Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers came back with a vengeance in front of an intimate crowd.
Hall of Fame rocker Sting sure knows how to throw a party. To celebrate his 60th birthday, the former Police front man welcomed a cavalcade of legendary performers to rock
Of the hundreds of outdoor venues Phil Lesh has played over the past 50 years, the Grateful Dead/Furthur bassist ranks Red Rocks in the top two along with The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. In fact, there’s a plaque at the Morrison, Colorado venue that says as much, so you knew last night’s Furthur show at Red Rocks had the makings of something special.
[via @MusicNeverStops]
For the start of the second set, Phil and Bobby’s band welcomed Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes and Chris Robinson Brotherhood to lead them through classic Pigpen-sung tunes The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion) and Hard To Handle as well as the Furthur debut of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere. Robinson has a long history with Weir and Lesh dating back to the Crowes opening for the Dead in Tampa on April 7, 1995. More recently, Chris did a few tours with Phil and Friends and performed back in August with Weir and Jackie Greene at the Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado. Back on March 12, 2010, Robinson first sat in with Furthur at Phil Lesh’s 70th Birthday Bash, where he sung a number of songs including The Stranger.
Chris Robinson w/ Furthur – The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)
READ ON for more on Chris Robinson’s big night with Furthur…
Not even two weeks after it started, the current leg of Phish Summer Tour 2011 came to a close tonight at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
[Photo by Joel Berk]
Phish came out of the gates strong with the first Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird opener since November 3, 1989 (1,249 shows). While the Super Ball IX Forbin’s/Mockingbird contained a narration for the first time since the hiatus, tonight’s version did not. Next, Gumbo saw its first action since Merriweather back in June, while a typically fierce Possum was the fifth of this brief nine-show run. The group was clearly focused on reaching deep into their bag of tricks and in the middle of the set they came out with the Mike Gordon-penned Weigh, a song they’ve only played five times over the past 13 years.
There’s a special connection between the UIC Pavilion and Divided Sky. In 2004, guitarist Trey Anastasio told Charlie Rose that one of the most special moments of his Phish Experience happened during the Divided Sky pause on June 18, 1994 – a feeling perhaps re-created during this evening’s take on the classic tune. Alaska broke up the old school vibe before Bathtub was played on the 14th anniversary of the legendary Went Gin. Though they stuck “in the box” for this Gin, Trey brutalized his Languedoc throughout a hard-rocking, high-energy solo. The fretboard fireworks continued through Maze, beyond Cavern and into a perfectly placed First Tube set closer that fed off the energy provided by the frenzied crowd.
READ ON for a recap of the rest of the show along with tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
After a barn-burner last night, Phish returned to the UIC Pavilion in Chicago for the second of three shows at the 9,250-capacity indoor venue tonight.
[Photo by Joel Berk]
Night two of the UIC run started with a few of Phish’s more silly and short rarities – Dinner and a Movie and Ha Ha Ha. A scorching Chalk Dust Torture gave the audience their first taste of tension and release during Trey Anastasio’s solo. A pair of songs off Round Room – Mexican Cousin and Walls of the Cave – came next and was followed by the old school pairing of Runaway Jim and Foam. I Didn’t Know saw its first action of 2011 as Phish continued to dig deeper into their repertoire. Another well-played Ocelot, the fifth Ginseng Sullivan since the hiatus and a somewhat shaky Wedge led into a Limb By Limb that deliciously moved away from the tune’s main structure. To close the first set, Phish covered The Rolling Stones’ Let It Loose for the first time since they covered Exile On Main Street at Festival 8.
While the opening stanza was light on improvisation, a 20-minute Down With Disease that kicked off set two set a different tone. Disease quickly veered off its standard track, as the band explored a number of interesting spaces, eventually settling into a lengthy transition jam that seemed to zig towards a number of different songs before finally zagging into Twist. Put this Disease at the top of your “must download” list. The group toyed with the beginning of Twist, both in tempo and vocally, during the choruses. Backwards Down The Number Line continues to chase Possum as most played song of 3.0 and after getting the call mid-second set tonight is only two versions behind. A straight-forward Theme led into a Golden Age that contained a spacy end segment that eventually led into a cover of A Day In The Life by The Beatles.
