When Mike Gordon announced a short March tour and one of the stops was Union Transfer, I immediately grabbed a ticket. I have very warm memories of the last time I saw him. I assumed it was like six years ago so I was really surprised to discover it was actually TEN. I was also surprised to see that he had played UT in 2018 and I wondered why I didn’t go (I had tickets to Nada Surf that night). But it has been 8 years since Mike has been here.
The 2016 lineup was guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.
This years lineup was similar but different: guitarist Bob Wagner, guitarist Xavier Lynn, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.
Like last time, Mike and friends played for almost 3 hours (a brief intermission in the middle). And like last time, Mike didn’t do a lot of soloing–he’s not a show offy bassist, although he does play some great stuff–he always has a great groove and I enjoy when he messes with his pedal effects to create a variety of sounds.
There was a line to get in, but it moved quickly and when I got in the merch line was really short. My wife had bought me a poster tube since I like posters so much and I actually brought it with me this time. But while I stood there (and I could see into the hall) nothing was happening. Then I saw that the card reader wasn’t working and these two guys were trying to fix it. With a few minutes before the showtime, I quit the line and went in. I had a great spot right in front of Mike. Although the people around me were pretty odd.
One guy had a stuffed doll with him and he kept holding it up trying to take a picture of it with the band (which I get but holy cow he did it like 30 times). After he moved away, the spot was constantly being filled by other people who really had no regard for personal space (which might just be a Phish thing). (more…)
In 2023, I took my family to Phish on New Year’s Eve and we had a great time. The show was fun and being in New York City after midnight was a hoot.
I didn’t feel like going last year. But this year I asked the family if they wanted to go again. And my son and wife said they’d go. I snagged tickets for the 28th and the 3oth.
And then I had surgery on the 10th, and there was no way I was hoofing it into the city two weeks after a major surgery, so I happily resold to another fan.
Ever since seeing Phish on New Year’s Eve (and getting the full Gamehendge) I didn’t really think I needed to see Phish again. I mean, sure there’s more songs I wanted to see live, but 17 times seemed like enough. And then they announced these two shows at the Mann. My plan was, if I get GA Pit tickets (the one thing I have not had for Phish) I would go. And I won the lottery and got two Pit tickets!
And then Hozier cancelled his show in Camden and pushed it to July 15! There was no debate about which I was going to. I’ve never seen Hozier in a big setting like that PLUS, my whole family was going to the Hozier show. So I’d sacrifice my Pit tickets (even though everyone says that this tour is one of the best in years).
I also sold my lawn tickets for the second night. I don’t enjoy lawn tickets and it turned out we were exhausted after Hozier (home by 1:30AM that night), so I wasn’t too sad to get rid of the tickets.
Then I foolishly looked at the setlists. I have a list of about 25 songs (which I really like) that I have yet to see them play live. So I looked at the setlist and I am sadly bolding the FOUR songs they played over the two nights. And I gotta say, Maze is one of my top want to see songs and Pebbles and Marbles was like a fingers crossed request. So, yes I’m a little bummed. But Hozier was awesome, and I’m sure I can see Phish again. (more…)
Last year I took my family to Phish on New Year’s Eve and we had a great time. The show was fun and being in New York City after midnight was a hoot.
I have gone to at least one show of their New Year’s run for the past few years, but this year I just didn’t feel like it.
Getting to the City is a pain and I was looking forward to relaxing and having no late nights for a while.
So, even though there’s probably going to be an amazing New Year’s spectacle planned, after seeing Gamehendge last year (my 17th Phish show), I ‘m taking some time off.
I have seen many Phish shows (not nearly as many as most Phish fans, but more Phish than any other band). The one show I wanted to go to that I hadn’t yet was New Year’s Eve at Madison Square Garden.
I wasn’t ever going to pay crazy prices for the show, so I always tried to get them in the lottery or through Ticketmaster. And this year I actually did. The key was also that I needed to get 4 tickets so my whole family could go–I wouldn’t spend New Year’s Eve without them. I wasn’t sure how keen the kids would be about seeing a band they didn’t know, but they were all pretty excited about the idea of being in New York, at a concert, as the New Year dawned.
So I was happy to kick back and enjoy the show, with my biggest concern being that the kids weren’t too bored during the long solos. But I promised them that there would be some kind of New Year’s gag to entertain them.
Little did I know that the gag was probably tame for them compared to what I’d described, but it was incredible for me and meaningful in a way I never imagined.
