I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 7, 2018] Phish

Having enjoyed two Phish shows at Madison Square Garden, and really seeing what it’s like to go to multiple shows by the same band when they mix up the setlists so much, I was pretty psyched to hear that Phish were coming back to NJ for two shows on a short summer tour.

After the immense spectacle of the Baker’s Dozen, in which they repeated no over thirteen shows (thereby messing up every statistic-driven fan who likes to recount the last time a song was played, this tour was shaping up to be a more traditional fan favorites (or not) package.  This was actually perfect for me because as I start keeping tracks of the songs I need to see live, I realize that I need a lot of the staples to fill out my chart.

This show also celebrated the Baker’s Dozen because the Philly bakery Federal donuts who supplied free donuts to early fans at MSG was offering a Baker’s Reprise–six donuts that were themed for the band’s return:

⭕️ FISHMAN
⭕️ GLAZED
⭕️ RED VELVET
⭕️ MAPLE
⭕️ FLUFFHEAD
⭕️ LEMON POPPY

I ordered my dozen, left work early and headed to Federal Donuts. (which has a nice sized parking lot and delicious fried chicken).  The donuts were outstanding and I need to try to get down there for more someday.

Because I had gone to Federal, I wound up getting to the stadium ridiculously early.  I drove around looking for the cheap parking (there is none) and then accepted paying $30 and still having to walk over half a mile to the stadium.

I was excited to get there early, to scope out the merch (and get a poster) and then to find my place on the lawn.

I don’t like lawn seats.  I like to see the band do their thing–chilling out and enjoying the music is no fun for me.  But I had lawn seats and so be it.  At the Mann Center, I was able to sneak past the ushers during the second set and get closer to the band, but they were pretty strict at BB&T, so I stayed my ground.  Luckily there was a railing at the front of the lawn and that was about as close to the last row as you could get and still see pretty well.

While I was scoping out my spot I saw a guy sitting by himself, I introduced myself and Armando and I became Phish friends.  He was super cool and fun and we enjoyed chatting before, during and after the show (when he feared he lost his Air BNB keys).  He has seen Phish 20some times (and is more on the Phellowship side than the stoner side of the Phish crowd, so we got a long just fine).

Although I’d rather be close to see the band, being in the lawn with a new friend and just hanging out was fun too,  After my first Phish show I understood why people went to their shows, their lives shows are an experience.  After my second show I understood why people follow them around–to hear the different song and to hear them done in different ways. And after this show I understand why some people just mill about and dance and ignore the band entirely. There was a walkway between the seats and the lawn and some people spent the whole show down there–they couldn’t see anything, but they were dancing around with glowsticks and having a grand old time.

They opened with a song from Undermind, an album I rather like.   And then came a 7 minute “No Men in No Man’s Land” a song I had heard at the Mann Center.  I figured maybe I wouldn’t get that many first-time songs after all.

But then they played an 11 minute “Blaze On” which seemed to portend a Page-heavy night.  Page played a lengthy solo that was pretty dark.  And that’s when it started thundering and lightning.  I was sure they were going to cancel the show–the storm was right above us.  But they didn’t which meant that every flash of lightning meant bigger and bigger cheers.

Then Trey introduced Page, “The Chairman Of The Boards” who stepped up to sing “Lawn Boy” (a nice nudge to the Bakers Dozen).  It’s always a fun treat to hear.  Mike played a solo that apparently involved using a drill (I couldn’t see it, of course).

I was concerned about the rain because I had bought a poster (in a tube) and was worried it would get wet, but it never rained that hard and was actually a nice coolant from the hot night.

They played a new song, “Infinite” which I didn’t really get to digest.  I enjoy most of Mike’s songs, so I assumed this was a solo song that I didn’t know. I looked forward to it getting the full Phish treatment.  The first of several abrupt endings happened there.  Unless a song has a distinct ending, most of their songs tends to either segue or fade out.  But Trey stopped a couple of songs before launching into something else. This turned into “Wilson,” and even though I want to chalk up as many different Phish songs as I can I will always welcome a chance to hear “Wilson“.

This was followed by 2 other songs I’d heard before “Roggae” and “Rift.”  I love both of these songs so it was totally cool to hear them again.  Although Trey was pretty sloppy on Rift.

But they totally nailed “46 Days” with a great solo from Trey that included “Theme From S.W.A.T.” teases.  As always the lighting was great. It was cool to see them from way in the back where they lit up the whole front of the arena.

They ended the set with “Sparkle” another favorite of mine and my first ever “David Bowie.”  Bowie is one of the first Phish songs I’d heard and I was super psyched to see it live even at “only” 11 minutes.

They went in for a set break and the rain started coming down.

Set two contained an entire set of song I hadn’t heard them play before.  How cool is that?

Not only that but it contained a 24-minute “Down with Disease” which people are still talking about because it was so good (called The Camden Disease now).  The soloing was great from everyone, with each guy getting a chance to explore different styles and rhythms.  Being there live for that was pretty awesome.

It segued into one of my favorite newer songs, “Backward Down the Number Line.”  It’s upbeat and sweet and fun to sing along with.

This was followed by a song I thought I didn’t recognize.  It was “I Always Wanted It This Way” and Armando told me that it’s kind of forgettable on Big Boat, but it totally took off live.  This song ended abruptly and Trey played the lovely ballad “Miss You.”

Then they played “Light.”  Apparently this song usually segues in from a jam, so everyone was excited to hear it start from silence. Trey played a rocking jam for this one as the pace kept growing.  It was going for quite some time when they jumped into “Mike’s Song.”

I have been really looking forward to getting a Mike’s Song so I cheered when the song started.  Trey messed up the main riff (hitting a weird sour note–he was a little off tonight for sure).  But he redeemed the flubs by incorporating the false note throughout the song to make it seem if not in purpose, at least a little fun,.

I assumed that Mike’s song would be followed by the standards “I Am Hydrogen” and “Weekapaug Groove.”  There was always the chance that they would mix things up.  I do like when bands mix things up, but since I’d never experienced the whole trilogy before, it was awesome to have it (even if Trey did flub Hydrogen a bit).

This was  a wonderful, exciting ending for the show to be sure.

I had joked with Armando that Phish encores were mostly kind of meh for me.  After the huge explosions in their sets, they often come out with a short tidy version of something like “Lovin Cup” (nothing wrong with the song, but still).  I was sure we were going to get it now that I mentioned it, but they played a lovely version of the ballad “Show Of Life.”

This song is uplifting and very positive.  And reflecting back, many of the song choices were the same–uplifting and full of joy.   And that’s what I left the show feeling.

And, as for song tallies.  This was my fourth time seeing Phish and of the 20 songs they played, I’d only seen five before.  Awesome.