setlist

Phish Alpharetta #2: Setlist and The Skinny

Scott Bernstein June 15, 2011 4 Comments

We’ve reached the home stretch of the first leg of Phish Summer Tour 2011. Tonight the quartet returned to Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA for the second of two shows at the fan-friendly shed.

[Screenshot of Live Phish webcast]


Once again Phish opened the show with a rare bluegrass cover and this time it was Paul and Silas getting the call. Tonight’s take on the traditional tune was only the fifth version in the past 15 years. Standard takes on Back On The Train and Foam followed along with the slow version of Water in the Sky which was in reference to the thunderstorms that enveloped the area around the venue both before the show and during the first set. Runaway Jim didn’t quite reach the heights of Bethel, but the harmonics section was extended nicely tonight as well. Page McConnell’s Army of One saw its first action of 2011 and featured some of Trey’s best work of the set. A pair of covers – Roses Are Free and Timber (Jerry) – came next and were joined together by a quick and painless transition.

It’s not very often that Phish is forced off the stage by bad weather. Notable instances in the past include Deer Creek ’09 and Polaris ’00. Fans must’ve been thinking about those times when members of Phish’s crew emerged during only the fifth Mound since 1997. Trey took to the mic and told the audience that a nasty storm was about to hit and that the band needed to leave the stage. He promised there would be more music soon as the shortened Mound came to a close.

Forty-nine minutes later Phish returned to the stage and finished Mound. Tweezer came complete with a lyric change of “cold” to “wet” in honor of the downpours. Just as Tweezer was getting good Trey started playing the Julius intro and hopes for a long excursion were dashed. While the Slave to the Traffic Light that followed did provide some fine interplay between the band members, Gotta Jibboo was the clear improvisational highlight of the closing set. McConnell in particular helped to push the jam to an interesting place shortly after killing his Suzy Greenberg solo. At the end of the set, the acapella mics came out for the first time all tour and Phish delivered a zany version of Birdwatcher and an acapella Kung led by Anastasio and Fishman with help from Page and Mike.

When Phish dropped jaws with a near 25-minute Down With Disease in Clarkston, MI back on June 3 hopes were high for more extended jams this tour. With just three shows to go on this leg we’re still waiting.

READ ON for the setlist and The Skinny…

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Phish Alpharetta #1: Setlist and The Skinny

Scott Bernstein June 14, 2011 4 Comments

Phish fans raved about the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA after the band’s two performances there last summer. Tonight, Phish returned to the venue for the first of two shows. If you can’t make it to Alpharetta you can watch all the action live through a Live Phish webcast.

[Screen Grab from Webcast]


As with each of the past three shows Phish picked a sign in the audience to provide the name of the opening song. This time for the fitting Dinner and a Movie got the call. Moma Dance followed and led into the sixth Possum of the tour. There were other rotation staples a plenty in the opening stanza including Cities, Fluffhead, Ocelot and Kill Devil Falls. The band also dipped into their catalog for a bluegrass cover, Norman Blake’s Ginseng Sullivan, which saw live action for the first time in 50 shows. While the start of the 87-minute set didn’t contain much improvisation, the end was a different story. Bathtub Gin came to a big climax similar to the version from two nights earlier at Merriweather and a cover of Traffic’s Light Up or Leave Me Alone featured an extended solo filled with firey work from guitarist Trey Anastasio that was the clear highlight of the set.

Carini may have been a jam vehicle for Phish in 2010 but in 2011 each version has been of the straightforward variety and tonight’s set two opener quickly segued into Sand in what seemed like a surprise to every member of the band except Trey. Sand has had a fine tour thus far and tonight’s take was no exception. Down With Disease once again featured out of the box exploration for a spell before the band deftly worked their way towards Maze. Anastasio and Page McConnell were both in fine form technically throughout the light on improv second set, so Maze was a good choice to give them each a chance to shine. A sequence of well-played, heavy rotation stalwarts followed to close the set – Meatstick > Also Sprach Zarathrustra > Bug > A Day in the Life > Run Like An Antelope leading to a Quinn The Eskimo encore. Phish returns to Alpharetta tomorrow night.

READ ON for the setlist and The Skinny…

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The B List: Paul McCartney Live in NYC

Scott Bernstein June 9, 2011 No Comments

Yesterday word came down that Paul McCartney will perform at Yankee Stadium on Friday, July 15 for what will be his 23rd concert in New York City including his time with The Beatles. For this week’s B List we look back at each of Macca’s 22 performances of at least six songs in NYC.