I had noticed that they hadn’t played “Possum” at MSG on this run. It’s their second most played song (and one I hadn’t seen them play in 16 shows) so I thought I’d have a good chance of seeing it. And maybe one or two others on my list.
Little did I know that I would be in for THE FIRST TIME THEY PLAYED THE GAMEHENDGE STORY IN NEARLY 30 YEARS (which includes Possum).
The show started with a lengthy version of “Everything’s Right.” This is a newer song that I have heard five times already. Trey must just sense my presence. They followed it with “Tube.” It’s a weird song with a jerky rhythm that I really like. This version featured a lengthy jam that quoted the Mary Tyler Moore theme song.
Up next was a brand new song (debuted this summer) that I hadn’t heard before. “Ether Edge” shows that Trey is still writing songs, and most of them are uplifting and positive.
It was a lovely song but I was super psyched when the band did a sidestep to play a song from Lawn Boy. I’ve seen “Reba” (a big favorite for me) twice, but this is the first time they played the whole thing (including the whistling ending, which they seem to have been leaving out as of late).
I have a lengthy list of songs I’ve never seen live and which I would like to see. And every once in a while they play a song that I have never seen that I didn’t realize I wanted to see, like “Taste,” a classic rock sounding song from Billy Breathes.
I have never really listened to the Ghosts in the Forest record which is kind of a shame since I’ve heard so much of it live. “Ruby Waves” gets better with each listen. It was followed by one of Trey’s newer, sweeter songs, “A Life Beyond the Dream.” The set ended (rather early I thought) with a rocking and fun “Character Zero.”
I had seen in previous years that the act break was pretty long between the two main parts of the set. We stayed put as everyone had gotten up and we were rewarded because they started set two much earlier than I thought they would.
I was pretty excited that they opened Set two with “Down with Disease,” a fun rocker–I wanted my kids to be into the rockers before the meandering jams started.
And then they started playing “Harpua.” There was ONE song I wanted to hear at this show, and I hoped I’d get “Possum” but instead I got Harpua! It was so rare in my mind, that it wasn’t even on my list. And then Trey started talking. And he mentioned Gamehendge. And soon enough, my mind was blown.
I don’t even know if I have the words.
I’m not a first-gen Phish fan, I got into them around 1998. But they were super easy to get really into because they released a lot of live albums. And you could quickly get sucked into the mythology and realize that you missed out on all the secret languages that they band developed with their fans. Including Gamehendge. Sure, they played Harpua from time to time, but, as was quickly pointed out once the show started Phish never played Gamehendge. Live for Live Music gives some stats:
Prior to 12/31/23, the band had played Gamehendge—referring to the collective group of songs and their complete, accompanying narration—in concert only four times (that we know of): 3/12/88 at Nectar’s, 3/22/93 in Sacramento, CA, 6/26/94 in West Virginia (which also a near-complete performance of Phish’s Hoist album), and 7/8/94 in Mansfield, MA. There was also the 10/13/91 show in Olympia, WA that featured most but not all of the Gamehendge saga/narration, so that one gets an asterisk on most peoples’ list. Phish-nerds gonna Phish-nerd.
Over the nearly three decades since the last Gamehendge show in 1994, Phish seemed content to leave the land of Lizards in the past. The individual songs themselves have never disappeared from the repertoire, but until New Year’s Eve, chasing Gamehendge at a live show amounted to a pipe dream for generations of Phish fans: “What do you want to hear tonight? Gamehendge? Right, cool. Wouldn’t we all. Not gonna happen.”
So even if I’ve only been into Phish for 25 years, it was still an incredible moment. I may not have been to 100 shows (this was my 17th), and I feel incredibly lucky to have been there in person, I still feel like I earned it (unlike my kids who were like, “what’s happening”).
It was pretty amazing to be there on site as it happened. Even if we were behind the stage and couldn’t really see the performance, the place was electric. And yes, I was moved to tears at being there, watching that giant rhimbus take over the stage was something else.
In my experience, I would have typically been at the show the night before (like when we went to see Pearl Jam in Philly on the night BEFORE they played Ten front to back). The fact that I was there was pretty amazing.
And now Phish has released the entire Gamehendge saga on 4K stream on YouTube (you can’t see us behind the stage).
I also never realized that so many of the songs that were on my “gotta hear” list were from this saga. I got “The Lizards” and “Punch You in the Eye.”
And of course I knew that “Fly Famous Mockingbird” was part of the saga but to hear it live WITH a massive drone bird flying around was incredible.
