“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.
