to dance to. “THIS IS RED ROCKS! THIS IS THE EDGE!,” continues Trey, riffing on U2. Mike throws in one last “Diarrhea” over the top. Icculus continues its build to the name of the author of the Helping Friendly Book, the book which could save your life like it did for the band, the great, and powerful, the one, the only, the man who wrote the FUCKING HELPING FRIENDLY BOOK, THE ONE WHO WROTE THE BOOK! ICCULUS! But I digress, it’s probably the definitive “Icculus” for most people as the song is extremely rare. The set closes with Mike’s “dance song” finally in “Camel Walk”. It’s a little sloppy but fun. Mike plays a lot of notes. Page thanks the crowd. Mike reminds people to tip their waiters and waitresses. Trey reminds people that Ninja Custodian will be playing there tomorrow night. The band then loaded the van and headed west on a great adventure. All in all, a very silly set from Phish before hitting the road. Probably, trying to get some of it out of their system before a long drive. We’ve got some big shows coming up. Due to the release of Colorado ’88, I will do my best to piece together the most accurate shows but it may prove difficult. It also may delay the next few posts. Thanks for reading.

Show #61: 7/24/88

Sunday, 07/24/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Walk Away,  Golgi Apparatus,  Funky Bitch,  Colonel Forbin’s Ascent >  Fly Famous Mockingbird,  Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,  Mike’s Song >  I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove,  Bold As Love

Set 2: Light Up Or Leave Me Alone,  Fluffhead,  La Grange,  The Lizards,  Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page >  Alumni Blues,  On Your Way Down,  Cities,  David Bowie

Set 3: The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday >  Avenu Malkenu >  Peaches en Regalia, Jesus Just Left Chicago,  McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters[1] ->  Run Like an Antelope

[1] Fish on trombone.

Teases:
· Moby Dick tease

After an explosive show in Underhill and the excitement of Colorado on the horizon, it’s easy to see why the band’s regular stand at Nectar’s may not be the stuff of legends. This is definitely evident on the first night. That’s not to say this is a terrible evening of Phish. No, in fact, it is quite the opposite. We get a competent evening of Phish with some excitement. Set 1 opens with a nice fiery “Walk Away”, continuing to explore the new cover. Other highlights include a tight “Forbin’s>Mockingbird”, a groovy “Sneakin’ Sally”, and the 2nd-ever “Mike’s Groove” played quite well. The “Mike’s Song” is not worth for the intro they wrote for it detailing that “it’s his song”. “Weekapaug” also has Mike yelling “LET’S TAKE IT TO RHODE ISLAND NOW!” before the jam, which is fun. The band closes with an empowering “Bold as Love”.

Set 2 takes it up a notch with a high quality “Light Up or Leave Me Alone”. “Fluffhead” and “The Lizards” are nice, tight versions. “Alumni>Letter>Alumni” is notable for how the band stops on a dime and then goes right back into the song during “Letter to Jimmy Page”. Fans of 7/11/00 will recognize the unmistakable riff of “Moby Dick” played by Trey and Mike between “Alumni” and “On Your Way Down”. The set 2 closer of “David Bowie” could also be considered a highlight.

Set 3 has the excitement of “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday>Avenu Malkenu” appearing for the first time since February. It’s always a nice treat. The “Peaches” that follows it is also tasty. The set highlight hear is a DIRTY “Jesus Just Left Chicago” with Trey wailing by the peak of the jam. Highly recommended. “McGrupp” with Fish on vacuum is always a treat. The set-closing “Antelope” also tears but unfortunately the recording cuts out just after the song peaks, missing the outro. Overall, a technically good show but nothing too exciting here. Again, I think the energy of the long gig the night before coupled with the excitement of Colorado has the guys a little burnt out for the hometown crowd but one more show before the truck pulls out. We’ll see what’s left in the tank tomorrow.

