SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-Vegas 96 (2007).
This show was recorded at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 6, 1996. The set also includes a DVD.
The show has a great amount of classic songs, a few big rarities, some cool covers and a whole lot of surprises.
Wilson has a really rocking beginning (everyone is going nuts during the can you still have any fun) until just before the “blap boom” part when it slows to a halt with about 20 seconds of squalling feedback. Then they launch into an excellent non-jamming version of Frank Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia.” It is followed by a fast romp through “Poor Heart”—one of the fastest I’ve heard. It ends really noisily and then segues into a funky jam that’s mostly keyboard. After 5 minutes it resolves into “2001,” which also ends noisily with scratchy guitars that segue into a very fast “Llama.”
This has been a simply rip-roaring show thus far. And then they settle down for a 26-minute “You Enjoy Myself.” The “Boy Man” section is very funky and the following jam stays funky with a lot of high-pitched bass soloing from Mike and a lot of percussion thrown in as well. The song ends with a vocal jam but instead of doing weird sounds and screams, trey starts singing “doh doh doh donuts, I like donuts.”
I tend to think of “YEM” as set-enders (since that’s my experience with them), but this is still mid-set and they follow up with a synth and piano version of “Cars Trucks Buses” which seems like it’s going to morph into “Kung” but instead it becomes a loud, brash “Down with Disease.” The set ends with a rocking “Frankenstein.” I tend to thing they play this and “YEM” a lot because they seem to be on a ton of official live recordings.
Set 2 opens with a funky “Julius” (a song I always assume is a cover but which isn’t), and a nice version of “Sparkle” (with a super fast “laughing laughing” section at the end). “Mike’s Song” runs about 10 minutes with a really noisy middle section and then segues into “Simple.” There’s a lengthy piano section that turns into a rocking jam that goes on for quite a while (the whole song is over 18 minutes). It winds down eventually and returns to a lot of piano. It is followed by a noisy and raucous “Harry Hood” that feel really raw. The song is 15 minutes and there’s a long solo before the “you can feel good” part.
Then comes a big, 11 minute “Weekapaug Groove.” About midway through the jam the whole band stops dramatically and perfectly. They run through a bit again and stop perfectly again (except for an extra snare hit). It’s amazing how tight they are. The end grows very quiet as the band prepares for a quiet a capella “Sweet Adeline” (it’s so quiet all you hear is the crowd shushing everyone–this is the major downside to them doing these barbershop songs). They come out of that with a set-ending, totally rocking cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times,” with Fish singing the “I know what it means to be alone” part.
The encore proves to be about 35 minutes long. There are lots of guests and surprises. And the band walks through a version of the “Harpua” story. Ler and Les from Primus come out to start the song. The chorus is done in half time—which is rather unsettling. The story leads to Les singing Don Bowman’s “Wildwood Weed.” I had assumed he made up but he obviously didn’t. Then it’s back to “Harpua.” In this version of the story, Jimmy walks to Vegas with his cat Poster Nutbag (Trey tells everyone to put all their money on 17). As they get “closer to Vegas” they hear voices singing “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” (a song by Patsy Montana). It is sung by the Yodeling Cowgirls. (There’s some “Happy Trails” in there as well). Then there’s more of the “Harpua” story and as they approach Las Vegas they see Four Elvises. Which leads to a singoff of “Suspicious Minds.” This contest was between four Elvis impersonators with Fish joining in at the end. Unmentioned (as far as I can tell) are John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (on backing vocals) and actor Courtney Gains (on percussion). And then everyone launches into a wild “Suzy Greenberg” including the Elvises. During the jam at the end, one of the Elvises turns the song into “Susie Q.”
This is one of my favorite shows. The inclusion of the Primus guys and the crazy version of “Harpua” is just spectacular. And by the end, everyone is having a great time.
[READ: April 1, 2017] “Las Gaviotas”
I enjoyed the way this story seemed really unsettled, just like its protagonist.
Finley is a in a relationship with Neil. But she is currently hanging out at Brace’s apartment. Brace is Neil’s old roommate. Neil is in the other room with Brace’s girlfriend Alice. They are all pretty drunk.
Brace is everything that Neil is not: he is big–not fat, just big–with a voice and presence to match. And while Finley loves Neil–she keeps telling us that–there’s something about Brace (that name!) that she is drawn to. She also hates Brace’s girlfriend Alice who has “otherworldly beauty.” (more…)
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On April 27, Primus gave us some hope by pushing back this tour just a few months:
