I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 5, 2022] Phish

I saw phish earlier this summer and wasn’t sure if I was up for another Atlantic City run.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle all three nights, so I decided to do Friday and Sunday.  I also decided that this might be my final Phish shows, these being numbers fourteen and fifteen.

I decided to drive to Atlantic City straight from work on Friday night.  It saved a little grief, although not a lot of time.  I also wound up arriving fairly early, but apparently nowhere near early enough to get the famous Atlantic City posters (people started lining up for them at 2PM).   I parked in the Bass Pro Shops, which I pre-paid for, but I think that it would have been free because the store was closed.  Or something.  It was confusing.

So I wandered around A/C for a bit and enjoyed being plenty early.  The mood was good and I managed to walk all the way through the people set up with blankets and got a walked pretty close to the Paige side of the stage.

One of the bad things as far as Phish for me is that I have never really gotten close to the band–never gotten GA tickets.  So I thought it would be cool to be close (even with so many other people around).

Well, I enjoyed the view and the breeze and was soon rewarded with one my favorite songs “Chalk Dust Torture.”  It was quickly followed by a second favorite “Wilson.”

When Phish plays the shore, they play thematically appropriate songs like “Sand,” a slinky slow grooving song.  Although they had jammed Chalk Dust, this one they stetched out over ten minutes with a grooving mellow jam that seamlessly bounced back to the rugged raw melody of the song before segueing into “Plasma.”  “Plasma” had a bouncy ebullient jam with lots of swirling grooving keys behind Trey’s solos.

This led into a “Theme from the Bottom” a song I really like–many parts, weird melodies and it’s thematically appropriate.  Even though they had just played it at the Mann center back in July. Now I was under the impression that Phish almost never played the same song more than once in a tour.  I know that’s not true.  It may have been true for some tours in the past, but is no longer the case, with some songs getting multiple plays in a tour, but still I was really quite surprised that they played a song  that I heard last month.

This one had a lot of piano and kept a happy vibe as by this time my feet were in the ocean and things were very chill.  It segued into a bouncy “Back on the Train.”  There was a good long solo with so me nice high peaks.

Phish shows, especially at the Mann and Atlantic City are very strange for me because I can actually move around. Usually I am planted in my spot and the only moving I do is to schooch up or move back away from obnoxious people.  So to have the huge amount of freedom that the shore affords is a little unnerving to me.   It’s also my fourteenth Phish show and I’ve given up on the idea of “watching” the band and have accepted that Phish shows are more about the experience.  So yes, sometimes you’re walking away and looking at the water or the sky or the people dancing or whatever.

Then I got my first experience of the title track of their new album “Sigma Oasis.”.  I really like the album and I like this song quiet a bit.  I never expected it to run for over 21 minutes (the 6th longest Phish song I’ve seen them play).  A 20 minute jam on the beach is an interesting thing because you can really wander around and enjoy the sights and everything.  But you still want to get into the vibe and the lights.  I think that the air of COVID has made my usual hesitancy about strangers even more pronounced at events like this, so I’m even more standoffish than usual. 

There was some cool dirty echoing guitars from Trey and some nifty synths sounds from Paige as the jam migrated all over the place.  It even took of into a rocking full on jam about half way through.  The jam ended in a dirty funky place the migrated into a cover of Talking Heads “Cities.”  It was a sloppy, ugly cover.  But again, they had played it at the Mann just last month, as well.  And they followed it with “More,” which they played in the same SET as Cities.  This was almost annoying at this point  I mean surely there was enough overlap between Philly and AC fans to have noticed.  It just seemed kind of weird that they would do that when they are usually so good about not overlapping.  True, “More” is a great song and is a lot of fun to sing along to and, doubly true, for most bands you’re going to hear the same songs at every show, it was just surprising for Phish.

The band took a break and I wandered in the waves (trying not to think about the guys literally pulling down their pants and peeing into the ocean) and walking up the beach and looking merch and the things for sale.  And as I headed back to the stage (and a new vantage point), the band immediately made up for the repeated songs by playing something on my gotta hear list.  Something really far down and super rare (although some.  They played “Axilla Part II” and any thought of them repeating songs was forgiven.  Because “Axilla Part II” is awesome and it was fantastic to hear it.

It was followed by “Soul Planet” (which yes, they’d also played at the Mann, although this one was five minutes longer and had a very different feel overall).  This one had a really funky dirty bass sound from Mike.

At the end of the lengthy jam you could hear Trey mutter “Down with Disease” and soon enough Mike’s liquid funky bass was playing those opening notes and the guitars were screaming and everyone was screaming along with it.  The jam was getting dark and dirty and growly and them Trey pulled everyone out of it with some very pretty guitar while Paige followed along with twinkling keys and it soon (after 20 minutes and now the 7th longest Phish song I’ve seen live) it shifted into “Ruby Waves.”  This Ghosts of the Forest song is lovely and getting a lot of play.  It jammed for 15 minutes with a few super high peaks and ended with a 50 second reprise of the chorus of “Down with Disease” which was a real treat.