Show #60: 7/23/88

Saturday, 07/23/1988
Pete’s Phabulous Phish Phest, Underhill, VT

Set 1: Jam,  Colonel Forbin’s Ascent[1] >  Fly Famous Mockingbird[1],  Mike’s Song[1] >  I Am Hydrogen[1] >  Weekapaug Groove[2],  The Lizards[1],  On Your Way Down[1],  AC/DC Bag[1] >  Possum[1],  Walk Away[3],  Bold As Love[1],  No Dogs Allowed[4],  The Sloth,  Fire[5]

Set 2: The Curtain With[1] ->  Dave’s Energy Guide[1] ->  The Curtain With[1], Wilson[1],  Terrapin[6],  Run Like an Antelope[1],  Satin Doll[7],  Blue Bossa[8],  La Grange, Alumni Blues[1] >  Letter to Jimmy Page[1] >  Alumni Blues[1],  Peaches en Regalia

Set 3: You Enjoy Myself[1],  Contact[1],  Harry Hood,  Dinner and a Movie,  Slave to the Traffic Light[9],  The Ballad of Curtis Loew,  Good Times Bad Times

[1] Unknown additional percussionist.
[2] First known performance; Unknown additional percussionist.
[3] First known Phish performance; Unknown additional percussionist.
[4] First known performance.
[5] Peter Danforth and Dave Grippo on horns.; lyric changed to “Move over, Rover, and let Cameron take over.”
[6] Fish trombone solo.
[7] Peter Danforth and Dave Grippo on horns.
[8] Peter Danforth and Dave Grippo on horns, “Vincent” on trumpet.
[9] Peter Danforth on saxophone.

Teases:
· Fly Famous Mockingbird tease in The Lizards
· Peaches en Regalia tease

What a great show we have for #60. Pete’s Phabulous Phish Phest. So many firsts and great playing. Coming off the killer 7/12/88 show, you could tell that the laidback vibe of a friend’s house would just add fuel to the fire and everyone was in for treat. This show as played in the small town of Underhill, which is located midway between the backside of Mt. Mansfield and Essex Junction. So close to Burlington but far enough away. The show kicks off with a soundcheck jam, most likely due to soundcheck being played in front of attendees. The soundcheck jam is great 1988 Phish and sounds like it could have come out of a Possum or AC/DC Bag. They then go into a narration-less “Forbin’s>Mockingbird” that’s very tight for the lead-off spot. A little slow on the “Forbin’s” but still amazing. Then we get to a real first highlight: the birth of the “Mike’s>Hydrogen>Weekpaug” sandwich. We had heard Hydrogen a few times in 1987 after once in ’85 and ’86. It seemed like it just need to find its place after getting paired with “Fluff’s Travels” excess. Clearly, this is it. It’s almost as if the band had worked on this pairing for a LONG time before this magnificent debut. Hearing the first version, it’s like drinking your favorite beer the first time. You had no idea it was there but once you get a taste, you’ll never be without it again. It all just works. The “Mike’s” here is hard driving with gorgeous bass lines from Mike and when it hits the ending notes and segues into “Hydrogren,” it’s effortless and provides the perfect breather before the moment that is the first “Weekapaug”. Now at some point prior to this gig (Trey pinpoints it as some time in 1987), the band had to have been cruising through Rhode Island. We don’t have any shows there on record but in many interviews, the band recalls writing the lyrics on a road trip in Rhode Island with “December 1963 (Oh What A Night)” by The Four Seasons on the radio and riffing on that. The music apparently came later at a 11-hour jam session at Trey’s cabin in Plainfield by Goddard. It’s a bit slower than you’re used to here and Mike’s signature bass riff hasn’t quite formed yet but still it’s a super funky 6-and-a-half minutes and totally worth a listen if only to see where the funk began. So you have the first ever “Mike’s Groove” and we’ll get used to it as they are about to play it A LOT. Heck, they even play it the next two shows in a row but we’re not there yet. After a nice “Lizards” that unfortunately gets cut off, we have the first recorded “On Your Way Down”. An Allen Toussaint song by way of Little Feat, it’s nice showpiece for Page to get down and dirty with his voice, much more so than “Jesus Just Left Chicago”. It’s pretty much the same as the band does it now. It’s still a rarity but made its last appearance at the Gorge in 2011. “AC/DC Bag” gets it’s funky intro back, which I think the band should restore. It segues into its partner du jour “Possum” and it’s a fun danceable 1-2 punch still. Missing some banter according to Phish.com (in fact a lot of this recording is missing important banter, we get a new cover in the James Gang’s “Walk Away”, another Page song. Really it’s amazing how many of the covers are sung by Page. Clearly he was meant to be in the band. This is emphasized by the fact that “Bold as Love” follows with Trey nailing the tone of Hendrix once again. Someone shouts a request and Trey says that it’s one of his favorites and dedicates the song to Marley. it turns out to be “No Dogs Allowed” from the musical Gus The Christmas Dog, written by Trey and his mom. While this is the first known performance, I would think with how polished it sounds and that it’s a fan request, the song thad probably been performed by Phish before. Either way it’s a delight with excellent group vocals and very fun lyrics, much in the vain of “Contact”. I really would love a bustout sometime of this tune. It also has fun jazz bridge of course. The meat of “No Dogs Allowed” though is the outro, which would later be merged with “The Divided Sky” to form the piece we known today by that name. This version has a few more notes, less of the long sustains that would become a signature. The band sounds really dialed in here though and it’s a fantastic version, a must-listen. We get a nice tight “Sloth” to follow and the set closes with the first appearance of horns on Hendrix’s “Fire”, which also features Cameron McKinney on vocals.

