Hidden Track

“Let’s get the show on the road”

Last night in Miami, we reached the conclusion of an important year in the history of Phish. The quartet worked up their skills and dug deep through their repertoire all year long. Quite often the band was successful at satiating their notoriously hard-to-please fanbase while aiming to stay clear of the dreaded “nostalgia act” tag. For the fourth show of four at the American Airlines Arena, Phish didn’t disappoint offering the typical NYE fare of a few hearty jams, plenty of classics, a few bust outs and the “gimmick” which this year revolved around a little known female drummer named Sarah.

Unlike on the 30th, the quartet kicked things off with a fairly standard opening sequence of AC/DC Bag, 46 Days and Water In The Sky before stretching it out a bit for Bathtub Gin. There was so much energy floating around the venue – which was way more crowded for New Year’s than any other night – that the band would receive big cheers any time they dropped a familiar lyric or an impressive musical phrase. I’d love to say the boys were extremely tight last night, but there were plenty of clams and missed transitions, although that’s somewhat to be expected on New Year’s Eve.

The first set continued with more high-energy standard fare such as The Moma Dance and Guyute before the band pulled out a few more lost gems. First up was Swept Away > Steep which hadn’t been played since July 1, 2000 followed by Demand which hadn’t been played since November 14, 1996. Both songs got huge reactions and we’re played pretty well. Steep didn’t feature “the scream” of 1996 versions and the Demand was sans Split Open and Melt jam. It became clear the band had purposely looked for the most obscure songs in their catalog to bust out at these shows and it was extremely appreciated.

READ ON for more from Scotty on Phish New Year’s Eve ’09-’10…

I was about to put together a list of all the New Year’s Eve setlists from around the scene when I came across Jambase’s article doing the exact same thing.

It all started on a cold winter night in Springfield, Massachusetts seventeen years ago, when Phish dusted off Timber Ho! and Ride Captain Ride to treat some of their die-hard fans to a special concert on the night before New Year’s. Ever since that time, December 30th has been the Phish national holiday – a night when you can expect bust outs and jams galore, a tradition that continued in a big way at the American Airlines Arena last night in Miami where Phish blew their proverbial load multiple times on December 30.

Usually an opener gives you some sort of sense of where things are going and the first Soul Shakedown Party of 3.0 told us to fasten our seat belts. It was the first of SEVEN bust outs the band would drop in the opening stanza, an unheard of figure. The venue was more crowded on night three so the roars the band would get as they broke something out would be extremely loud, something that seemed to push the band to greater heights. After the Soul Shakedown, Runaway Jim opener we got our second cover of the night courtesy of ZZ Top – an intense Jesus Just Left Chicago that gave Trey and Page large windows of opportunity to show off their skills. Trey in particular seemed to really enjoy toying with the tempo during his solo.

Mike Gordon has been going long with some of his 2009 cover selections including She Still Thinks I Care by George Jones in Hampton and When The Cactus Is In Bloom by Bill Monroe in Asheville. Tonight’s random Mike cover was the rollicking Dixie Cannonball by Hank Williams Sr. and it added to the madness we were witnessing. We were only four songs into the set and we’d seen three bust outs. READ ON for more…

Since I’m in Miami already, I might as well head down to the American Airlines Arena to see the third of Phish’s four shows in Miami. You call follow all the action live @YEMblog. Once the show starts, READ ON for the setlist…

If you’ve seen a bundle of Phish shows, it’s probable that you’ve been asked “why do you see this band so much?” repeatedly over the years. Everyone’s answer to that question is different, but most involve the aspect of surprise and the fact that neither the band or the audience knows what will happen. The second night of Phish’s New Year’s Run in Miami contained many unexpected moments, which is what we look for at each show.

The show started innocently enough with a straight forward first set that included the second Access Me ever and the first since June 26, 2004. Mike Gordon wrote the brilliant little ditty for Undermind that same year, but the song seemed to have disappeared after Mike and Trey performed a version of Access Me in Utica back in 2005 at a 70 Volt Parade show. Yet there it was in all its glory with Anastasio’s high harmony, Page McConnell’s plucky clav playing and Gordon’s heavily-syncopated bass line. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait five years for the next version. Another rarity performed in last night’s first set also came off of Undermind, The Connection. While we only get a taste of the tune on the album, the quartet stretched The Connection out ever so slightly at the basketball-only arena.

As fun as the rarities were, the highlight of the first set was a groovy Reba with a jam that had a quicker pace than usual which seemed to inspire Anastasio. Not only was the jam good but the band nailed the composed parts that lead up to the improv, a theme that would continue on this night that saw a highly confident version of Phish. The Divided Sky was another tune that was nailed from first note to last. All in all the first set was a nice appetizer for what would ultimately be a most delicious main course.

READ ON for more from Scotty on night two of Miami…