And it ended just as they sang Auld Lang Syne (my kids point out that he did the count down about a minute and a half before it actually turned midnight (and that the the song itself ended at exactly midnight), but who needs exactitude, right?
How do you top that? Can you even top it?
Well, how about with a really jamming Split Open and Melt. And then with a nearly 25 minute You Enjoy Myself (making this a true YEMSG).
And surely that would be the end. But no, how about a ripping cover of The Rolling Stone’s “Loving Cup.” One which the whole crowd could sing along to.
I assumed there would be an encore (but really, after all that?) And actually I assumed it would be a Tweezer Reprise because they had played Tweezer but did not play the Reprise.
But they couldn’t let us leave before 1AM. And so, there was a super fun Cavern a fantastic First Tube (one of my faves) and then a night-ending Tweezer Reprise.
It was an incredible night.
We got some street cart food on the way home (and happened to stop on a street where there was a massive accident and police chase and then a massive line up for the bus. But they threw on an extra bus driver for us and we wound up getting home some time around 4:30 AM
A pretty unforgettable New Year’s Eve.
I’m honestly not sure if I ever need to see Phish again after that. But I feel like I need to go to more shows to show my appreciation.
Thanks guys.
~~~~
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, there are about 200 songs I’m likely to hear live [not including one offs and gags and such]. The completist in me would love to hear all of those songs, (some they haven’t played in years, so that’s unlikely). But given that enormous list, I have 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 (as of 12/31/23 their most frequently played song is “You Enjoy Myself” 634 times).
Golgi Apparatus (11th of the list) [475] J
Foam (20th) [352] J
Maze (23nd) [338] [Split Open and Melt has been played 344 times and I have seen it 6 times)
Sample in a Jar (32nd) [305] [saw it TREY SOLO]
Fee (35th) [286] J (Slave to the Traffic Light has been played 272 time and I have seen it 4 times)
It’s Ice (40th) [254]
Silent in the Morning (61st) [185]
Prince Caspian (65th) [175]
Twist (66th) [175]
Scent of a Mule (79th)[146]
Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars (81st) [142] (They have covered Loving Cup 146 times and I have seen it 3 times)
Guyute [133]
Heavy Things [98] [TAB played it]
Farmhouse [85] [TREY played it]
Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan [80]
Joy [55]
A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing [46] (Everything’s Right has been played 53 times and I have seen it 5 times)
Weigh [45]
Kung [39]
Pebbles and Marbles [28]
Fuck Your Face [20]
Ass Handed [19]
Mexican Cousin [15]
*We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains [Kasvot Växt] [10]
*Stray Dog [Kasvot Växt] [4]
*Everything is Hollow [Kasvot Växt] [4]
*Play By Play [Kasvot Växt] [3]
And these are the songs I’ve seen the most:
The six, five and four timers club [bold songs were played at this last show]
Mike’s Song [6]
Weekapaug Groove [6]
Split Open and Melt [6]
You Enjoy Myself [6]
Wilson [6]
Suzy Greenberg [5]
46 Days [5]
Everything’s Right [5]
Down with Disease [4]
Roggae [4]
Slave to the Traffic Light [4]
More [4]
Carini [4]
I am Hydrogen [4]
Back on the Train [4]
Blaze On [4]
Walls of the Cave [4]
No Men in No Man’s Land [4]
Chalk Dust Torture [4]
Ruby Waves [4]
Tube [4]
Tweezer Reprise [4]
December 31, 2023 [Madison Square Garden night 4 of 4]
July 25, 2023 [Mann Center night 1 of 2]
SET ONE
SET ONE
Everything’s Right (11:38) [Trey song] (5)
Strawberry Letter 23 [Shuggie Otis] 4:20
Tube (8:09) [4]
Bathtub Gin 14:35 (2)
Ether Edge (4:26) [Trey song]
Back on the Train 8:28 [4]
Reba [with whistle] (12:10) [3]
The Squirming Coil 7:19 [2]
Taste (7:23)
Axilla (Part II) 5:41 [2]
Ruby Waves (9:20) [Ghosts of the Forest] [4]
Ya Mar 7:10 [2]
A Life Beyond the Dream (7:26) [2]
Blaze On 10:16 [4]
Character Zero (5:16) [3]
Waste 5:42 [3]
SET TWO
Walls of the Cave 10:16 [4]