Set 2 opens with “The Curtain With”. Unfortunately, we’re missing the banter that the ban announces their upcoming Colorado tour. I have a feeling this energy is what fueled the upswing from the Nectar’s run to Sam’s Tavern and this show. Knowing you have gigs in another part of the country will excite any band. This version wouldn’t be too noteworthy except it’s very tight until the jam which takes the “With” portion for a very nice walk. Then at about the 12:30 mark, Mike’s leads the band towards “Dave’s Energy Guide” and they all bite getting on the same groove to take it full and build up into it for about 8 minutes until they wind down back into the “With”. It’s a very early look at the band moving as whole, which is glorious for only 5 years into the band’s career. “Wilson” still has the original arrangement and doesn’t move closer to the tune we known now. Fish gets the spotlight on “Terrapin” and shows he’s making strides to being a performer with clearer pronunciation and confidence. It also is the first time “the dress” is mentioned as Trey asks Fish to show it off. Pictures make it unclear if this was the premiere of the dress but maybe. We also don’t know if it’s the donut dress or another dress but still having it’s very much another huge “first” for this show. “Antelope” makes a glorious return after the brief “Cantaloupe” appearance last show. Nothing outstanding but well-played. We get a nice jazz break with horns on the pairing of “Satin Doll” and “Blue Bossa”. Of note, most believe this is the first appearance of Dave “The Truth” Grippo, who would later be an important member of the Giant County Horns and played in the Sneakers Jazz Band, noted in the last blog post. IT’s always interesting to hear Phish with horns and this early version is a real treat. Phish gets back to rock with a fun “La Grange” and “Alumni>Letter>Alumni”. Set 2 here closes with “Peaches en Regalia” but Phish.com says this is not from this show and sounds like it may have been tacked on as filler.

Set 3 opens with “You Enjoy Myself”. It doesn’t seem like much but it really feels like the birth of the modern “YEM”. After the stepping stone of the “YEM” vocal jam becoming a jam and not just a screaming match, at Sam’s Tavern, this, running at about 20 minutes, hits the movements like any good “YEM” should. It’s well played and shows a glimpse at the band’s future of being such a finely tuned machine. A nice funky “Contact” follows giving way to “Harry Hood”. This “Hood” is great with a very nice buildup and fine interworking play from all 4 musicians. “Dinner and a Movie” returns and continues to get tighter. The final highlight of the night is “Slave to the Traffic Light”. Building off the success of the last version, Phish again takes it all the way down and builds. The band brings it all the way down almost ending the song and Trey and Mike also play off each other in the breakdown. It’s not as immaculate but they have Peter Danforth join on saxophone and it gives the tune a feel like Branford Marsalis on the Grateful Dead’s “Eyes of the World” from Without a Net. It’s a very unique treat and again the song continues to make strides as a heavy hitter in the Phish arsenal. The band ties things up much like a regular show. They cool it down with “The Ballad of Curtis Lowe” but then send them home on fire with “Good Times Bad Times”. Mike then thanks Peter for having his party. We thank Pete for the party as well so we could have this awesome night as Phish brought the house down and unveiled a lot of surprises. This was also the longest Phish show at 4 hours and 7 minutes until Big Cypress I believe. Really a historic night for Phish, I’d love for Kevin Shapiro to release the master tapes so we could get all the banter and an ideal copy of this show. Phish.com lists them as existing at least. This really is must-listen Phish up there with the Colorado ’88, which looms on the horizon…

No posts this weekend because it’s my birthday! Big week coming up though. I’ll see you back here on Monday. Thanks for reading!

Shows #58/59: 7/11-12/88

Monday, 07/11/1988
Sam’s Tavern, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Satin Doll,  Suzy Greenberg,  The Curtain With,  Funky Bitch,  Fire,  Bold As Love, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent >  Fly Famous Mockingbird,  Golgi Apparatus,  Alumni Blues >  Letter to Jimmy Page[1] >  Alumni Blues

Encore: McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters[2] >  La Grange

[1] Fish drum solo.
[2] Fish on trombone.