Then things got really weird because they slowed things down to a real funky beat and I recognized the song but it was all different and I realized it was a slowed down version of  Ghost.  The jam went a little crazy with some heavy riffing and screaming solos from Trey.  And then Fish played a drum fill and amazingly they were playing “Harry Hood.”  By this time I had moved over to the right side (Mike’s side) by the walkways (my calves were aching from the sand).  It was a different view and kind of fun to be in it once they started the Harry.

This was only my second time seeing Harry live an amazing way to end the night.  I was exhausted and ready to be done and it seemed really late I didn’t think they’d even do an encore.  I think many people started leaving.

But Phish would never end with out an encore, right?  And sure enough they came back and played “Sleeping Monkey,” another song on my gotta see list!  I couldn’t believe it.  The only thing that would have been better would have been if they’d had a vacuum cleaner solo (I mean, if they were duplicating the Mann, why not duplicate that too?).

I never really thought about “Sleeping Monkey”‘s comment on the shore: “That’s the Jersey Shore that was about. … The Jersey Shore, the only shore in the world,” laughed the Jersey-raised Trey.

And while that would have been an excellent ending in itself, they topped it of with one of my favorite Phish songs ever “Free.”  I love the riff, I love the melody I love the optimism.  I was exhausted an could barely stand in the sand but I was really excited to hear it and raise my arms up and sing “Free!”   There was a really great bass solo from Mike mid-song and some fun jamming that stretched this really late song out over ten minutes.

I staggered back to my car and drove the endless ride home, thankful that I wasn’t heading back down again tomorrow night (actually tonight, I guess), even though the Saturday night show was pretty great, too.

~~~~

The six, five and four timers club

1. Mike’s Song [6]
2. Weekapaug Groove [6]
3. Split open and Melt [5]
4. You Enjoy Myself [5]
5. Suzy Greenberg [5]
6. Wilson [5]
7. Roggae
8. 46 Days
9. Slave to the Traffic Light
10. Everything’s Right
11. More
12. Carini
13. I am Hydrogen

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 36 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 [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. Silent in the Morning [185]
11. Punch You in the Eye [161]
12. Prince Caspian [165]
13. Twist [160]
14. Scent of a Mule [137]
15. Guyute [132]
16. Heavy Things [95] [TAB played it]
17. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan [79]
18. Farmhouse [82] [TREY played it]
19. Joy [52]
20. A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing [43]   (Everything’s Right has been played 42 times and i have seen it 4 times)
21. Pebbles and Marbles [27]
22. Weigh [44]
23. Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars [131]
24. Kung [38]
25. Fuck Your Face [18]
26. Mexican Cousin [15]
27. Ass Handed [17]
28. Colonel Forbin/Mockingbird
29. *Stray Dog [Kasvot Växt] [4]
30. *Everything is Hollow [Kasvot Växt] [3]
31. *We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains [Kasvot Växt] [9]
32. *Play By Play [Kasvot Växt] [3]

Got:

1. Wolfman’s Brother [220]
2. Sleeping Monkey [94]
3. Ocelot [94]
4. Axilla (Part II) [46]

SETLISTS

 

August 7, 2022 [Atlantic City night 3 of 3]	August 7, 2022 [Atlantic City night 1 of 3]
SET ONE	SET ONE
Wolfman’s Brother 11:37	Chalk Dust Torture  7:39 [3]
Tube 12:07 [3]	Wilson  4:18 [5]
Mountains in the Mist 6:57	Sand 11:19  [saw TAB play it too]
Ocelot 11:10	Plasma  8:25 [2]
Fluffhead 14:28 [2]	Theme from the Bottom 8:10 [3]
Mercury 7:09 [2]	Back on the Train 7:50 [3]
Gumbo 4:49 [2]	Sigma Oasis 21:29 [SIXTH LONGEST SONG I’ve seen]
Carini 9:53 [4]	Cities 4:43 [Talking Heads] [2]
SET TWO	More 6:00 [4]
Mike’s Song 7:19 [6]	SET TWO
I am Hydrogen 7:01 [4]	Axilla (Part II) 5:54
Weekapaug Groove 8:13 [6]	Soul Planet 14:52 [Trey song] [2]
A Wave of Hope 19:23 [Eleventh longest song I’ve seen]	Down with Disease 20:51 [2] [Seventh longest song I’ve seen]
You Enjoy Myself 23:46 [5] [FIFTH LONGEST song I’ve seen]	Ruby Waves 14:39 [Ghosts of the Forest] [3]
Suzy Greenberg 7:21 [5]	Down with Disease 0:50 [2]
ENCORE	Ghost 12:17 [2 plus 1 slow version]
Wading in the Velvet Sea 5:43 [2]	Harry Hood 14:54 [2]
First Tube 7:21 [2]	ENCORE
	Sleeping Monkey 4:13
	Free 10:35 [2]

 

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)

 

 

Perhaps fifteen will be all

August 7, 2022 [Atlantic City night 3 of 3]