Most of Trey’s You Enjoy Myself solos have been short and to the point over the past few years. For this evening’s second set-closing YEM, Anastasio showed much more patience and built up the pace methodically leading up to a big finish. Sure a three-song encore doesn’t grab the attention last night’s five-song monster did, but the Slave To The Traffic Light that followed Heavy Things was a beaut, while Rocky Top gave the crowd one more chance to get their ya ya’s out. The UIC run and the current leg of Phish tour ends tomorrow. Â READ ON for tonight’s setlist and The Skinny…
Phish pulled into Chicago tonight for the first of three shows at the intimate UIC Pavilion that cap off this section of Summer Tour 2011. The group last played at the indoor venue back in 1998 for a memorable three-night stand on November 7 – 9.
The run’s first set got off to a high energy start with another sizzling version of Back On The Train. Guelah Papyrus and Scent of a Mule kept the old school vibe going and led into a fitting cover of ZZ Top’s Jesus Just Left Chicago. Wolfman’s Brother gave us our first jam and what a Wolfman’s it was. While it didn’t stray too far from the usual territory Wolfman’s explores, this take featured a call and response segment from Mike Gordon and Page McConnell, melodic riffing from Trey Anastasio and a funky backbeat provided by Jon Fishman. Seek out this Wolfman’s, you won’t be sorry.
A tender Anything But Me gave the crowd a cool down period and was the first ABM in two years. Next up was the Phish premiere of Babylon Baby, a staple of the Mike Gordon Band’s repertoire since its debut in March. A typically beautiful Reba led into a powerful Alumni Blues closer that from the looks of the tweets blew the roof of the place and included a rough attempt at Letter To Jimmy Page in the middle. In looking at the reports coming in from Chicago you see one mention of “energy” after another as there’s nothing like indoor shows where the fans surround the band.
READ ON for the recap of the rest of tonight’s show as well as the setlist and The Skinny…
The second leg of Summer Tour 2011 continued tonight as Phish returned to the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s in Stateline, Nevada for the second of two shows in the mountain town.
[Photo via @TeaJewelry]
The Anastasio/Marshall-penned Dogs Stole Things opened tonight’s show. Having last been performed on July 12, 2003, Dogs Stole is the biggest bust out of the leg thus far. A theme of stealing emerged to start the show with Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan and Poor Heart coming next. Even Alaska, which followed the opening trifecta, has a line about theft keeping the theme going. Fans hoping for another jammed out Halley’s Comet ala Bethel will have to wait as this evening’s version was a quick one. That trend kept up throughout the set; even Stash didn’t get far out there and Tahoe attendees might have witnessed the shortest Ya Mar yet. A pair of covers – Son Seals’ Funky Bitch and Instant Karma! by John Lennon – led into a relatively tame Run Like An Antelope closer.
The beginning of the second set featured one “big jam” song after another done in “hit it and quit it” style. While the Down With Disease that kicked off set two didn’t stray far from the song’s main foundation, the Runaway Jim that followed did get out there and also contained another staccato jam in between verses. A highlight of the closing stanza, this Jim should be your first listen when you get the recording. Ghost, which started with an arena rock shredfest and ended in a dark, spacy part of town, emerged out of Runaway Jim. Golden Age was also chock full of energy as was 2001. All in all, the dream setlist sequence of Disease > Runaway Jim > Ghost -> Golden Age > 2001, Sneakin’ Sally which opened the second set ran a mere 50 minutes.
You Enjoy Myself had been missing in action this tour and wasn’t performed at Super Ball IX. The Phish staple finally found its way back to the stage this evening to close the set. Despite the long layoff, the ensemble handled the composed sections with aplomb leading to an intense solo from Anastasio. In keeping with the theme of the show, Trey’s solo was short but sweet. The tender Show of Life and a rockin’ cover of Led Zeppelin’s Good Times, Bad Times served as the stamp on the first Phish shows in Lake Tahoe.
