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Viewing all posts tagged "phish friday"
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Introducing Phish Fridays
We were sad to read last week that Live Music Blog is calling it quits. I discovered LMB thanks to their Phish Friday segment. So in honor of one of our favorite websites and bands (of course), we are starting our own version of Phish Friday.
photo by Matt Simpson
Phish Friday in the Butter Room will be slightly different than LMB, but we hope just as tasty. We promise a steady flow of Phish content from most, if not all, of our contributors. Some posts might contain commentary, some might not. It’s totally free form, no planning, lots of improv, but one thing is for certain: just Phish on Fridays.
Enjoy! -
Skin It Back > Cities - Phish
4.29.87 - Nectar’s, Burlington, VTWhile the originality and creativity of mid-to-late ‘90’s Phish is unbeatable, sometimes I find myself going back and listening to the band in their earlier days when it wasn’t about their trademark tones or ability to seamlessly morph from original composition to original composition with such fluidity that jaws would drop. No, in these days it was just about rocking out.
One of the most memorable moments I have from seeing Phish was not even in front of the band. It was listening to their soundcheck from my car during my nearly 24 hour solo journey from Camden, NJ to Limestone, ME for the IT Festival. Out of the middle of a funky jam filled with some Gordo bombs appeared “Skin It Back,” a Little Feat original that Mike has always had great admiration for.
This particular selection finds Mike belting out “Skin It Back” as Trey rips the song a new one, then cooling off as they slide into Talking Heads’ “Cities.” Phish’s love of good music has always been one of the most human aspects of a band that in later years began to seem larger than life.
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Bathtub Gin - Phish
8.17.1997 - The Great Went, Loring Air Foce Base, Limestone, METhis is one of the best Gins ever played, and fitting for the first Phish Friday on The Butter Room, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the 21st Amendment repealing prohibition in the U.S.
I can’t wait to be back with all of you at a festival next summer, hopefully sharing in the groove of another monsterous Gin.
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You Enjoy Myself > Frankenstein > You Enjoy Myself - Phish
7.8.1994 - Great Woods, Mansfield, MA
Though the Gamehendge set (the last ever narrated in its entirety) would have been a fitting way to kick off TBR’s Phish Friday tradition, the Set II YEM sandwich is the definition of Phish at their best. The transitions are seamless, the teases rampant, and the Gordo’s signature ‘94 YEM funk is at full blast.
It is so smooth that if you cut out the Frankenstein, you are left with a rockin YEM worthy of the many others from that epic tour. Add it back in though, and you have a gem from some of the band’s best years.
Hampton ETA: 90 days
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Mound > Slave to the Traffic Light > Suzy Greenberg - Phish
7.13.1994 -Big Birch Concert Pavillion (Patterson, NY)
It is hard to argue that 1994 was a great year for Phish. The spring/summer tour was chock-full of memorable shows and stand-out performances from all of the members that many of great ones have gone underrated or underappreciated.
This is one such show. After a three part Tweezer sandwich, the crowd was treated with a spot on Mound, into an (always solid) Slave, followed by one of the best Suzy Greenbergs that these ears have heard.
While typically played the same show after show, this mound is solid. The intricacy and complexity of the song make it easy to understand why the band hestitates to bring it back (it was last played in the first post-hiatus return show), but also makes it one of my personal favorites. As one of Mike’s favorites, I’m keeping the fingers crossed for a Mound return at Hampton ‘09.
After a strong Slave, the funky Suzy features Slave melodies in between the verses.
Hampton ETA: 83 days
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Makisupa Policeman > Funky Bitch - Phish
08.12.1998
Vernon Downs, Utica, NYAs is probably the case for a lot of us here in The Butter Room, this particular Phish Friday installation double-bills under Being There. We hit the lovely city of Utica to pick up our good buddy Sparkz, kicking it over to race track for one last show before Lemonwheel. It was a beautiful night and The Don was all hopped up on wheat grass juice.
The key phrase in Makisupa was “Burnin Down,” foreshadowing the encore cover of “Burning Down the House.”
