[ATTENDED: August 15, 2021] Phish
I got home at an absurdly late hour on Sunday morning and then spent a day prepping to head right back down to Atlantic City for night 2 (for me). There was the threat of rain, but it held off until after the show.
Having already been to this venue I had a better feel for where I wanted to stand. I also thought that the sound was a lot worse tonight. Possibly because the wind was blowing off the ocean–maybe causing some of the sound to get lost. Or, and this seems more likely, I was standing a little further away and I think the sound was echoing off some of the other buildings in a different way. Whatever the case, Trey’s guitar seemed to come and go for me. But I haven’t heard anyone else say anything, so it must have been where I was standing.
Nevertheless, it was a great set with some wonderful deep cuts for me to check off. I may not have checked off a ton of songs from my “gotta see list,” but in the two shows, they played 18 songs I hadn’t seen live before. That’s pretty wild.
I started the night in the middle of the crowd. I thought it might be fun to see how close I could comfortably get. But people had arrived much much earlier than I had, so I couldn’t get very far in. Nevertheless, I watched the first song, “The Landlady” from the middle. I hoped that I’d get “Punch You in the Eye” but no. Live for Live Music informs me that
“The Landlady”, [was] uncoupled from “Punch You In The Eye” for just the sixth time since she reappeared at DICK’s in 2015 after a 20-year, 767-show sabbatical.
Rather, this song segued into the intro for “Scents and Subtle Sounds” (after playing part two yesterday) which segued into a wonderful “The Moma Dance” (I was now safely standing in the water for this 14 minute jam).
Then they jumped into Kasvot Växt mode with “The Final Hurrah.” I feel like there’s a decent chance I’ll hear every song from the album live eventually, but who knows. Up next was the classic trilogy of “Mike’s Song” “I am Hydrogen” and “Weekapaug Groove.” This used to be my favorite portion of a live show when I listened to old recordings. But I was a little bummed to hear it this time because this is the fifth time I’ve heard “Mike’s Groove” live (only the third for “Hydrogen”) and while it sounded great and is always fun, I knew that was 20 minutes that I wouldn’t get to check off a song from my list. Having said that, this was a pretty great rendition with a really stretched out “Mikes.”
But I was totally psyched when they busted out “The Sloth,” and older song that I never thought I’d hear. It was heavy and raw and sounded terrific. It segued into a very mellow “Roggae” and on to a short fun version of “Back on the Train.”
Another of my favorite Phish songs is “You Enjoy Myself,” and it’s always great to hear it live (even if, as wit the above, it means 20 minutes of no other songs). I feel like “YEM” is a white whale for some fans, and yet I have seen it four times. This one was especially fun, and they included the vocals noises jam at the end which was great.
I shout out to Chris Kuroda for the excellent lights for this show. I would have seen them a lot better had I been closer, but they still looked great from the water.
They came back from the set break with a roaring “Carini.” I think it’s safe to say that no matter how many times I see this song live [3] I will never get tired of it. I love the energy and the dark places it goes. Trey’s guitar sounds were especially dark and dramatic during this song and I really enjoyed the direction he went.
It lightened things up for “Set Your Soul Free” and the Ghosts of the Forest song “Beneath A Sea of Stars Part 1” which really chilled things out.
I was pretty psyched to hear “Piper” which I hadn’t before. And even more tickled when the band segued back into “Carini” for a few bars. The location-themed songs continued with “Waves” and I was sure I’d get “A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing”–but they didn’t play it!
I’ve always loved “Simple” and was delighted to hear that which segued into another Ghosts of the Forest song, About to Run. I thought that might end the set, but then Trey started to play “First Tube” which I hadn’t heard live before. And it was a spectacular rocking ending to the set.
An encore break brought the band back and I couldn’t imagine what they’d play. People had speculated “Fee” which I was getting excited for. But they went to a different deep cut–“Fluffhead.” This was another of those Junta songs that I imagined I’d never hear live and yet there it was in all of its glory. What a stellar way to end the weekend.
Except they weren’t done yet! The first time I saw Phish, they played a quick “Quinn the Eskimo” for an encore. And every few shows the encore proves to be a quick thank you from the band. But every once in a while they go long. I’ve seen a “YEM” as an encore (all twenty minutes of it). And tonight after the fifteen minute “Fluffhead” they segued into a gorgeous “Backwards Down the Number Line” one of my favorite “newer” Phish songs. It sounded lovely floating along the waves. And it felt like they didn’t want to leave as they stretched this simple song out to almost nine minutes.
And then it really was done.
And that made my eleventh Phish show. While I was on line at the merch table, the guy next to me was wearing a shirt that said “this is my 100th Phish show.” I have no intentions of trying to get that high. But this show put Phish into the lead of bands I’ve seen multiple times. Maybe some year I’ll get to see all three shows of a weekend (so I won’t miss the vacuum solo).
~~~~
The five and four timers club
- Mike’s Song [5]
- Weekapaug Groove [5]
- Roggae
- You Enjoy Myself
- 46 Days
- Split open and Melt
- Slave to the Traffic Light
- Suzy Greenberg
- Wilson
- 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.
The Gotta See List
- Possum
- Golgi Apparatus
- Cavern
- Stash
- Foam
- Lizards
- Maze
- Sample in a Jar [TREY SOLO]
- Fee
- It’s Ice
- Wolfman’s Brother
- Silent in the Morning
- Punch You in the Eye
- Prince Caspian
- Twist
- Scent of a Mule
- Guyute
- Heavy Things [TAB played it]
- Sleeping Monkey
- Ocelot [TAB played it]
- Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan
- Farmhouse [TREY played it]
- Joy
- A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing
- Pebbles and Marbles
- Weigh
- Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars
- Kung
- Axilla (Part II)
- Fuck Your Face
- Mexican Cousin
- Ass Handed
- anything from the Colonel Forbin/Mockingbird
- *Stray Dog
- *Everything is Hollow
- *We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains
- *Play By Play
- *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) |
Leave a Reply