I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-Vegas 96 (2007).

This show was recorded at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 6, 1996.  The set also includes a DVD.

The show has a great amount of classic songs, a few big rarities, some cool covers and a whole lot of surprises.

Wilson has a really rocking beginning (everyone is going nuts during the can you still have any fun) until just before the “blap boom” part when it slows to a halt with about 20 seconds of squalling feedback.  Then they launch into an excellent non-jamming version of Frank Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia.”  It is followed by a fast romp through “Poor Heart”—one of the fastest I’ve heard.  It ends really noisily and then segues into a funky jam that’s mostly keyboard.  After 5 minutes it resolves into “2001,” which also ends noisily with scratchy guitars that segue into a very fast “Llama.”

This has been a simply rip-roaring show thus far.  And then they settle down for a 26-minute “You Enjoy Myself.”  The “Boy Man” section is very funky and the following jam stays funky with a lot of high-pitched bass soloing from Mike and a lot of percussion thrown in as well.  The song ends with a vocal jam but instead of doing weird sounds and screams, trey starts singing “doh doh doh donuts, I like donuts.”

I tend to think of “YEM” as set-enders (since that’s my experience with them), but this is still mid-set and they follow up with a synth and piano version of “Cars Trucks Buses” which seems like it’s going to morph into “Kung” but instead it becomes a loud, brash “Down with Disease.”  The set ends with a rocking “Frankenstein.”  I tend to thing they play this and “YEM” a lot because they seem to be on a ton of official live recordings.

Set 2 opens with a funky “Julius” (a song I always assume is a cover but which isn’t), and a nice version of “Sparkle” (with a super fast “laughing laughing” section at the end).  “Mike’s Song” runs about 10 minutes with a really noisy middle section and then segues into “Simple.”  There’s a lengthy piano section that turns into a rocking jam that goes on for quite a while (the whole song is over 18 minutes).  It winds down eventually and returns to a lot of piano.  It is followed by a noisy and raucous “Harry Hood” that feel really raw.  The song is 15 minutes and there’s a long solo before the “you can feel good” part.

Then comes a big, 11 minute “Weekapaug Groove.”  About midway through the jam the whole band stops dramatically and perfectly. They run through a bit again and stop perfectly again (except for an extra snare hit).  It’s amazing how tight they are.  The end grows very quiet as the band prepares for a quiet a capella “Sweet Adeline” (it’s so quiet all you hear is the crowd shushing everyone–this is the major downside to them doing these barbershop songs).  They come out of that with a set-ending, totally rocking cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times,” with Fish singing the “I know what it means to be alone” part.

The encore proves to be about 35 minutes long.  There are lots of guests and surprises.  And the band walks through a version of the “Harpua” story.  Ler and Les from Primus come out to start the song.  The chorus is done in half time—which is rather unsettling.  The story leads to Les singing Don Bowman’s “Wildwood Weed.”  I had assumed he made up but he obviously didn’t.  Then it’s back to “Harpua.”   In this version of the story, Jimmy walks to Vegas with his cat Poster Nutbag (Trey tells everyone to put all their money on 17).  As they get “closer to Vegas” they hear voices singing “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” (a song by Patsy Montana).  It is sung by the Yodeling Cowgirls.  (There’s some “Happy Trails” in there as well).  Then there’s more of the “Harpua” story and as they approach Las Vegas they see Four Elvises.  Which leads to a singoff of “Suspicious Minds.”  This contest was between four Elvis impersonators with Fish joining in at the end.  Unmentioned (as far as I can tell) are John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (on backing vocals) and actor Courtney Gains (on percussion). And then everyone launches into a wild “Suzy Greenberg” including the Elvises.  During the jam at the end, one of the Elvises turns the song into “Susie Q.”

This is one of my favorite shows.  The inclusion of the Primus guys and the crazy version of “Harpua” is just spectacular.  And by the end, everyone is having a great time.

[READ: April 1, 2017] “Las Gaviotas”

I enjoyed the way this story seemed really unsettled, just like its protagonist.

Finley is a in a relationship with Neil.  But she is currently hanging out at Brace’s apartment.  Brace is Neil’s old roommate.  Neil is in the other room with Brace’s girlfriend Alice.  They are all pretty drunk.

Brace is everything that Neil is not: he is big–not fat, just big–with a voice and presence to match.  And while Finley loves Neil–she keeps telling us that–there’s something about Brace (that name!) that she is drawn to.  She also hates Brace’s girlfriend Alice who has “otherworldly beauty.”

Alice seems to like Finley, or at least doesn’t seem to have any animosity towards her–(she is just pretty).  And Finley is certainly self-conscious.  Because she is not white she believes that her friends think she carries an air of great mystery.

And then suddenly Brace says “Let’s go to Mexico.”

It is late and no one wants to drive the three hours to Mexico (and deal with late-night Mexican customs).  So Brace tells everyone to sleep on it and they can go in the morning.

En route, Finley tries to sleep but Brace is speaking loud, telling story after story.  The one story is about a former child star who picked him up in a bar.  He says he knew who she was but didn’t say anything.

When they get to Mexico (to Brace’s family’s house naturally), they buy groceries and Finley sets out to cook. Alice is jealous of Finley because she herself cannot cook.  As Finley tackles the avocados, Brace comes in and takes the knife from her hand, he proceeds to de-pit the avocado in spectacularly dramatic fashion, which Alice finds lame.

That night they go out to the Boom Boom Gentleman’s Club.  After the woman leaves the stage, Alice, who says she has been taking classes, gets up on stage and “performs” on the pole.  More drinks are passed around and they go home.

Back home, Neil is trying desperately to have sex with Finley but the drink has gotten to much of him.  He finally passes out.   So Finley walks to the kitchen where she sees Alice crying.  She had heard her and Brace fighting. Alice tells her about their history together–how they have been together for so long and how he’s always like this.  Finley feels like Alice is playing for sympathy, but she feels sympathy anyhow. And Alice really appreciates it.  They even have a moment.

But the next day they stop for tacos and talk to a man from Anchorage with several dogs.   The man is pretty weather-beaten–Finley is afraid to look too closely for what she might see on his face.

Finley, trying to be kind, is bitten by one of the dogs. In what was the strangest line of the story, upon being bitten she says “Oof.”  Oof?

She tries to play it casual, but things are looking pretty ugly (the weather-beaten guy is no help).  Alice helps her some, but it’s clear that she needs to go to the hospital.

The end of the story is written in a great way–in which Finley experiences physically the way she feels.  It’s an interesting look at a person who is adrift, although I kind of wish there was more beyond that ending (and honestly the whole scene with the dig was just kind of blah).