1. The Beatles @ Carnegie Hall – February 12, 1964

Roll Over Beethoven, From Me to You, I Saw Her Standing There, This Boy, All My Loving, I Wanna Be Your Man, Please Please Me, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Twist and Shout, Long Tall Sally [Unconfirmed setlist for each of the band’s two shows that night]

READ ON for more on Paul McCartney in New York City…

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Phish Darien Setlist and The Skinny

Scott Bernstein June 8, 2011 2 Comments

You knew the night where Phish dug deep into their songbook was coming and that night was tonight. Phish returned to Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Darien, NY for their fifth performance at the venue, which sits adjacent to an amusement park, and delivered many tour debuts.

[Photo via Kristy Freeman]


Friend of HT Kristy Freeman has always been a huge fan of Phish’s version of Nellie Kane by Hot Rize and she took matters into her own hands to get the band to play the song. She enlisted the help of about a dozen friends who all held creatively decorated signs with Nellie Kane on them. Kristy’s plan worked as Phish opened with Nellie Kane to her delight. Nellie Kane wasn’t the only relatively rare song on tap for Darien’s first set. Mellow Mood, Buffalo Bill, Undermind, Ride Captain Ride, It’s Ice, Dog Faced Boy and Brian and Robert all saw their first action of 2011 in the 14-song marathon opening stanza.

Since debuting their cover of TV on the Radio’s Golden Age in Albany back in 2009, the song has become a fan-favorite and a highly requested cover in the band’s arsenal. Golden Age returned to a Phish stage last October and once again tonight as the second set opener. Online Phish Tour’s Guy Forget noted Trey Anastasio’s “huge soaring guitar lines” that led into an “oozing gooey funk jam.” However, the Golden Age jam was short lived and went into a Mike’s Groove that contained Fast Enough For You in the middle of Mike’s and Weekpaug for the first time. What’s The Use? marked the 11th and final 2011 debut of the night and was teased later in 2001. Good Times, Bad Times was the encore once again following a closing sequence of Theme From The Bottom, Backwards Down The Number Line, 2001 and Harry Hood.

READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…

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Phish Mansfield: Great Woods Setlist & Skinny

Scott Bernstein June 7, 2011 5 Comments

Phish @ Great Woods (Comcast Center), June 7

Phish returned to the venue formerly known as Great Woods – now the Comcast Center – for the 15th time this evening as the quartet’s summer tour continued in Mansfield, MA. Starting on July 21, 1992, a show where Phish opened for Santana, the venue has been a regular stop for the band outside of 1996 – 1998 and 2003.


The band opened up this evening’s show with only the fifth Llama since they reunited in Hampton. Possum reared its head for the fourth time in the tour’s nine performances thus far and didn’t reach the heights of the much buzzed about Blossom version according to Phish.net’s Scott Marks. Later in the set, Instant Karma! saw its first action since the quartet debuted the John Lennon cover on June 12, 2010 in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.

Great Woods shows are known for their one-timer covers such as Rita Clarke’s Lit O Bit in 2010, Tuesday’s Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the only electric take on Boston’s Foreplay/Long Time in 1999 as well as a fun take on The Modern Lovers’ Roadrunner in 2000. This time around Al Green’s Rhymes, a song the Mike Gordon Band has performed 15 times between 2008 and 2011, got the call with Gordon handling vocals. Phish closed out the opening stanza with Divided Sky and the Joy staple Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan.

For the second set, Phish came out with Back On The Train and once again used the second slot for a song that provides an improvisational springboard with Rock and Roll filling the role this time around. Wyman noticed “distinct segmentation like [the Down With Disease] from Friday” while adding “[I] can’t compare, but very impressed.” The first Mango Song of the year followed and started a string of three 2011 debuts that also included Bug and Pebbles and Marbles. Fans hoping for another extended Halley’s Comet were disappointed as Phish quickly transitioned into Meatstick. The Run Like An Antelope closer featured Meatstick, Bug and Divided Sky teases before the group encored with a curfew-busting Suzy Greenberg.

HT’s Eric Wyman will provide a full review tomorrow, but in the meantime, READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…

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Phish Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati – Setlist and The Skinny

Scott Bernstein June 5, 2011 3 Comments

Phish’s only show at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati took place on September 20, 2000 The band finally returned to the shed tonight after two strong performances on Friday and Saturday.

[Photo via TravelPod]


The first set featured a number of tour debuts including Taste, Lawn Boy, Reba and Fee as well as fan favorite Mound which was performed for only the fourth time since 1996. Bathtub Gin reappeared for the first time since a stellar version at Bethel and was of the “Type I” variety according to YEMblogger/Oh Kee Pah Blog author Justin Wendt.