Teases:
· Dave’s Energy Guide tease in Suzy Greenberg

Finally, the band gets back on track with some purpose here at these two gigs. Now you’d think Sam’s Tavern means a new venue and some more Burlington music history. However, it turns out Sam’s Tavern was just Finbar’s renamed and remains Manhattan Pizza today at the corner of Church and Main. So nothing exciting there but let’s get to the music. “We’d like to speed things up a bit”, kicks in the recording on 7/11 as he begins to play the chords to “Satin Doll”. It’s interesting to hear him sing a real jazz standard here. I liked it. “The Curtain With” is noteworthy in that Trey seems to think the jam was awful and calls the tune “The Living Nightmare” and that it was written by their drummer. Oh Trey; busting Fishman’s balls since 1983. We get a smoking double shot of Hendrix with “Fire” and “Bold as Love” To date, this remains the only time this has occurred in Phish history. This is also the first recorded “Bold as Love”. It apparently debuted at the Front on July 7th, a show that has not seen the light of day. Trey nails the outro solo with great tone for such an early performance. A very solid “Forbin>Mockingbird” follows but does not contain narration. Of note, Trey graduated from Goddard the day of this show and according to the show notes, pulled out his diploma, set it on Page’s piano, and then proceeded to tear into the very spirited “Alumni>Letter>Alumni”. He makes note of that fact at the end of the song. We only get part of set 2. The highlight hear is a very nice “McGrupp”.

Tuesday, 07/12/1988
Sam’s Tavern, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Cities,  The Lizards,  Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,  Good Times Bad Times, Happy Birthday to You[1] >  Peaches en Regalia,  You Enjoy Myself,  I Didn’t Know[2]

Set 2: Blue Bossa,  Take the ‘A’ Train >  Timber (Jerry),  Fluffhead >  Jesus Just Left Chicago, Makisupa Policeman,  Slave to the Traffic Light,  AC/DC Bag >  Roll Like a Cantaloupe

[1] Sung for “Jen.”
[2] Fish on trombone.

Teases:
· Happy Birthday to You quote in Peaches en Regalia
· Flash Light tease in You Enjoy Myself

7/12/88 however is the better of this pair. It starts with a solid “Cities>The Lizards” combo. However, “Sneakin’ Sally” is where it picks up. They go into a very “YEM”-like vocal jam. Totally going outside the usual framework of “Sally” and getting weird with it. They finish up but then do a weird acapella “Happy Birthday to You” for Jen. Whatever got into the band continued and they sing along with the melody to “Peaches En Regalia” AND THEN they turn the “Peaches” melody into “Happy Birthday to You by Frank Zappa”, which is hilarious. But then they do play “YEM” and it in turn has its first real funky vocal jam. The vocal jam was already present but I think this the first real time it became the YEM VOCAL JAM, fi you understand. Not just wild screaming into the microphones. They close the set with a fun “I Didn’t Know” in a new key of A-flat!

Set 2 opens with a double shot of Jazz. The actual debut of “Blue Bossa”, we think. It’s played very well. If you listen carefully enough, you’ll swear it sounds like another song and after a little research, the studio version of “The Landlandy” on A Picture of Nectar definitely had a couple of bits ripped from “Blue Bossa” especially by Page and Mike. Another long, if not exciting, version of “A Train” follows. A solid “Timber (Jerry)”, a tight “Fluffhead”, and casual “Jesus Just Left Chicago” bridge nicely up to the set’s top highlight. Earlier in these posts, I wondered how the band found what to do with “Slave to the Traffic Light”; that it hadn’t yet reached its potential. This is the show where that magically happened. This “Slave” is an early masterpiece. The composed section plays easy enough with the right tone and feeling but at 3:23 when it drops down, Page and Trey get very quiet but with amazing interplay between the two. The jam then has an amazing slow build to the peak. Around the 4:30 mark, Page hits just the right notes on his electric piano to fill Trey’s empty spaces and it’s glorious. The way the while thing pauses and almost breaks down at about 5:00 is amazing. Mike playing the counterpoint bass is tasty. Fish eases off just enough to be effective. This is the blueprint for a perfect “Slave”. It’s incredible. Then when it bursts wide open at 6:43, it’s had just the right among of tension from the band that it hits HARD. You’re ready for the glorious peak because you’ve had the perfect journey there. And the peak is nailed, not too many notes from Trey, perfect coloring from Page and Mike. The arpeggios at 7:50 just magical. In my mind, it should have closed the set. However, you got to give the bar crowd one last chance to dance and they do so with a boogying “AC/DC Bag” and then rips right into “Roll Like A Cantaloupe”, which the crowd rightly goes nuts for. One of only 4 times it’s ever been played, I wonder what sparked Trey to bust it out that night as they just played “Run Like An Antelope” during the previous Nectar’s run and would go back to it the next show. The band reaches wild peaks during this version, pushing the tempo harder and harder. It’s almost the antithesis of “Slave”. Where “Slave” needs patience and delicateness to counter the peak, “Antelope/Cantaloupe” needs chaos and energy to reach the peak. That release before the refrain is just a blast off point. Such a crazy range of energy and emotion in only 3 songs. It’d be wilder if they had played them back to back. The band nails the release here though and Trey goes into the story about going to the grocery store. Page thanks the crowd and end tape. 7/12/88 is a must-listen. Such a powerful night.

