Clone:
Suggested placement: Mid first-set, in the Poor Heart slot.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/clone.mp3]
In addition to having one of the best ever versions of The Moma Dance ever, the first set of Worcester 2003 was noteworthy because it featured four original song debuts all stemming from the band member’s various solo projects. Trey led the band through a great rendition of Drifting, Page brought along Final Flight from the Vida Blue repertoire, Fishman’s contribution was a bluegrass ditty from Pork Tornado’s catalog titled Blue Skies and the first one of the night was the title track from Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon’s 2002 debut album Clone. Though it’s not included in the audio embedded above, Clone actually started to seep in via the vocal jam of the show opening You Enjoy Myself. Clone was without a doubt the best fit for Phish of these four tunes. Trey has a slight hiccup as he starts his guitar interlude but otherwise a perfect rendition of this song.
Glide II:
Suggested placement: Mike’s Song – > Glide II > Weekapaug Groove
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/glideii.mp3]
The “Voters For Choice” benefit that took place in Lowell 1995 featured five brand new Phish originals that would forever stay in rotation, and they were: Ha Ha Ha, Spock’s Brain, Strange Design, Theme From the Bottom and Free. The sixth original however was destined to just get the one performance, and though I’ve got a friend who insists on calling the song “Flip Flip Flip”, it’s actually called Glide II. We have not heard the last from this Lowell ’95 show in this B List, as they also debuted a whole slew of new covers as well and we’ll be getting to one of those shortly.
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
Suggested placement: Mid first-set seems to work.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/nowhere.mp3]
The first set of 7/30/2003 was essentially the third set from Starlake the night before as Phish continued to pull song after song off the shelf. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere was debuted in this first set sandwiched in between a monster version of Scents & Subtle Sounds and the bustout of Spock’s Brain. Trey snickered as he sung the line “We’ll climb that mountain no matter how steep when we get up to IT” a reference to the festival in Limestone set to happen just a couple days later. Phish did a great job with this Bob Dylan cover, no issues with lyrics and a very nice guitar solo between verses two and three.
Who Loves the Sun?
Suggested placement: Show opener a la the Bonner Springs 2000 Everybody’s Got Something To Hide…
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/sun.mp3]
Perhaps it’s a bit selfish to ask for another Velvet Underground song in the rotation as Phish 3.0 has already graciously added Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ to the cover encore rotation, but I don’t care – Who Loves The Sun? needs to get another play on the ‘ol Phish jukebox. Festival 8 has brought us a bunch of great new video, even if it is people holding their point-and-shoots to a projected image.
Sweet Black Angel:
Suggested Placement: Mid second-set, ballad slot.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/sweetblack.mp3]
Phish now has at least four of the tunes from Exile On Main Street in the rotation. Loving Cup has been a standard for years. Over the past year, Shine A Light found its way into the encore slot a number of times, and Sweet Virginia and Torn & Frayed both got one extra play after Festival 8. Trey’s acoustic has not been making many appearances on the Phish stage in recent years. In fact, the only time it has been used in Phish “3.0” is during the all acoustic set in Indio. Before that I think you need to go back to Shoreline 2000 and the last Phish performance of The Inlaw Josie Wales. Sweet Black Angel, complete with Trey on acoustic, would be my selection for the next Exile song to get a second chance. Horns optional.
Windy City
Suggested placement: After a long section of Trey tunes.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/windy.mp3]
Halfway To The Moon would be making this list (and Idea for that matter) if more time had passed, but I’ll give the band another tour before I start asking for those brand new songs to get a repeat play. In general, I want to see more from Page & Mike in terms of songwriting – the two of them seem to have no problem filling albums worth of material on their solo albums, so why is it so rare that we see a new Phish song from the two of them? Windy City would be a great one, but it got just the one performance last summer in Chicago.
Mock Song
Suggested placement: As a standalone encore song. A mock encore. Maybe not.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/mock.mp3]
The good folks over at phish.net have been doing a great job with the site, adding great features like the ability to sort based on last time played. They are also continually adding new song histories and the entry for Mock Song is worth a read, if for no other reason to remind you of the fantastic lyric genius of, “Will you dance on grave?”
Gold Soundz:
Suggested placement: Mid-set would work or maybe an out-of-left-field 2nd set opener.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/gold.mp3]
“Thanks. That was a song by Pavement that I’ve been wanting to play. I’m kind of [pissed?], I feel like I skipped a verse but maybe I didn’t…” Well Trey, that’s why we tape these things and I can tell you that you didn’t technically miss a verse, but you definitely didn’t sing a lot of the words from the second one. All the more reason to play it again! When Phish covered Neutral Milk Hotel this past summer, comparisons were instantly drawn to this Indie Rock cover the band covered in 1999 at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA.
I’ll Come Running:
Suggested placement: Deep in the first set. Either to close or 2nd to last song. Preferably with Trey talking over the outro like in this version, love a nice Trey thank you speech while there is still music going.
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/running.mp3]
Told you we’d get back to the Lowell ’95 show. Man what a set for us setlist nerds. I think it’s safe to say that Brian Eno has had a strong impact on the guys in Phish or at a minimum, on Mike Gordon. As phish.net points out, Eno has a producer credit on Remain In Light and it is believed that he is the “Brian” in Brian and Robert (longtime Eno guitarist Robert Fripp being the “Robert”).
Tomorrow’s Song:
Suggested Placement: David Bowie > Tomorrow’s Song > David Bowie
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/tomorrow.mp3]
It is not a popular opinion, but I think Phish’s 2004 album Undermind is underrated. The title track, A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing and Scents and Subtle Sounds should be monsters in the Phish repertoire. And slow tunes Two Versions Of Me and Nothing are some of the best tunes of that tempo in the catalog. But the album’s material has been overall underplayed since Phish has been back. One huge surprise in Albany last fall was the debut of Tomorrow’s Song, which came out of a Piper jam, a live debut that took over five years after the record was first released.
You think Mike or Fish ever want to smack that look off of Trey’s face that he shoots over around the 40 second mark in this video?
Golden Age:
Suggested Placement: Anywhere as long as it’s in North Charleston or Atlantic City, my friend George has got to be there
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/goldenage.mp3]
And speaking of Albany 2009, I think everyone wants to see a repeat of this TV On The Radio cover as Phish really did a great job making it their own. Maybe for the second performance, Trey can ditch the lyric sheets so he can really focus on getting out the song’s fast-paced lyrics. I do hope that my friend Guitar George can be at the second ever Phish cover of this tune as he won’t stop talking about it, and has even made t-shirts for it. Now I don’t normally endorse cover-related lot t-shirts, but for him I made an exception.
All audience recordings courtesy of the Phish Spreadsheet except 10-31-2009 and 11-27-2009
Place your votes for your favorite three below. And feel free to let your voice be heard in the comments section. Think Remain In Light got the shaft on this list? Would Guy Forget have been a better pick than Tomorrow’s Song? Let us know.
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