For most folks, Halloween conjures up images of jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treat bags stuffed with candy and scary costumes. For Phish fans, however, Halloween has meant only one thing since 1994: the musical costume.
While Phish had performed a handful of Halloween shows from 1986-1991, they were all relatively “standard” two-set performances and, aside from the occasional audience-participation costume contest at setbreak, provided little in the way of theatrics or antics. That all changed in 1994 when the band posited the following request to their fans via their newsletter, The Doniac Schivce:
“After a two year hiatus, Halloween is back on the tour docket…For this occasion, we need your help. We need your seasoned sagacity and impeccable taste to help pick out the ideal costume for us – that is, a musical costume.”
Predictably, the band’s rabid fan-base exploded with rumors and conjecture as to which album would be played, with possibilities ranging from Led Zeppelin to Michael Jackson. The speculation heightened throughout their Fall Tour as the band regularly teased other artists’ songs such as Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and Zeppelin’s “The Rover” and “Kashmir”.
Since the idea of handing out “Phishbills” to attendees as they entered the venue was still a gleam in Trey Anastasio’s eye back in 1994, everyone was still in the dark – literally and figuratively – as to what the second set would entail when the lights went down in Glen Falls, NY that evening. Meanwhile, the band continued to toy with the crowd, inserting lines from Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” into the middle of a first set “Harpua” and even playing a pre-recorded sample of the infamous intro heartbeat from Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” on top of a Ed Sullivan voice-over as the second set began. Finally, however, everyone’s questions were answered as the opening notes to “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, from The Beatles 1968 eponymous album (a.k.a. The White Album), rang through the arena.
Phish has gone on to play nine more Halloween shows since ’94, covering albums from artists such as The Who (Quadrophenia), Talking Heads (Remain In Light), The Velvet Underground (Loaded), The Rolling Stones (Exile On Main Street), Little Feat (Waiting for Columbus) and David Bowie (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars). In 2013, the band broke tradition by debuting a set of entirely original material from a then-yet-to-be released album Wingsuit (later released in 2014 as Fuego). They have since performed two other Halloween shows featuring new & original material, including 2014’s Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House set and perhaps 2018’s írokk from the fictional Swedish band Kasvot Växt. How Phish can even begin to top Kasvot is a mystery, yet that’s what keeps us looking forward so much to the next Halloween show.
With the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Glens Falls White Album Halloween show performance upon us, Glide takes a look back at five of the most enduring Phish Halloween cover songs that remained in rotation after their debut:
“Drowned” (Quadrophenia) – This tough blues-based rocker, was initially written by Pete Townshend as an ode to Meher Baba, the same source of inspiration for another of Townshend’s compositions: “Baba O’Reilly”. The Who have gone on to perform this song more than any other track on Quadrophenia, with Roger Daltrey singing lead on the studio recording and early live versions before Townshend took over lead vocal duties after Keith Moon’s death in 1978.
Following their 1995 Halloween debut, in which the band performed Quadrophenia in its entirety, Phish has gone on to perform “Drowned” a total of 45 times. Led by Page McConnell’s driving piano and Mike Gordon’s energetic vocals, this song has been a focal point for some of Phish’s biggest jams, including the infamous 12/31/95 show from New York’s Madison Square Garden and 9/14/00 at Darien Lake, NY.
“Rock & Roll” (Loaded) – After debuting this influential Lou Reed number during their 1998 Halloween performance of The Velvet Underground’s Loaded, Phish has performed “Rock & Roll” a total of 86 times, more than any other Halloween cover song in the band’s history. According to the song’s author: ” Rock and Roll’ is about me. If I hadn’t heard rock and roll on the radio, I would have had no idea there was life on this planet. Which would have been devastating – to think that everything, everywhere was like it was where I come from. That would have been profoundly discouraging. Movies didn’t do it for me. TV didn’t do it for me. It was the radio that did it.” With Page McConnell taking the lead vocals, this song has often been used as a springboard into some epic jams, including a superb 30-minute version from the historic 1999 Big Cypress shows.
“Crosseyed & Painless” (Remain In Light) – This funky new-wave anthem’s frenetic pace perfectly matches the paranoia experienced by the song’s narrator. Released in 1980 as a promotional single for The Talking Heads fourth studio album, Remain In Light, “Crosseyed” reached number 20 on the US Dance Charts that same year. Led by Jon Fishman on vocals and Trey Anastasio’s masterful recreation of Adrian Belew’s dynamic & aggressive guitar work, Phish developed an immediate affinity for this song, as they opened the second set of the very next show in West Palm Beach, FL with it after debuting the track during their 1996 Halloween “Remain In Light” set. “Crosseyed” has been a regular fixture since then – 1998 was the only year Phish did not perform this song – with 50 total performances to date.