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 #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 #42: 3/11/88

Friday, 03/11/1988
The Base Lodge, Stearns Hall, Johnson State College, Johnson, VT

Set 1: The Chicken[1], Funky Bitch, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley[2], Take the ‘A’ Train,You Enjoy Myself[3] -> Wilson, Golgi Apparatus > Slave to the Traffic Light, Flat Fee,Corinna, The Lizards, David Bowie

Set 2: Fluffhead, Dinner and a Movie, Harry Hood, The Ballad of Curtis Loew[2], Harpua,AC/DC Bag > Alumni Blues > Run Like an Antelope[4]

[1] First known Phish performance.
[2] Bobby Brown on harmonica.
[3] No vocal jam.
[4] Trey spoke the names “Marco Esquandolas… Poster Nutbag… Moses Heaps… Moses DeWitt.”

I almost didn’t know how to start this post as it’s a good show but wasn’t noteworthy. Then I began reading This Has All Been Wonderful by David “Zzyzx” Steinberg and having him say that a show can be great without an outstanding jam, it put this show really into perspective. If you’re not following PhishStats on Facebook or haven’t picked up a copy of the book, you’re missing out on some great Phish history notes by the master. Highly recommended. Click this link before buying and 0.5% can go to the Mockingbird Foundation! I also recommend as a dual layer to your Phistory, the blog 20 Years Later. The author is posting a review of that day’s show 20 years later obviously. 1994 was such  banner year and we’ll get there someday! Hopefully by late next year.

As opposed to when the band doesn’t sound inspired like our last show, sometimes the band is just on fire. Such is the case where nearly every song is well-played. Once again deep in the woods at Johnson State Collge, the remoteness as well as a crowd that the band won over by the end of the show, something really got everybody ready to throw down. Which is considerable considering how the show opens.

Trey almost half heartedly introducing a James Brown tune, “The Chicken”. “The Chicken”, while being made famous by Brown, was written by his saxophonist Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis. This Phish version is actually more like the big band version found on Jaco Pastorius’s The Birthday Concert, hitting more jazz than funk. The set continues to build and you can hear the crowd go from chatty to interested. Crowd pleaser “Sneakin’ Sally” seems to be a big turning point. This version features local musician Bobby Brown on harmonica, adding a dimension to the setlist regular. “A Train” takes it down a notch before the band launches into “You Enjoy Myself”. The “YEM” is more notable for its segue as instead of a vocal jam, Mike hits the bass line to “Wilson” and the band goes into that. The “Wilson” is fun with an excellent intro jam before the lead vocal. A big first set highlight is “Slave” as it gets a gorgeous peak. “Flat Fee” and “Corinna” is as beautiful as a breather you can find. “Lizards” continues to amaze. The second peak is “David Bowie”. We get a “Bowie” with a long intro for the first time and they make the most of it, driving the crowd crazy with teases. In order, we have “Timber”, “Alumni”, “Smoke on the Water”, “Sunshine of Your Love”, “Money”, “Whipping Post”, and perhaps a preview of the yet-undebuted “Weekapaug Groove”. The song sounds pretty great as well but unfortunately the recording cuts out midway through ending set 1.