Down with Disease 8:26 [4]
46 Days 6:08 [5]
Harpua (9:01)
SET TWO
Gamehendge
Down with Disease 16:48 [3]
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday (2:38)
The Well 20:38 [Eighth longest song I’ve seen]
The Lizards (9:50)
No Men in No Man’s Land 6:10 [4]
Punch You in the Eye (6:24) ~
Beneath a Sea of Starts (Part 1) [Ghosts of the Forest] 9:07 [3]
AC/DC Bag (18:57) [2]
Piper 9:10[3]
Tela (7:38) [2]
Crosseyed and Painless 6:53 [Talking Heads] [2]
Llama [fast version] (4:26) [2] ~
Chalk Dust Torture 8:04 [4]
Wilson (4:34) [6]
ENCORE
The Sloth (5:20) [2]
Wading in the Velvet Sea 5:05 [2]
Divided Sky (13:42) [2] ~
Fire [Jimi Hendrix] 4:43 [2]
SET THREE
McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters (8:57) ~
Colonel Forbin’s Ascent (5:52)
Fly Famous Mockingbird (7:47)
Auld Lang Syne (1:25)
Split Open and Melt (14:26) [6]
You Enjoy Myself (23:46) [6]
Loving Cup (8:04) [3] (Rolling Stones)
Possum (11:02)
ENCORE
Cavern (4:42) [2]
First Tube (7:46) [3]
Tweezer Reprise (3:41) [4]
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
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]
Junta:
Lawn Boy: complete
Picture of Nectar: Eliza*; Poor Heart; Manteca*; Faht*; Catapult*; Glide (have seen glide II)
Rift: Fast Enough for You; Lengthwise*; Maze; Horn; Weigh*; All Things Reconsidered*; Mound; It’s Ice; The Horse*; Silent in the Morning
Hoist: If I Could; Riker’s Mailbox*; Lifeboy; Scent of a Mule; Dog Faced Boy; Demand ; Yerushalayim Shel Zahav
Billy Breathes: Cars Trucks Buses; Talk; Swept Away, Steep; Prince Caspian
The Story of the Ghost: Meat; Guyute; Fikus;
Farmhouse: Twist; Heavy Things; Dirt; Sleep; The Inlaw Josie Wales
Round Room: Pebbles and Marbles; Anything But Me; Round Room; Mexican Cousin; Friday; All of These Dreams; Thunderhead;
Undermind: The Connection; A Song a I Heard The Ocean Sing; Army of One; Maggie’s Revenge; Nothing; Two Versions of Me; Access me; Tomorrow’s Song; Secret Smile
Joy: Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan; Joy; Sugar Shack; Time Turns Elastic; Twenty Years Later
Fuego: The Line; Devotion to a Dream; Winterqueen; Sing Monica; Wombat
Big Boat
Sigma Oasis
I have been to the Phish New Year’s Eve run a few times. I went on Night 3 in 2018 and nights 2 and 3 in 2019. But I’ve never been to New Year’s Eve.
I have reached the point where Madison Square Garden is too much of a hassle for me, so I wasn’t even planning on trying to get tickets for these shows. But I figured I’d give New Year’s Eve a shot and I actually got some!
So I had no desire to go to these shows.
It’s possible that New Year’s Eve will be my last Phish show (that will make 17 shows). I don’t really feel the need to go for 20, but they do keep drawing me back in.
I’m not going to The Sphere, though, as cool as that sounds.
Ever since seeing two Phish shows in a row at the same venue, it’s hard to not do both show every time.
Last night’s show was great and the new song(s) were fantastic.
But after last night’s lengthy time getting in and lengthy time getting home, even with a friend offering me a Lyft so I didn’t have to fight for parking, I just didn’t have the energy to do another show tonight.
So I sold my ticket on CashorTrade and will head home for an early night, hoping they don’t play any of my “gotta see songs.”
This was my sixteenth Phish show. I assumed I’d be seeing 17 tomorrow, but I decided to blow it off instead.
Primarily, because this trip from Prince to Philly sucked so bad, I left work at 4:30 and parked at 7. Yes, there was a donut run in the middle, but still. My parking space was way back in the woods (which was actually kind of easy to get out, thankfully). And I felt like I was surrounded by insanity.
This was my first Mann Center show where I had an assigned seat. I thought it was balcony, but it was actually outside in that weird uncovered area. The seat was pretty good. Me neighbors were weird though. Not very friendly–no one passed me anything.
I felt like the show had to be spectacular if I was going to even consider going tomorrow night.
