Phish: Predicting The Hampton Opener

When it comes to the first song back, there are so many ways to go. It has to be a nerve-wracking first few tunes out there for those guys after almost four years away from the stage as a group. So I don’t think we will see anything way out of the comfort zone.

Let’s break it down a little bit and take a look at a few likely contenders for the March 6 opening debut of post-Breakup Phish…

The Likely Choices:
According to the Phish stats page run by that guy with all the Zs, Y and Xs in his name, there are the most common show openers along with how many times they have opened a show:

1. Runaway Jim – 80
2. Chalk Dust Torture – 75
3. Buried Alive – 59
4. Llama – 51
5. Golgi Apparatus – 49

Any one of them is certainly a candidate. But of the five, I think Chalk Dust Torture is probably the safest pick. Runaway Jim is probably right in the mix too but sometimes can take a little while to get going whereas Chalk Dust tears it up from the start. It gets the crowd moving right away and Trey called it his favorite Phish song to perform live in an Entertainment Weekly article back in August, 2000.

Buried Alive racked up its numbers in the early ’90s and would be a surprising, but not unwelcome, choice. I hadn’t thought of Llama till I recently watched the 12-6-96 Vegas DVD where they absolutely nail it. It certainly rocks and gets the crowd moving but something tells me it’s a little too short to kick things off. Golgi was pegged by many for the 12/31/02 show opener with people offering everything short of a kidney to have a ticket stub in their hand. Certainly would fit here too.

The Perfect Choice:
All Things Reconsidered:
Opened show 2 times

What says it better? Four years after calling it quits for the second time, the band has certainly reconsidered. Besides the irony of the title, this rarely played, complex instrumental, if played correctly, could make a joint statement on preparedness and bust out potential. It’s been 311 shows (2/23/97) since this one has been played so chances aren’t strong but to me, it would be a throwback to the cleverness that arose when some thought went into the set list.

The Emotional Choice:
Curtain (With)
Opened show 17 times

The last song most of us heard Phish play was that forced version of The Curtain (With) that served as the cherry on top of the disastrous mud pie that was Coventry. A tight, well-played version would be a good way to start the process of erasing those memories.

The “All In” Choice:
You Enjoy Myself
Opened Show 6 times

Played 472 times total, nearly 100 more times than it’s closest competitor (Mike’s Song – 378), YEM would certainly be the band’s way of pushing all its chips into the middle of the table early in a high stakes game. With a quick start and some of the best build-and-release in the band’s catalog, the arena would shake at its foundation if they walked out and nailed a YEM.

The Déjà Vu Choice:
Piper
Opened Show 5 times

When we did this last time, we packed Madison Square Garden for New Years Eve 2002-03 and Phish eased into their first comeback show with Piper. At first it was hard to hear over the screams for “lights out” what the choice was but an understandably uneven version of Piper was the first live product of post-Hiatus Phish. Seven Below stole the show that night but the energy in the building for Piper was off the charts.

What do you think Phish will open with in Hampton on March 6? Be sure to enter the Tour Opener Contest at Phantasy Tour and let us know what you chose by leaving a comment below…