Set 2 kicks off with a complete “Fluffhead” suite. Nailed. Next is “Dinner and a Movie” where the band plays the signature syncopated Page solo for the first time. Nailed. “Hood” is good, naturally. The crowd knows it too. You can hear the energy seep into the performance. “Curtis Loew” with harmonica has a little more swing to it and is an excellent bridge song to the first recorded complete “Harpua”. The most interesting thing about is the story is told backwards. Trey says Harpua rounded a corner and came “face to fat” with the meanest and fattest cat Poster Nutbag! They then fight. In most versions, the nice cat Poster Nutbag meets the mean Harpua and the ensuing fight kills Poster Nutbag. Poster’s still dead here in the second half of the song (one fan yells “THE CAT’S DEAD!” before the reveal, showing the song had been played before. But that Poster is the mean one is an odd deviation. Still though, amazing the Who rock opera vibe is captured from the beginning. A tight pairing of “AC/DC Bag” and the “Letter”-less “Alumni Blues” slay as well. The “Run Like An Antelope” is a scorcher. The band really lets this one unwind, almost reaching the 15 minute mark. It’s got a very nice slow build to the “Rye Rye Rocco” break, which doesn’t happen until 12 minutes in, demonstrating an early mature patience that we haven’t seen much of yet. Also, we get a lot of Page here, which is fantastic. Really showcases his early chops in a stellar way. We also really get the first crowd reaction to “Been you to have any spliff, man?”. They yell loudly, showing that they are listening and are actually there to see Phish. It’s a great moment. Something special out there in Johnson, but no match for what would occur the following night, back home at Nectar’s. Don’t forget you can follow very post by following me on Twitter @harryphood or like this page on Facebook! See you tomorrow for sure!

Show #41: 2/26/88

UVM’s Living and Learning Center.

Friday, 02/26/1988
Living and Learning Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

Set 1: The Curtain > Suzy Greenberg, You Enjoy Myself, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > AC/DC Bag >Possum, Phase Dance, Good Times Bad Times

Set 2: Fluffhead, I Didn’t Know[1], Golgi Apparatus > The Lizards, David Bowie, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Fee > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Dear Mrs. Reagan, Makisupa Policeman, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Whipping Post

[1] Fishman on trombone.

In a previous post, I talked about the band having off-nights. When you’ve played 1,630 shows, they’re bound to occur in your history. This is yet another example of an off-night (or day since I’m unsure when this show was played). There’s nothing here you have to listen to. The only cool thing I thought was you can hear the crowd clapping during “I Didn’t Know” showing how embraced the band was by UVM. Also, we have the entire “The Curtain” without here. The recording however fades out of “The Lizards” missing the “If I Were a Dog” outro. We’re missing a lot of the 2nd set. Unsure if anything of note happened in those tracks but overall, a show most people can skip.

Show #39: 2/20/88

The Alpha Tau Omega house at St. Lawrence University.

Saturday, 02/20/1988
St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY

Soundcheck: Golgi Apparatus

Set 1: Funky Bitch, Golgi Apparatus, Peaches en Regalia, Take the ‘A’ Train > Possum,Phase Dance, Good Times Bad Times, Skin It Back, David Bowie

Set 2: Wilson, I Didn’t Know, Fluffhead, Fire, Fee, You Enjoy Myself > Divided Sky, AC/DC Bag > Whipping Post, Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: Big Black Furry Creature from Mars

One of the major perks of being a college band is that if you get popular enough at your own school, people visiting will want you to play their school as well. So, Phish’s traveling college gigs began here, playing a frat party at St. Lawrence University, deep in the Adirondacks in Canton, New York. Only 120 miles away but with no direct route, the journey takes just over 3 hours. But a gig is a gig, and you never know if it will lead to more. So off they went to play this pledge party. A little different than Otis Day and the Knights, eh? With Phish being in new territory, we don’t get too much new stuff. “A Train” has a very nice transition into “Possum”. The “Possum” is super tight here. “Skin It Back” is the set 1 highlight with an excellent building jam. “Skin It Back” ends oddly enough with “We’re gonna take a short break.” but is followed by “David Bowie” and listed as Set 1. I believe this is an error. “Bowie” has an awesome dissonant jam at about the 5:40 mark. The ending is also very clean.

Set 2 opener “Wilson” has some interesting effects at the 4-minute mark. I think they’re from Mike but it is unclear. “I Didn’t Know” is sans trombone. “Fluffhead” is extremely well-played with some fun banter from Trey, including him asking people to clap along. “YEM” is shown going into “Divided Sky” but it’s just more of an awkward transition on tape. The rest of the set is fun but nothing exciting. “Slave” cuts off before the peak. A third set was played but does not circulate, except a locked down video of “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars” that no one has seen. A solid show on new ground but no must-listens here. Much like the recent Jazz Fest set, a solid show if nothing else. It just goes that a standard Phish show is still better than most bands’ best nights.