- Previously on HT: Lake Tahoe Night One – Phish
READ ON for the setlist and The Skinny from Tahoe…
Another night, another new venue for Phish as the HT faves headed to the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena for the first of two performances in the mountain town. These shows are being webcast on LivePhish.com leading to fans to speculate as to whether the broadcast would have an impact on the band’s performance. Would they play a “greatest hits” show or would they jam? We got a little of each tonight, but certainly more improvisation than the last shows which were webcast – Alpharetta – as the quartet threw down an exceptional 17-minute Light in the second set.
[Unofficial Lake Tahoe Poster by Steve Conroy]
After an uplifting opening segment of Party Time, Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > AC/DC Bag and Mellow Mood kicked off the set, guitarist Trey Anastasio struggled to find his footing in the composed sections of Rift, Punch You In The Eye and Horn. The first Meat of 2011 was an example of how Phish dug deeper into their catalog in the opening stanza as compared to the first three shows of the leg. David Bowie featured the first exploration of the night and was highlighted by a beautiful but short major-key jam. A blazing 46 Days that didn’t stray too far out of the box closed the set.
The second slot in the second set seems to indicate “jam” in the 3.0 formula. This slot has hosted many of the wildest explorations of the era and that was the case again tonight when Light came out of a wild and wooly Gotta Jibboo. Light was used as a springboard to a lengthy trip to the unknown often in 2009 and 2010, but in 2011 its role was for quick and dirty jams. That started to change back in Watkins Glen and Light returned to its former glory tonight. This jam wasn’t a Trey shredfest – all four members made important contributions to keep the psychedelia flowing for over 10 minutes. Page McConnell made ample use of the synthesizers in his arsenal while Anastasio added effect-laden layers to mesh with the rhythm section. At times the jam hinted at Timber Ho and Undermind but the “ripcord” was never pulled. READ ON for the rest of the recap, the setlist, The Skinny, photos, tweets and much more on Phish in Tahoe…
On Friday night at The Gorge, Phish delivered an impressive tour opening show that featured an otherworldly Rock and Roll jam, a Roggae that contends for the “best version ever” and a pair of interesting segues. Tonight, the group finished the two-night stand on the banks of the Columbia River.
[Photo via CampRevival]
Possum has taken a lot of heat for its role as the most-played song since Hampton and it looks like the Jeff Holdsworth-penned won’t be giving up its title after showing up as the opener tonight. A parade of staples came next, namely Moma Dance, Sample In A Jar, Limb By Limb and Poor Heart. Allen Toussaint’s On Your Way Down was quite a rarity from 1990 until the breakup as Phish only covered the tune normally associated with Little Feat four times over those years. However, since making its return in Albany back in 2009, the group has lit into the keys-heavy tune five times including tonight.
Wolfman’s Brother gave the quartet their first chance to stretch their improvisational legs and they took advantage of the chance displaying impressive interplay. Just as the jam peaked, guitarist Trey Anastasio threw in a few teases of Led Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker which his bandmates were quite willing to play along with. Anastasio was feeling his oats as Wolfman’s segued into Maze with his solo standing out as a highlight of the set. Phish blew out Wilson back at Super Ball IX, would they do it again for the first version since? No. It was a straight forward take that led into a tight Fluffhead to close.
READ ON for the setlist, tweets, The Skinny and much more…
We’ve reached the start of Super Ball IX, the ninth Phish festival since 1996. The three-day concert takes place at Watkins Glen International racetrack in Watkins Glen, NY and kicks off with two sets this evening.
[Dusk after Soundcheck, Photo by Patrick Jordan]
Sam Davis of Dog Gone Blog will be reporting live from the event for @YEMblog, so be sure to follow along. You can also listen to tonight’s show on over Bunny Radio which will be simulcast over Sirius/XM’s Jam ON. READ ON for the setlist and The Skinny for Night One of Super Ball IX…
