I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: December 30, 2019] Phish

Atlantic City is not a convenient location for me–2 hours at best.  And yet when Phish announced a three night residency on the back in 2020, I jumped at the tickets.  Unsurprisingly, the show was postponed to 2021.  I thought it might get postponed again as COVID cases started rising, but they plugged along and played an amazing three night miniseries.

I had intended to go Saturday and Sunday, then something came up and I considered switching my Saturday to Friday.  And while Saturday was great, Friday had several songs on my “gotta see live” list as well as a Fish vacuum solo!  I can’t believe they did that on the first night.

However, the second night proved to be pretty great.  If for no other reason than I got to stand in the Atlantic Ocean and watch Phish play.  There was a lifeguard who made sure people didn’t go out too deep (thankless job!) but I was at least knee deep from some of the show.  I was also quite far away from the 36,000 (!) people who apparently attended.

I’m guessing Phish fans are smart enough to get vaccinated (no proof was required at our show).  I masked up, but few others did. But as far as I can tell, it was not a superspreader event at all.  I did venture into the middle of the crowd a few times (masked and no where near the dense pit), but mostly I stayed in the water.

They started out with “Llama.”  “Llama” was a song I hadn’t seen live before, so auspicious start.  Then I realized they were playing it differently–a slow “Llama.”  It’s hard enough tryin to keep track of songs you need to hear without them playing different versions of the songs too.  I do love the fast “Llama,” but this slow version was groovy and very cool.

I was very excited to get a “Tube,” even if I have seen it before (when you have been without live music, really anything is pretty great whether repeats or not).   Then it was time for two Mike songs that I hadn’t heard before: “Destiny Unbound” and “Ya Mar” (I can’t believe I hadn’t heard a “Ya Mar” yet).  “Ya Mar” had a solo from Page, and we had one of many references to the location when Trey shouted “Play it for the Jersey Shore, Leo!”

We got to rock along to “46 Days” and then a super fun “Reba” (an old song that I’ve only heard once before–I love getting songs from Junta since I’ve only been seeing them live for the past few years and missed out on all the early shenanigans.  Although as the reviewers like to point out there was no whistling end (I haven’t seen a whistling end).

The whole night had a kind of reggae feel (the slow “Llama” so the addition of Bob Marley’s “Soul Shakedown Party” was appropriate.

I’ve seen “Split Open and Melt” four times (out of 11 shows, not bad), but it’s so good live that it’s like new every time.  Especially when Trey is playing his guitar like he did during this jam.  Dark, weird noises were coming from his guitar–a fairly new sound for him and he did some very cool things with the fifteen minute jam.

And they ended the set with “The Squirming Coil” a song I ‘ve been wanting to see live since the beginning.  Of course, being at the shore, this song made a lot of sense: “I saw Satan on the beach, trying to catch a ray.”  This song felt kind of special because Page played a solo at the end of the song and the rest of the band quietly left the stage as Page kept playing and playing.

I have not listened to Trey’s quarantine album, so I didn’t know the Set Two opener “I Never Needed You Like This Before,” but it was really good.  Also good was their amazing cover of The Who’s “Drowned.”  I hadn’t seen it live before and, honestly I don’t love covers, but this cover was terrific.  It segued into a slow version of “Ghost” (is this yet another version of “Ghost” to keep track of?).  The song got noisy an disjointed as it segued into the second part of “Scents an Subtle Sounds” (as pointed out–there was no intro).

“Chalk Dust Torture” is one of my favorite Phish songs, so I was thrilled to hear it (for only the second time), even if this version was also a little slow–stylistic choice or age setting in?  It was still great, especially the way it turned dark and mysterious and then trippy as they started playing spacey notes.  It all sounded vaguely familiar and then Page started singing Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter.”  Again, I’m not a big fan of covers (I’m hear for the band, not someone else), but this one was fantastic.  The bands sounded amazing and I couldn’t believe how well Page pulled off the Robert Plant vocals.

They ended the set with two tried and true classics (more in the four-timers club) “Slave to the Traffic Light” and “Suzy Greenberg” (always a treat).

After a brief encore break they returned with an incredibly mellow encore song: “A Life Beyond The Dream” a Ghosts in the Forest song (I need to listen to that album too, clearly).  But they would never end with a mellow song like that and they quickly ramped things up with a ripping “Tweezer Reprise.”