Shows #36, 37, and 38: 2/3, 2/7-8/1988

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Alright, we’ve got a trio of shows here. I’ve grouped them together because we have a snippet of 2/3 and then 2/7 and 8 are a run together. I haven’t decided whether or not to group runs together or not. Might depend on the run. These really runs though are fairly similar so it makes sense to group them together when writing these pieces.

Wednesday, 02/03/1988
Gallagher’s, Waitsfield, VT

Set 1: David Bowie

Set 2: Sympathy for the Devil[1], Fee, Run Like an Antelope, AC/DC Bag -> Possum

[1] First known Phish performance.

Back in Waitsfield, we have this nugget that somehow has slipped out into the public. No idea where the rest of the show is. The clear highlight is the “David Bowie”. It’s really the band first “extended” jam reaching just over 18 minutes. It also however clearly shows the young bands limits as Fishman keep trying to end it most notable around the 13-minute mark but the band just keeps going, despite running out of ideas were to take it. Fortunately, the band would resolve this through practice and the concept of type II but for now, it’s not quite ready for prime time. The 2nd set is well-played but nothing notable.

Sunday, 02/07/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Fire, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Shaggy Dog, Golgi Apparatus >Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Peaches en Regalia, Phase Dance[1],Dear Mrs. Reagan, I Didn’t Know[2], David Bowie

Set 2: Happy Birthday to You, AC/DC Bag > Timber (Jerry), Flat Fee, Fee, Possum, The Lizards, Fly Famous Mockingbird[3], Whipping Post

Set 3: Suzy Greenberg[4] > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, Clod > Bundle of Joy, The Curtain With, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Good Times Bad Times

[1] First known performance.
[2] Fishman on trombone.
[3] Debut.
[4] Stopped in the intro as Trey jokingly said “Good night” to the crowd and restarted.

After taking a few months off, Phish finally return to home base at Nectar’s. We’ll be hanging in Nectar’s a lot over the next few months as 1988 really marked the place as the band’s home. This show actually sounds really great for not being an SBD and might actually be better mixed than the following night’s SBD. It’s also exciting because you can hear the energy of the crowd at this early show. They are really into the band here. A raging “Fire” kicks the show into high gear. “McGrupp” follows and at about the 6-minute mark there’s a great Page solo in the middle. Some lively banter as someone yells for “ROCK ‘N ROLL!” and a lady follows it up with “No more reggae. Play some rock n roll!”, though I would not consider “McGrupp” reggae by any means. What does Phish do in their typical ways, plays an old folk tune in the form of “Shaggy Dog”. Way to win ’em over, boys. The next song, “Golgi Apparatus” however does get them as it goes into full-blown sing-along mode on the chorus. The rock vibes continue with “Alumni>Letter>Alumni” and “Peaches en Regalia”. The band then takes it down a notch with the first known performance of Pat Metheny’s “Phase Dance”. It’s a valiant effort but lacks a little bit of the emotion of the original as well as some of the technical prowess required but it does establish all the members as fine jazz players, building on that reputation. Phish.com has the debut of Charlie Parker’s “Moose the Mooche” but that was not found on any recordings that circulate. Instead, we get an actual coherent version of “Dear Mrs. Reagan”. I’m still not a fan of the song but at least the lyrics are decipherable now; still antiquated however. Following the song, Trey proves the perfect host of the evening introducing “Alex”, the new Nectar’s waitress and advises to tip her well on her 2nd night. I wonder where Alex is now. Trey then introduces Paul and asks if anyone wants to buy his old guitar, most likely his red Timecaster. I wonder where both Alex and Trey’s red Timecaster are now. The next song is not a debut but it has an important new addition. It is the first time Fish joins the band on trombone, playing on “I Didn’t Know”. A much more coherent Bowie finishes the 1st set.

Set 2 opens up with “Happy Birthday to You”, dedicated to Kristy, Roz, and Meg. Kristy being Trey’s sister, who also the song “Joy” was written for. Kristy interestingly enough was running lights for this show. Trey brought all of them up on stage but Meg wasn’t here so he had roadie Del Martin sub in. “AC/DC Bag” still has the original intro and segues into a nasty “Timber (Jerry)”. They get really out there, even inverting some of the rhythms. This might even be the jam of the show. Then we get the “Flat Fee/Fee” combo. The crowd also knows “Fee” and sings along! A key demonstration that the band is beginning to gain its legendary fan base. “Possum” begins to gain its “intro” as the band hammers on the intro chords dissonantly. The fans seem to enjoy it though screaming along, hitting the chorus. It’s probably the best “Possum” so far. Next, we get the first full-length “Lizards”. This early version is cool in that is has some Talking Heads/Latin style jamming before dropping into the “If I Were A Dog” outro around the 5:30 mark. We get another important debut following in “Fly Famous Mockingbird”. It’s a little jarring without the usual “Colonel Forbin’s Ascent” proceeding it but it’s played extremely well for a debut. It’s interesting to note that this the debut so that when Trey said “Flying around up there. 30 years later” during the MSG NYE truck set, really should have only been 25. Set 2 closes with a wild “Whipping Post”. Set 3’s only really stand out track is another fantastic “The Curtain With”. It also has a shortened “Clod” with a loud audience sing-along and a long “Good Times Bad Times”. Overall, a great show just to hear the crowd as it sounded in 1988 with some fun highlights.

Monday, 02/08/1988
Nectar’s, Burlington, VT

Set 1: Slave to the Traffic Light, Funky Bitch, Take the ‘A’ Train, Golgi Apparatus, Phase Dance, Fire, You Enjoy Myself

Set 2: Fluffhead, Wilson > Peaches en Regalia > Divided Sky, The Lizards, Run Like an Antelope[1]

Set 3: The Sloth, Flat Fee, Dinner and a Movie, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page >Alumni Blues, Harry Hood, Bike[2], Fee, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars

[1] “Moses Heaps” and “Moses Brown” references.
[2] Trombone solo from Fishman

Hey, do you like Mike bass bombs? Then 2/8/88 is FOR YOU! This SBD is a little poorly mix so Mike comes through loud and clear all night. It’s a little overpowering on this delicate 1980s recording and rattles my system. Night 2 of 2 (or 3?) at Nectar’s opens with “Slave to the Traffic Light”. Right from the bat, you can hear the problem with the recording. “Funky Bitch”, “A Train”, and “Golgi” are all good versions. We get a second take on “Phase Dance” and this version is little more lively and feels more like Phish. A shredded “Fire” is destroyed by too much bass. “You Enjoy Myself” is well-played.

Set 2 kicks off with the complete “Fluffhead” suite, including the previous night’s outcasts “Clod” and “Bundle of Joy”. It’s odd that the band keeps going back and forth between having hem be separate songs or part of “Fluffhead”. It won’t be too long though before that’s resolved. “Wilson” has cool little jam intro before going into the main part of the song. “Peaches” and the short “Divided Sky” are tight. “Lizards” still has the funky middle jam in it. The set 2 closer “Run Like An Antelope” is a rager though and the highlight of the set. The band hits all cylinders as they build to a raging pace. Trey even throwback to 10/31/87 by intro ducting the band as Moses Heap and Moses Brown as he did back during the jam with the Joneses that night.

Set 3 opens with a great early “Sloth”. The band hits a great groove on this tune here, that’s just a little more loose than later versions. Next is a fast moving “Flat Fee” that seems to have a quicker tempo than other versions so far. It does a great job of showing off the jazz chops again. They seem to have at least one showpiece per night. “Dinner and a Movie” has been shortened. It also does not have it’s syncopated intro, just dropping into the verse. Still very tightly played though. Nothing too crazy about “Alumni>Letter>Alumni”, except only guy really digs it by letting out a blood curdling scream. “Harry Hood” is the other big showpiece here. This version really cooks with tight interplay between all band members. A funny moment happens the band goes into the final jam after “Thank you Mr. Hood”, where today fans would throw the glowsticks, an audience member loudly says “Finally!”, as if he has been waiting for this part of the song. Trey and Page have some great interplay at the beginning of this section, working off each other’s licks. The band perfectly builds up to the big tension and release of the jam. You can hear the patience in the moment. They know how to move forward without pushing it. It’s as masterful as some of its later counterparts. A must listen for any fans of “Harry Hood”. Fish comes out to sing “Bike” but messes it up. He combines “Bike” with “Love You” and ends just playing an extended trombone solo, which is still fun. “Fee” comes next but the intro sounds like the band is going to play “Timber (Jerry)”, which is a little odd, like someone forced the change. Page does another fine job with “Jesus Just Left Chicago” and they bring it all home with “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars”. I think I prefer 2/7 to 2/8 but that might be due to audio quality. You could put together highlights from both and have a pretty great ’88 compilation. The big takeaway here is even if it’s marked SBD, it might still not be great quality. Thanks for reading. Hope to pick up the pace on 1988 here!