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (White Album) – This tender George Harrison anthem – which features an uncredited guitar solo from Eric Clapton – touched on the discord within the band after a 1968 trip to India. Phish has performed this legendary track 34 times, with almost half of those appearances occurring as an encore. While it had been a regular part of the rotation in 1995, “WMGGW” has steadily become rarer over time, and has not been played since 2013.
“Shine A Light” (Exile On Main Street): An ode to ex-bandmate Brian Jones and his battles with addiction, this melancholy ballad was largely written by Mick Jagger & Leon Russell, though the official songwriting credits list only Jagger & Keith Richards. Often appearing in the second set or encore slot, Phish has performed this track 24 times, with 2014 being the only year it did not appear since it’s 10/31/09 Indio, CA debut.
While past Phish Halloween shows have provided fans a handful of cover songs that have become mainstays in the band’s rotation (above)- there have also been a number of songs that have fallen by the wayside after their Halloween debuts. Today, we take a look at 10 Phish Halloween cover songs that we’d love to see more of:
“The Real Me” (Quadrophenia) – The second track from The Who’s “Quadrophenia”, and the first on the album to contain lyrics, features a memorable bass line from John Entwistle and powerful vocals from Roger Daltrey. Aside from their 1995 Halloween show, Phish has only performed the song one other time, when they tucked it into the middle of a particularly strong “Bathtub Gin” on 12/29/95 in Worcester, MA.
“Let It Loose” (Exile On Main Street) – While Phish has performed this gospel-inspired blues ballad twice more after debuting it at their 2009 Halloween show in Indio, CA, this Page sung soulful ballad checks all the marks of a second set come downer. Funny enough, this song has yet to be played live by The Rolling Stones.
“Lady Stardust” (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars) – Reportedly inspired by T. Rex lead singer and glam-rock icon Marc Bolan, Phish has yet to perform this uplifting Bowie original after it’s 2016 Halloween debut in Las Vegas. Yet another Page sung ballad, this early 70’s cover would make for a nice first song encore choice.
“Glass Onion” (White Album) – This self-referential Beatles number has yet to re-appear after Phish debuted it during their 1995 Halloween performance of “The Beatles (White Album)”. When discussing the lyrics with author David Sheff, John Lennon said: “That’s me, just doing a throwaway song, à la Walrus, à la everything I’ve ever written. I threw the line in – ‘the Walrus was Paul’ – just to confuse everybody a bit more…”
“Who Loves The Sun” (Loaded) – The opening track to The Velvet Underground’s “Loaded” was written by Lou Reed, though lead vocals on the recording were primarily handled by bassist Doug Yule. After debuting it during their 1998 Halloween show, Phish shelved this tune until they surprisingly brought it back at Barcelo Maya Beach in Mexico on 2/21/19 (a 602 show gap).
“All That You Dream” (Waiting For Columbus) – This swampy groove, penned by Paul Barrere & Bill Payne with Lowell George on lead vocals, was originally recorded for Little Feat’s 1975 release The Last Record Album. Phish faithfully reinterpreted Little Feat’s version along with its killer intro during their 2010 performance of “Waiting For Columbus” at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. Unfortunately, they have yet to play it since – perhaps the recent passing of Barrere will spark this number’s return.
“Suffragette City” (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars) – David Bowie had originally offered this song to the English glam rock outfit Moot The Hopple, who turned down recording it in favor of another Bowie composition: “All The Young Dudes”. Phish stayed true to the original recording during their sole performance of this rollicking rocker in 2016 with Jennifer Hartswick, Celisse Henderson and Jo Lampert on background vocals.
“Found A Reason” (Loaded) – This tender love song featured some beautiful vocals and a fluttering guitar intro from Trey Anastasio, reminiscent of his own instrumental composition “I Am Hydrogen”, at Phish’s only performance in 1998.
“Sea & Sand” (Quadrophenia) – On 1973’s Quadrophenia, “Sea & Sand” is a dramatic and upbeat rocker in which the story’s protagonist, Jimmy, laments about his inability to find love, among other things. Phish has transformed this song entirely, however, into a raw and good bump worthy emotional solo performance from Page. Sadly, it has been shelved since 1998, after only three total appearances.
“The Chinese Water Torture” (Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House) – While not technically a cover (Phish wrote the music for all of the songs in 2014’s “Haunted House” set), this instrumental track features a jazzy mid-section akin to “Cars Trucks Buses” that ultimately leads to an explosive ending. This song is one of very few from the 2014 Las Vegas Halloween show that has yet to be performed since.
What Phish Halloween songs do you most want to hear more of? Share below!
