I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: July 19, 2022] Phish

This was my twelfth Phish show (thus making it the most I have seen any band).  I usually don’t mind going t o see bands by myself but Phish shows are the weird outlier because I never get good seats (it’s always lawn) and because everyone seems to be with a bunch of people and I don’t want to gate crash.  Phish fans are pretty friendly but can also be a bit much, so it’s risky to tie yourself to a group for an evening.

The Mann is a pain in the ass to get to for me, but their new policy of free parking s a godsend.  I arrived in plenty of time to get a poster (outset the venue) and to get it back to my car and then to get a spot mid lawn as the guys came out an started an acapella “wawawawawah” which was a little odd until Trey started singing “Ground control to Major Tom.”  Yes, an acapella “Space Oddity.”  It was insane and wonderful.  I love that Trey did the guitar soo with his mouth and while I’m usually cranky when people sing over the band (especially the a capella songs, it was hard not to sing along to this classic sing along song).

The guys moved to their instruments and Paige played the opening narration to “Martian Monster” with the repeated samples of “Your trip is short.”  I’ve only heard this once before and it’s a fun groove.  After a brief pause, Mike started the bass vocal intro to “Halley’s Comet.”  I’ve also only seen this live once before.  It’s an old song that I know well and that’s a crowd favorite.  The regular parts of the song were a little clunky but the jamming was really smooth.  It mellowed out nicely and stretched out to over 17 minutes of trippy chill out.

As the song ended Trey played a riff that sounded familiar, but I think it was wrong…  “Stash” played on the wrong fret, perhaps.  [As the reviewer for “Live for Live Music put it: “Trey had a touch of cheesesteak fingers for chunks of the composed section of “Stash”, briefly bringing the energy down for the initial drop into the jam.”]  But it was almost like a segue into the song proper.  And man was I psyched because this was my first ever live Stash, a song that I love–the guitar line is just so lovely (boy is it a shame he flubbed it so badly later in song).  But it was still fun to clap and sing along to.  Paige was also throwing in cow sounds throughout the show which was fun.

The jam session (the song was stretched to 12 minutes) was more upbeat with Paige adding some cool Hammond organ sounds to the background.

The set shifted into two comfortable songs which I feel like I’ve seen live a bunch but this was only my third “The Moma Dance” and only my second “Gotta Jibboo” [I saw someone in another review says that “Jibboo” meant it was time to go to the bathroom…it’s fascinating to me that there are Phish fans who seems to actively dislike Phish songs.  But I suppose if you’ve seen a band 100 times, you can skip out on a song or two.

Things mellowed out for the lovely ballad “Shade.”  I’m much more of a jamming/rocking guy especially on a hillside where my calves cramp during a slow ballad, But this is a really pretty song.  It was followed by t he bluegrassy upbeat and fun “Old Home Place” sung by Mike (a first for me), which segued into “Walls of the Cave” which I always think is something else when it starts.  It’s a fun song with lots of parts and a ripping solo to end set one.

After a break, I moved down to the walkway between the lawn and the seats.  It was then that I noticed they’d made some changes to the seating area.  They removed a fence or something.  There also seemed to be no security at all for people walking in an out of the seated area.  Interesting.

The band came back out and opened with the mellow “More.”  This optimistic song is delightful and I like the way it builds and is fun to sing along to.   But as the song faded out, Trey started that most familiar riff: “Tweezer.”  Now, I admit I am here at Phish shows to see songs I haven’t heard live before (I’ve got my checklist).  But if you give me a “Tweezer,” (my third time) I’m gong to be psyched.   In 20:19, i saw them play a “Tweezer” for just over 36 minutes.  This one lasted almost 16 before segueing into the Talking Heads song “Cities.”  I’ve heard them play this song on live records and bootlegs many many times but had never seen it live.

And as “Cities” ended, the band jumped back into the stomping disjointed melody of “Tweezer” for this was indeed my first “Tweezerfest,” where the song would appear throughout set two!  This time for almost five minutes before shifting into “Passing Through,” a fun bopping song from their Kasvot Växt project.  I’ve wondered if I’ll hear all of the songs from it, and with this I’ve heard 6 of ten!

Then they played a song that I know is for some, the White Whale of Phish fandom: Jimi Hendrix’s “Izabella.”  I happened to see it during my third show, so it wasn’t that big a deal for me, but then, I’m jaded, I guess.  But yeah, it rocks.

Then they were back into “Tweezer” for four more minutes (this time with Paige throwing in all kinds of riffs to play with.  They settled into a grooving and really enjoyable “Mercury,” (a first for me) which segued into a gentle “Piper” (a second time for me).  I really like this song a lot and was pretty delighted to hear it and it turned into a long jam that ended in a one minute “Tweezer” wrap up that segued nicely into “2001” (with some lyrics and effects from “Space Oddity” thrown in. This little jam is always fun especially for the crescendos and lights.

They ended this killer second set with “Character Zero,” a favorite of mine that I’ve only seen live twice.