Then I quickly headed down the beach to the Showboat where Garcia Peoples were performing a free after Phish show.

~~~~~

The five and four timers club (out of 11 shows)

1. Mike’s Song [5]
2. Weekapaug Groove [5]
3. Roggae
4. You Enjoy Myself
5. 46 Days
6. Split Open and Melt
7. Slave to the Traffic Light
8. Suzy Greenberg
9. Wilson
10. Everything’s Right (this Trey song is getting A LOT of play).

A Phish.net site lists every song that Phish has every played and when the last time it was played.  So I decided to make my own personal ultimate list of Phish songs I’d like to see.

According to that site, I have seen 123 different songs and there are 184 songs [not including the dozens of one-offs that they will not repeat] that I have not heard them play.

The completist in me would love to hear all 184 of those songs, (some they haven’t played in years, so that’s unlikely).  But given that enormous list, I have now selected the 25 or so songs that I want to hear live (the ones on the bottom are the rest of the Kasvot Voxt album and it would be cool to get the whole thing, but not essential).  These are in order of frequency of play (“Possum” is their second most frequently played song and I have not yet heard it live), which means likelihood I’ll hear them I guess.

1. Possum
2. Golgi Apparatus
3. Cavern
4. Stash
5. Foam
6. Lizards
7. Maze
8. Sample in a Jar [TREY SOLO]
9. Fee
10. Fluffhead
11. It’s Ice
12. Wolfman’s Brother
13. Silent in the Morning
14. The Sloth
15. Punch You in the Eye
16. Prince Caspian
17. Twist
18. Scent of a Mule
19. Guyute
20. Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars
21. Heavy Things [TAB played it]
22. Sleeping Monkey
23. Ocelot [TAB played it]
24. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan
25. Farmhouse [TREY played it]
26. Joy
27. A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing
28. Pebbles and Marbles
29. Weigh
30. Kung
31. Axilla (Part II)
32. Fuck Your Face
33. Mexican Cousin
34. Ass Handed
35. anything from the Colonel Forbin/Mockingbird
36. *Stray Dog
37. *Everything is Hollow
38. *We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains
39. *Play By Play
40. *Passing Through

SETLISTS

 

August 15, 2021 [Atlantic City night 3 of 3]	August 14, 2021 [Atlantic City night 2 of 3]
SET ONE	SET ONE
The Landlady (6:08)	Llama [slow version] (8:03)
Scents and Subtle Sounds (pt. 1) (1:59)	Tube (7:56) [2]
The Moma Dance [slow] (14:06)	Destiny Unbound (7:24)
The Final Hurrah [Kasvot Växt] (8:25) [2]	Ya Mar (6:36)
Mike’s Song (9:30) [5]	46 Days (7:57) [4]
I am Hydrogen (2:56) [3]	Reba [no whistle] (12:03) [2]
Weekapaug Groove (8:09) [5]	Soul Shakedown Party (6:02)
The Sloth (4:32)	Split Open and Melt (15:36) [4]
Roggae (8:18) [4]	The Squirming Coil (9:57)
Back on the Train (5:23) [2]
You Enjoy Myself (20:02) [4]
SET TWO	SET TWO
Carini (15:44) [3]	I Never Needed You Like This Before (5:21)
Set Your Soul Free (10:49) [Trey Song] [2]	Drowned (15:54)
Beneath a Sea of Starts (Part 1) [Ghosts of the Forest] (8:20) [2]	Ghost [slow version] (11:47) [1 first slow version]
Piper (11:57) [a bit more Carini]	Scents and Subtle Sounds (pt 2 only) (4:56)
Waves (6:33)	Chalk Dust Torture (8:30) [2]
Simple (6:42) [2]	No Quarter (8:06)
About to Run [Ghosts of the Forest song] (6:47) [2]	Slave to the Traffic Light (10:15) [4]
First Tube (8:21)	Suzy Greenberg (7:48) [4]
	ENCORE
ENCORE	A Life Beyond the Dream (7:46)
Fluffhead (15:01)	Tweezer Reprise (3:38) [2]