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Free -> Theme From The Bottom - Phish
11.27.96 - Key Arena, Seattle, WAHere are two of my favorite songs (for much different reasons) back to back. The jam and breakdown in Free has long been one of my favorite elements of a great live Phish show. When Mike & Trey go off on a Free jam, it just really does it for me. Theme, however, is not so much about the improvisational opportunities that arise, but the meaning behind the song and its lyrics.
Or sink just below all the churning and froth
And swim to the light source or fly like a moth
So toss away stuff you dont need in the end
But keep whats important and know whos your friendThat verse has always summed up what I believe to be the heart of the Phish mantra: the friendships you develop in life will always be more valuable and important than any of the belongings you take. The band has practiced what its preached too. Take for example the art tower the band and fans made together at The Great Went. Near the end of the final set of the festival, the band burned the art to the ground, leaving only the memories of what was made during the weekend.
As for this particular selection, Theme has a particularly lengthy jam arising from a great first set Free. This show is also noteworthy for the “Diseezer” from the second set, and multiple tributes to Jimmy Hendrix on his birthday (and in his home city).
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Carini - Phish
12.30.97 - MSG, NYC NY
Most of you probably know by now that Phish released 12/30/97 on LivePhish.com earlier this week. This show is phenomenal. It was in heavy rotation for me back in the day. Buy it already. -
pro.PHISH.ionals
A buddy of mine started a Linked In group a month back named pro.PHISH.ionals. It’s a true professional networking group for people with a common appreciation of all things Phish.
The group has been fairly active thus far (109 members as of today) and is no spam, all quality discussion.
You need a LinkedIn account to join, and if you do, make sure you tell them the Butter Room sent ya.
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Pebbles & Marbles - Phish
2.20.03 - Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
I’ve been a fan of Phish since I bought “A Live One” back in 1999, when I was fifteen years old. However, I was unable to catch the band before they went on hiatus in 2000, and was forced to wait indefinitely for my first show.
When the band announced they would return in August 2002, I was estatic. My excitement quickly faded as I was denied tickets for the return shows at MSG and Hampton. I didn’t let that stop me though, and did get lottery tickets to see my first Phish show at Allstate Arena. For a number of reasons I ended up traveling solo to this show. Perhaps because of that I will always remember it. The scene took me aback a little bit. I certainly wasn’t clueless to what I was getting myself into. I knew there would be a lot scene (even in the dead of winter), that there would be substances abound, and that the air would be permeating with ganja.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the feeling of the house lights dropping, the roar of the crowd, and the ensuing bliss of the next two and a half hours of my life. I didn’t realize how powerful the magic of CK5 and his light show would be in person. And I certainly didn’t realize that this show would lead me to go on tour in the summer and as a result make me a fan forever.
In many ways my life completely changed just because I went to this show. I distinctly remember downloading my Live Phish FLAC and burning the show to CDs which I listened to while I warmed up for track meets the rest of that spring. While there are some great versions of classic Phish songs (the Simple jam is mind blowing), what really got me was the promise found in the band’s newest material in the second set. A twenty-two minute 7 Below was followed up by this 19 minute Pebbles & Marbles.
Pebbles & Marbles is one of my favorite latter-day Phish songs because of its strong lyrical content and its ever-growing jam potential. For those interested, find a copy of the 8.3.03 version from the IT festival (or just wait for a Friday in the near future).
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Phish at Bonnaroo: Lefsetz says "Utterfuckinghogwash"
It’s Phish Friday again. Each Friday, I hope to circulate one link from the internets that is Phish related. Here is Bob Lefsetz’s take on Phish playing Bonnaroo (still a rumor at this point).
What do you think? -
Wolfman’s Brother > Simple > Odd Couple Jam > My Soul - Phish
8.16.97 - The Great Went, Loring Air Force Base, Limestone ME
We had a request this morning from Grill_Meister on twitter for anything Went. Well, if this doesn’t do it for you, then check out some of our older Went posts.
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