The Mann is a nightmare to get out of, especially if you wind up parking anywhere near the entrance (which I did), and especially after a Phish show (trying to weave your way through all of the people doing “ice colds”) which are apparently legal for a short time after a Phish show, I guess.  So I made my way to the closest exit point without leaving sight of the stage.  I don’t know if it made much difference time wise.  But it did put me right in the middle of a situation of a guy who was two drunk/stoned to stand and had to get medical help.  Which really impeded my appreciation of the slow/chill/happy Ghosts of the Forest encore song “Drift While You’re Sleeping.”  It’s a long song and wasn’t quite the encore ending I wanted and I was actually thinking I might leave during it (heaven forbid, but i’m sure glad I didn’t because they had one more “Tweezer” up their sleeve as they ended the “Tweezerfest” with a blistering “Tweezer Reprise.”

What a show.

And, amazingly, I managed to get out of the Mann bottleneck with almost no blockade at all.  I guess my plan worked.

~~~~   STATS   ~~~~~~~

The five and four timers club  [songs I have seen the most]

1. Mike’s Song [5]
2. Weekapaug Groove [5]
3. Split open and Melt [5]
4. Roggae
5. You Enjoy Myself
6. 46 Days
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.

The Gotta See List (Number in brackets is the number of timestheband has played the song)

1. Possum [548]  (Weekapaug Groove has been played 497 times and I’ve heard it 5 times)
2. Golgi Apparatus [469]
3. Cavern [467]
4. Foam [349]
5. Lizards [325]  (Split Open and Melt has been played 332 times and I have seen it 5 times)
6. Maze [326]
7. Sample in a Jar [298] [saw it TREY SOLO]
8. Fee [283]    (Slave to the Traffic Light has been played 272 time and I have seen it 4 times)
9. It’s Ice [243]
10. Wolfman’s Brother [220]
11. Silent in the Morning [185]
12. Punch You in the Eye [161]
13. Prince Caspian [165]
14. Twist [160]
15. Scent of a Mule [137]
16. Guyute [132]
17. Heavy Things [95] [TAB played it]
18. Sleeping Monkey [94]
19. Ocelot [94] [TAB played it]
20. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan [79]
21. Farmhouse [82] [TREY played it]
22. Joy [52]
23. A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing [43]   (Everything’s Right has been played 42 times and i have seen it 4 times)
24. Pebbles and Marbles [27]
25. Weigh [44]
26. Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars [131]
27. Kung [38]
28. Axilla (Part II) [46]
29. Fuck Your Face [18]
30. Mexican Cousin [15]
31. Ass Handed [17]
32. anything from the Colonel Forbin/Mockingbird *Got a Tela*
33. *Stray Dog [Kasvot Växt] [4]
34. *Everything is Hollow [Kasvot Växt] [3]
35. *We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains [Kasvot Växt] [9]
36. *Play By Play [Kasvot Växt] [3]

SETLISTS

 

July 20, 2022 [Mann Center night 2 of 2]	July 19, 2022 [Mann Center night 1 of 2]
SET ONE	SET ONE
Steam (8:27) [3]	Space Oddity [David Bowie] (5:27) (a cappella) (first time since 2017)
Runaway Jim (11:50) [2]	Martian Monster (5:50) [2]
Tela (6:46)	Halley’s Comet (17:03) [2] (Richard Wright cover)
Kill Devil Falls (10:59) [2]	Stash (11:57)
Theme from the Bottom (7:51) [2]	The Moma Dance (7:22) [3]
Birds of a Feather (6:16) [3]	Gotta Jibboo (8:09) [2]
I Didn’t Know (4:36) [with vacuum solo] (Richard Wright)	Shade (4:27) [saw Trey perform at Newport]
Funky Bitch (6:48) [3] (Son Seals)	Old Home Place (3:27) (The Dillards)
Split Open and Melt (14:58) [5]	Walls of the Cave (11:49) (3)
SET TWO	SET TWO
AC/DC Bag (10:01)	More (5:37) [3]
Soul Planet (9:51) [Trey song]	Tweezer (15:54) [3]
Simple (14:50) [3]	Cities (5:03) [Talking Heads]
Light (9:28) [3]	Tweezer (4:53) [3]
Party Time (7:34)	Passing Through [Kasvot Växt] (4:34)
Lonely Trip (7:34) [Trey song]	Izabella (4:01) [2] (Jimi Hendrix)
David Bowie (13:10) [2]	Tweezer (4:40) [3]
ENCORE	Mercury (7:30)
Waste (5;29) [2]	Piper (13:59) [2]
Loving Cup (7:41) [2] (Rolling Stones)	Tweezer (1:11) [3]
	Also Sprach Zarathustra / 2001 (7:48) [2] (Richard Strauss cover)
	Character Zero (7:26) [2]
	ENCORE
	Drift While You’re Sleeping [Ghosts of the Forest] (11:45)
	Tweezer Reprise (3:37) [3]

 

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 / 2001 (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) (Son Seals)
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)