Backwards Down the Number Line (8:45) [2]

 

December 30, 2019 Madison Square Garden [night 3 of 4]	December 29, 2019 Madison Square Garden [night 2 of 4]
SET ONE
Wilson (4:49) (4)	Turtle in the Clouds (7:51) [Kasvot Växt]
The Final Hurrah (7:37) [Kasvot Växt]	The Moma Dance (7:54) (2)
46 Days (8:40)  (3)	Kill Devil Falls (8:40)
The Ballad of Curtis Loew (5:02) [Lynyrd Skynyrd cover]	Yarmouth Road (7:12) [Mike song]
Blaze On (17:17) (3)	The Wedge (7:41)
Corinna (5:32) [Taj Mahal cover]	Beauty of a Broken Heart (5:28) [Page song]
Mike’s Song (6:24) (4)	Fuego (9:16) (2)
Contact (6:13)	My Friend, My Friend (5:25) (no Myfe ending)
Weekapaug Groove (4:59) (4)	Birds of a Feather (5:42) (2)
About to Run (7:47) [Ghosts of the Forest song]	While My Guitar Gently Weeps (7:12) [The Beatles cover] (first time since 2013)
More (8:18) (2)	Walls of the Cave (11:07) (2)
SET TWO	SET TWO
Tweezer (36:08) (2) [LONGEST SONG I’VE SEEN]	Carini (13:52) (2)
Pan Story (3:25)	Back on the Train (6:22)
Ruby Waves (13:23) [Ghosts of the Forest] (2)	Bathtub Gin (15:44)
Steam (with Tweezer reprise and Ruby Waves reprise) (11:53) (2)	Golden Age [TV on the Radio] (11:06) (2)
Slave to the Traffic Light (9:28) (3)	Also Sprach Zarathustra (8:16) [Richard Strauss cover]
ENCORE	Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley (5:12) [Lee Dorsey cover]
Rock & Roll (7:19) [Velvet Underground cover]	Chalk Dust Torture (5:19)
	Harry Hood (18:53)
	ENCORE
	Show of Life (5:35) [Trey song] (2)
	Run Like an Antelope (9:08)

 

Camden, June 29, 2019	December 30, 2018 Madison Square Garden [night 3 of 4]
SET ONE	SET ONE
Mike’s Song (9:12) (3)	Alumni Blues (5:14)
I Am Hydrogen (3:02) (2)	Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues (1:53)
Weekapaug Groove (8:01) (3)	Mike’s Song (9:14) (2)
Divided Sky (15:48)	Glide II (4:03) (first since 1995)
Everything’s Right (9:50) [Trey song] (4)	Weekapaug Groove (12:38) (2)
Guelah Papyrus (5:22)	Crosseyed and Painless (8:50)
Sparkle (3:51) (3)	Bliss (1:39)
Roggae (7:59) (3)	Billy Breathes (5:35) (2)
46 Days (10:31) (2)	No Men in No Man’s Land (7:50) (3)
SET TWO	Tube > Weekapaug Groove > Tube (10:02)
Blaze On (9:23) (2)	More (6:23)
NICU (4:57)	SET TWO
Golden Age (8:27) [TV on the Radio]	Cool Amber and Mercury (9:35) [Kasvot Växt]
Ruby Waves (13:38)[Ghosts of the Forest]	Everything’s Right (15:30) [Trey song] (3)
Death Don’t Hurt Very Long (2:57) [Kasvot Växt]	Plasma (9:09)
Rift (6:11) (3)	Light (20:01) (2)
Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1 (8:10) [Ghosts of the Forest] [debut]	Wading in the Velvet Sea (5:25)
Waiting All Night (4:59)	Split Open and Melt (18:26) (3)
Ghost (8:17)	ENCORE
Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S (6:42) [Kasvot Växt]	Funky Bitch (5:33) (2)
ENCORE	Wilson (4:10) (3)
You Enjoy Myself (19:50) (3)	Rocky Top (2:40)
Grind (1:51) (a capella)	Cavern (4:45)

 

Camden August 8, 2018	Camden, August 7, 2018
SET ONE	SET ONE
The Moma Dance (9:34)	Crowd Control (5:20)
Free (8:03)	No Men in No Man’s Land (7:34) (2)
Undermind (8:27)	Blaze On (11:22)
Theme From the Bottom (8:23)	Lawn Boy (4:16)
My Sweet One (2:09)	Infinite (9:26)
Steam (8:38)	Wilson (4:08) (2)
Train Song (3:09)	Roggae (9:29) (2)
Halley’s Comet (6:29)	Rift (6:08) (2)
Everything’s Right [Trey song] (16:41) (2)	46 Days (9:41) [with Theme from S.W.A.T. tease]
SET TWO	Sparkle (3:34) (2)
Julius (8:06)	David Bowie (11:27)
Carini (11:49)	SET TWO