Set two started with Carini followed by a Tweezer that provided the improvisational meat of the concert with its “dark funk” and elements of the staccato, “plinko” jamming style that have emerged of late. Who would’ve thought that nine shows into 2011 Crosseyed and Painless would be the most played cover of the year, but that’s indeed the case as a third 2011 rendition of the Talking Heads classic was dropped this evening. Heavy rotation stalwarts Light, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Julius and You Enjoy Myself closed out the second set, while Loving Cup and Tweezer Reprise served as the encore.

We’ll have a full review of Phish’s return to Riverbend and a full set of photos soon. READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…

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Phish Blossom Cuyahoga Falls: Setlist

Scott Bernstein June 4, 2011 7 Comments

Phish @ Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls OH

Phish returned to Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH this evening for their fifth-ever performance at the Cleveland-area shed. The band continued on the improv-heavy path they went down last night once again tonight, especially during the second set.

[Photo by Joe Ringus]


The first set saw the band dust off their cover of Little Feat’s Rocket In My Pocket from Waiting for Columbus for its initial post-Halloween performance. Mike Gordon sang that one as well as Fuck Your Face, which popped up for the first time since Augusta. Foam, Guelah Papyrus and Guyute also made their 2011 debuts during an opening stanza that ended with a Run Like An Antelope which Justin Wendt of Oh Kee Pah Blog feels was “slaughtered.” The Antelope closer featured a Streets of Cairo tease and featured Trey making shout outs to his band mates and LD Chris “Toph” Kuroda.

Birds of a Feather opened the second set and was followed by Possum – the song Phish has played most since Hampton. Yet, this wasn’t a typical Possum as the group screwed around with the tempo towards the end leading towards a “meltdown” similar to the version of Boogie On from Bethel. Out of what Wendt described as “dark ambience” came the first original debut of 2011 entitled Steam. The Anastasio/Tom Marshall-penned tune had, “some elements of 46 days to it but played much slower and [more] deliberately” according to YEMblogger Josh Korin. Unlike the terribly short six-minute Piper from three nights earlier in Holmdel, the version that emerged out of sound effects used for Steam was extended nicely with improv HT’s Wade Wilby described as a “really pretty ambient jam.” Piper transitioned into Lizards before the quartet laid into a take on Allen Toussaint’s Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley that had “heavy psychedelic overtones” according to Wilby and was “the business” in Wendt’s mind.

Out of Sally came Harry Hood and smack dab in the middle of the usual Hood jam, Phish switched up the tempo and had keyboardist Page McConnell lead them into the rare Have Mercy before finishing the Harry Hood sandwich. Character Zero, another staple of the rotation that doesn’t vary very much from version to version, wasn’t a standard take as guitarist Trey Anastasio worked in numerous Smoke On The Water teases in both his solo and the ending. Not content to end the evening with a throwaway encore, Phish delivered Slave to the Traffic Light in the bonus frame.

READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…

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Phish Clarkston: Pine Knob Setlist & Skinny

Scott Bernstein June 3, 2011 6 Comments

Phish @ DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston MI

Phish bassist Mike Gordon celebrated his birthday last night in Clarkston, MI, where his band performed at the DTE Energy Music Theatre aka Pine Knob. Yesterday marked Phish’s first outdoor show in Michigan since 1994.


After filling the PNC setlist with short versions of usually lengthy tunes, Phish broke out of their shell in Clarkston by delivering a near 25-minute Down With Disease in which the band found a groove and rode it hard. We’ll have a full review of last night’s show and a photo set soon. READ ON for the setlist and The Skinny…

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Phish Holmdel Setlist & Skinny: Night One

Scott Bernstein May 31, 2011 No Comments

Tonight Phish moved on to the second stop of Summer Tour 2011 and one that is familiar to both fans and the band – the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. Located a short drive from guitarist Trey Anastasio’s hometown of Princeton, Phish first performed at what was then the Garden State Arts Center as part of the H.O.R.D.E. tour on July 11, 1992 and have since returned six times before this week’s two-night stand.

[via PNC Bank Arts Center Facebook Page]


The band came out of the gates by crafting a first set filled with high-energy, arena rock favorites including Chalk Dust Torture, Punch You In The Eye, The Moma Dance and Divided Sky. Anastasio dedicated a straight forward yet strong version of Sand to “Max” before struggling through The Divided Sky later in the set. Trey had such issues with the complex tune that he gave up at one point and urged the crowd to sing his part.

There were no trainwrecks in set two as the quartet put together a tight, engaging second stanza that started with a cover of J.J. Cale’s After Midnight and featured an exploratory jam out of Drowned before ending with the tour’s first YEM. Outside of Alaska, the newest original played on this night, Sand, was debuted in 1999. Phish returns to the PNC Bank Arts Center tomorrow. READ ON for the setlist and for “The Skinny”…

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