Hidden Track

When the members of Phish plotted out their plan of attack for their six sets at Coventry back in 2004 they decided to avoid any bustouts, setlist trickery and gimmicks in lieu of playing great versions of the material that made them kings of the live music world. It didn’t quite work out the way they planned and the band butchered most of the songs they played that weekend.

[Photos by Dave Vann for Glide/HT]

For last night’s reunion concert, once again the band decided to focus on well-played versions of their best material and this time the planned worked to perfection. Now, of course, they did open with a statement song, the busting out of longtime fan-favorite Fluffhead. And they also debuted a new version of the Anastasio/Marshall gem Grind, but outside of that they played it safe with strong versions of some of their most complex songs.

READ ON for more from the Phish reunion concert…

We’ve finally made it to the long-awaited return of Phish at the Hampton Coliseum tonight. In honor of the band’s comeback, we’ve put together a Friday Mix Tape celebrating their

It didn’t take long to run into other Phish fans on my way down to Hampton last night. As soon as I passed through security at LaGuardia I ran into

U2 ends their week-long residency on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight with their fifth performance in five days to promote their new album. On Tuesday the Irish rockers

If you’re looking for a preview of the lights you’ll see at tonight’s Phish reunion concert in Hampton, Virginia, look no further than this clip of Umphrey’s Wappy Sprayberry. Umphrey’s

Between the anticipation, excitement, and the nerves, this week has been a roller coaster ride. I knew the emotions would be crazy, but between thinking through travel planning, avoiding missteps with tickets, hotels, traffic and wondering who we might run into from the days or yore, coordinating meetups, and so on; it’s freaking hard concentrate and man, I’m nervous.

I’m sure we’re all in the same situation this week; clicking mercilessly from emails, to message boards, to YouTube, to blogs, and back to emails. The waiting is getting unbearable and working is getting tougher by the minute. We’ve hashed over every topic to the point of even having discussions about what various friends will wear to the shows (that’s easy, Quadrophenia shirt). Don’t lie; I know you’ve thought about it too.

Anyway, I couldn’t really think of anything worth adding to the conversation this week until listening to Harry Hood the other day. I vividly remember trying to listen to Hood after Coventry and feeling really pretty bummed out. I didn’t leave Coventry with a bad feeling at all about the band or foster any ill will whatsoever, but strangely in the few months that followed, it became kinda depressing. That song in particular really struck a nerve and didn’t sit well at all for quite a while and became sort of a symbol of growing up, something I wasn’t really excited to do.

READ ON for a list of 100 Reasons Why Phish Should Reunite…

We asked a number of our favorite folks from around the scene for their Phish opener picks and here’s what they came up with…

Name: Joel Cummins
Occupation: Keyboardist – Umphrey’s McGee
Favorite Phish Song: Reba
Number of shows attended: 33
Hampton Opener Pick: You Enjoy Myself

Name: George Miller
Occupation: Drummer – U-Melt
Favorite Phish Song: McGrupp
Number of shows attended: @ 30
Hampton Opener Pick: Destiny Unbound

Name: Marc Brownstein
Occupation: Bassist – The Disco Biscuits
Favorite Phish Song: Down With Disease
Number of Shows Attended: “A fucking boatload”
Hampton Opener Pick: “The new Phish song, ‘Couldn’t Care Less.’ I’m not going to be there & I stopped caring about what Phish played in 1999”

READ ON for more picks from around the scene…

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals hit their stride last fall during a brief European Tour. The folks at Ryan Adams Archive have compiled the best tracks from the run for