And while the show checked off NO songs on my gotta see list and bumped FIVE songs into “now I’ve seen it four times” territory and one song into “now I’ve seen it 5 times” the show was still fun.
Really, seeing a band sixteen times and seeing a few songs only six times is stull a lot of originality, although I fell like they’ve been playing the same basic grouping of songs for the last few tours. Or maybe playing the same venue makes them think of playing the same songs a lot. (more…)
I was pretty tired for this show and not really looking to the long day ahead. But I had pretty much assured myself that this would be my last Phish show, so I’d be sure to enjoy it.
I entered through the gate under the stage which was weird and kind of fun and I wound up right by Paige again. I was also cutting it pretty close to the start (parking this time in a garage not too far away from the stage–an excellent choice).
They came out pretty soon after and played a ripping “Wolfman’s Brother” a song on my “Gotta See List.” So that was a good sign. And it was an unexpectedly long jam. There was some watery funky bass and riffs and peaks from Trey and dirty watery sounds from Page and Mike as well. A great start.
And then they jumped right into “Tube.” Tube is one of those wonderfully mythic live song that is so much fun to hear. Between these two songs they’d jammed almost thirty minutes already.
They followed it up with a mellow song I didn’t recognize (even though I love Farmhouse), the ballad “Mountains of the Mist.” At this point I was getting annoyed by the people around me (so many smokers!) so I had to move.
They moved onto a bouncy version of Ocelet, a song I’ve wanted to hear live for a long time (two on my gotta see list already!). This one seemed delicate and almost tiptoe-like as it danced around the sand until it took off for some good jamming with some nice peaks
Sadly, that would be the end of my checklist for the night.
And yet that would be okay because the songs they played were just some of my all time big thumbs up yesses. (more…)
I simply don’t think I have it in me to drive to Atlantic City three days in a row. And I’m not going to get a hotel room. So I tend to blow of the middle of three shows there.
Here’s what I missed
The Setlist
Set 1: 46 Days > The Moma Dance, Olivia’s Pool > My Soul, 555 > NICU > Bathtub Gin, Heavy Rotation > Character Zero, Moonage Daydream
Set 2: No Men In No Man’s Land > Tweezer, Set Your Soul Free > Simple > Backwards Down the Number Line > Golgi Apparatus > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: A Life Beyond The Dream, Tweezer Reprise
Overall, a decent mix of songs. There were two that I’ve seen a bunch and only one on my Must See list. So it was probably a good decision to bail.
The six, five and four timers club (bolded songs were played tonight so my number would be one up)
Mike’s Song [6]
Weekapaug Groove [6]
Split open and Melt [5]
You Enjoy Myself [5]
Suzy Greenberg [5]
Wilson [5]
Roggae
46 Days
Slave to the Traffic Light
Everything’s Right
More
Carini
I am Hydrogen
I have 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.
Possum [548] (Weekapaug Groove has been played 497 times and I’ve heard it 5 times)
Golgi Apparatus [469] would have been nice to hear that one.
Cavern [467]
Foam [349]
Lizards [325] (Split Open and Melt has been played 332 times and I have seen it 5 times)
Maze [326]
Sample in a Jar [298] [saw it TREY SOLO]
Fee [283] (Slave to the Traffic Light has been played 272 time and I have seen it 4 times)
It’s Ice [243]
Silent in the Morning [185]
Punch You in the Eye [161]
Prince Caspian [165]
Twist [160]
Scent of a Mule [137]
Guyute [132]
Heavy Things [95] [TAB played it]
Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan [79]
Farmhouse [82] [TREY played it]
Joy [52]
A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing [43] (Everything’s Right has been played 42 times and i have seen it 4 times)
Pebbles and Marbles [27]
Weigh [44]
Big Black Furry Creatures from Mars [131]
Kung [38]
Fuck Your Face [18]
Mexican Cousin [15]
Ass Handed [17]
Colonel Forbin/Mockingbird
*Stray Dog [Kasvot Växt] [4]
*Everything is Hollow [Kasvot Växt] [3]
*We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains [Kasvot Växt] [9]
When Mike Gordon announced a short March tour and one of the stops was Union Transfer, I immediately grabbed a ticket. I have very warm memories of the last time I saw him. I assumed it was like six years ago so I was really surprised to discover it was actually TEN. I was also surprised to see that he had played UT in 2018 and I wondered why I didn’t go (I had tickets to Nada Surf that night). But it has been 8 years since Mike has been here.
I Just Read About That... 