Set Your Soul Free (10:52) [Trey song]	Down with Disease (24:28) [3rd LONGEST SONG I’VE SEEN]
Wingsuit (9:05)	Backwards Down the Number Line (8:28)
Scents and Subtle Sounds (12:04)	I Always Wanted It That Way (8:45)
Waste (6:20)	Miss You (6:25)
Split Open and Melt (11:59) (2)	Light (16:30)
Character Zero (8:47)	Mike’s Song (7:32)
ENCORE	I Am Hydrogen (3:08)
Suzy Greenberg (6:33) (3)	Weekapaug Groove (8:46)
	ENCORE
	Show of Life (Trey song) (6:02)

 

2017 Bakers Dozen Night 13 [Glazed]	2017 Bakers Dozen Night 1 [Coconut]
SET ONE	SET ONE
Dogs Stole Things (4:57)	Shake Your Coconuts (3:37) [Junior Senior cover]
Rift (6:25)	Martian Monster (6:02)
Ha Ha Ha (1:36)	Timber ho! (8:29) [Josh White cover] (2)
Camel Walk (6:20)	555 (7:30)
Crazy Sometimes (7:38) [Mike song]	Pigtail (8:00) [Trey song]
Saw It Again (6:08)	Halfway to the Moon (8:44)
Sanity (5:32)	Reba (12:53) (no whistling end)
Bouncing Around the Room (4:01)	Moonage Daydream (6:07) [David Bowie cover]
Most Events Aren’t Planned (11:38) [Vida Blue song]	Walls of the Cave (11:45)
Bug (7:05)	SET TWO
I Been Around (3:55)	Tweezer (16:12)
Izabella (6:42) [Jimi Hendrix song]	Seven Below (13:10)
SET TWO	Billy Breathes (5:27)
Simple (25:58) [2nd LONGEST SONG I’VE SEEN]	Sparkle (4:08)
Rise/Come Together (7:28) [Trey song]	Everything’s Right (11:42) [Trey song]
Starman (5:27) [David Bowie song]	Slave to the Traffic Light (9:23) (2)
You Enjoy Myself (24:01) (2) [4th LONGEST SONG I’VE SEEN]	Suzy Greenberg (8:09) (2)
Loving Cup (7:48) [The Rolling Stones song]	Coconut (3:18) (a capella) [Harry Nilsson cover]
ENCORE	ENCORE
On the Road Again (2:32) [Willie Nelson cover]	The Mango Song (7:42)
Lawn Boy Reprise (1:28)	Good Times, Bad Times (5:44) [Led Zeppelin cover]
Bass Solo (0:30)
Tweezer Reprise (3:56)

 

2016 Mann Center

SET ONE

Wilson (5:09)

Funky Bitch (6:14) [Son Seals cover]

No Men in No Man’s Land (8:16)

Roggae (9:46)

Nellie Kane (2:59) [Hot Rize cover]

Gumbo (6:21)

Birds of a Feather (7:35)

Sleep Again (6:05) [Trey song]

Things People Do (2:49)

Limb By Limb (7:19)

Split Open and Melt (10:18)

The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony (1:43)

Suzy Greenberg (6:40)

SET TWO

Fuego (16:04)

Runaway Jim (7:52)

Gotta Jibboo (8:51)

Breath and Burning (9:34)

Timber ho! (5:36) [Josh White cover]

Slave to the Traffic Light (9:36)

You Enjoy Myself (18:43)

ENCORE

Quinn the Eskimo (4:49) [Bob Dylan cover]

 

TREY ANASTASIO BAND SETLISTS FOR ADDITION

 

TREY ANASTASIO BAND Fillmore 2016	TREY ANASTASIO solo Newport Folk Fest 2019
SET ONE	Sample in a Jar [PHISH]
Sand (11:18) [PHISH]	Blaze On [PHISH]
Sometime After Sunset (5:39)	Brian and Robert [PHISH]
Mozambique (3:43)	The Inlaw Josie Wales [PHISH]
Magilla (2:59) [PHISH]	Set Your Soul Free
Gotta Jibboo (10:25)	Back on the Train [PHISH]
Pigtail (6:29)	Farmhouse [PHISH]
Curlew’s Call (9:38)	Rise/Come Together [TAB]
Cayman Review (7:30)	Shade [PHISH]
Ocelot (9:12) [PHISH]	Summer of ’89 [PHISH]
Valentine (6:06)	Sand [PHISH]
Tuesday (5:50)	Snowflakes in the Sand [TAB]
SET TWO	Steam [PHISH]
Drifting (7:39)	More [PHISH]
Night Speaks to a Woman (10:21)
Delta Lady (4:29) [Leon Russel]
Simple Twist Up Dave (9:30)
The Song (5:06)
Feel It Still (3:11) [Portugal, The Man]
49 Bye-Byes (4:42) [Crosby, Stills & Nash]
Last Tube (10:40)
Architect (7:18)
Clint Eastwood (7:43) [Gorillaz]
Black Dog (8:35) [Led Zeppelin]
ENCORE
The Parting Glass (3:02) [traditional]
Heavy Things (5:08) [PHISH]
Push On ‘Til The Day (10:23)