June 29, 2011 in 06, 09, 11, 1999, 2, 2011, 25, 28, 31, 99, a, AAA, after, Again, Against, age, Alive, all, Alpharetta, Amphitheater, an, and, another, Antelope, Are, around, as, at, away, Back on the Train, Bad, Ball, band, bands, Bass, bathtub, beach, beginning, book, brother, brown, Bruce Springsteen, Buried, Buried Alive, Burn, but, ca, can, Cars Trucks Buses, center, Cities, City, Clarence, Clemons, close, Closer, COMPLETE, Crazy, creek, Crosseyed, Crosseyed and Painless, Crowd, dance, dancing, dave, David, Day, delay, disease, Divided, down, Down with Disease, Drop, en, Encore, end, eq, Eve, Eyed, fall, Famous, Fat, FEAT, fee, fi, final, First, fish, fishman, flubs, Fluff, fluffhead, FOR, frank, Friend, From, front, Funk, gain, get, gin, Good, Good Times Bad Times, great, Great Woods, Greenberg, greenburg, Groove, Guitar, hall, Halley's Comet, hampton, Harpua, hd, hi, hiatus, high, icculus, ice, in, into, is, IT, jam, jamming, Jimmy, jon, Julius, June, Keys, kids, lang, las, Last, Led, Lee, leo, light, lights, Like, LITTLE, live, live music, long, lot, MA, Main, mcconnel, mcconnell, Melt, MI, mike, Mike's, monster, Music, My, nc, New, News, night, no, ny, of, on, one, op, Open, opener, out, PA, page, Painless, Park, Part, party, Pavilion, peaches, Phish, Phish Tour, Piano, piper, pnc, Portsmouth, Possum, post, poster, Pot, pro, psychedelic, rad, rage, rain, RALEIGH, raz, read, regalia, Reprise, rift, Road, rock, roll, row, rs, run, Run Like an Antelope, saturday, Say, SC, second, set, show, Shows, Sky, smooth, So, song, sound, SPAC, Split, sponsor, spring, Springsteen, St, stage, start, Steam, step, Stern, stick, storm, story, street, Stuttering, Summer, Summer Tour, Summer Tour 2011, Superball, suzy, Suzy Greenberg, tab, tease, That, the, The Wedge, theater, third, Thunder, times, to, Too, tour, Train, trey, tub, Tube, Twist, two, us, va, Valley, van, vocal, WALNUT CREEK, war, Waste, water, waves, Way, we, Wedge, Wednesday, Ween, with, woods, words, years, You, zappa, Zeppelin |
Words by: Billy Jack Sinkovic
Phish :: 06.18.11 :: Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek :: Raleigh, NC
Phish :: 06.19.11 :: nTelos Pavilion :: Portsmouth, VA
 Phish :: 06.14.11 :: Alpharetta, GA
Photo by Dave Vann Phish 2011 |
One more Saturday night on the first leg of Summer Tour, and many fans were still reeling from the previous night’s barn-burner in Charlotte. Folks got settled in on lot at Raleigh’s [insert revolving-door corporate sponsor here] Pavilion at Walnut Creek, grabbed a cup of whatever and caught their breath, while keeping their eyes on smart phone weather radars. A mega-storm of Alpharetta proportions was headed their way. But the higher powers [Icculus, perhaps?] were looking out for the children dancing on the lawn, and a perfect amphitheater-sized hole broke in the brightly colored band teeming across the NC Piedmont. Fans stayed dry, at least until two and a half hours of boogyin’ on drenched them in sweat.
For the first time in nearly 19 years, Phish opened with two instrumentals. [11/22/92 opened with Buried Alive and Oh Kee Pah]. Page‘s Cars Trucks Buses really deserves more rotation, especially if he and Trey jam it out like they did on this particular night. And only the second rendition of Frank Zappa’s Peaches En Regalia since 1999 had all the post-hiatus stats chasers high-fiving while they shook their tail-feathers. AC/DC Bag featured a mellow build with a raging peak, and the crowd was lit up. Guyute and yet another Possum [the second in a week and the seventh of tour] followed, and then Mike began the doo-wop intro to Halley’s Comet. Many fans have lamented the demise of this particular song throughout the post-breakup era. Once a monster jam vehicle, the song seems to get cut off in favor of another before it builds up any steam. This version was showing some serious potential – a nice peak was reached via some rockin’ piano chops, and a new and interesting jam segment was just beginning to be shaped by Mike’s bass line – but sure enough, a seemingly A.D.D. Trey forced the 46 Days intro over the top of everything else, and that was the end of Halley’s. Thankfully, 46 Days has its own post-breakup reputation as a rager, and this version was two minutes of composition followed by a fist-pumping five minutes of climax that left brows wet and knees weak. The set rounded out with Divided Sky (falling somewhere between the sloppy PNC iteration and the best versions edition at Great Woods), Curtis Loew (with a few lyric flubs by Page that were overshadowed the fact that it’s SUCH a great tune), and Run Like an Antelope.
 Phish :: 06.15.11 :: Alpharetta, GA
Photo by Dave Vann Phish 2011 |
Second set opened with a Twist that grooved steadily across Type I terrain and straight into an extremely tight and focused Rift. Prince Caspian floated upon the waves of upper-octave bass and into a serene pool of delay loop that teased Piper extensively before uncovering the calliope intro to the first Esther of the year. After that poor girl had drifted away to a tranquil and motionless sleep, Trey began fiddling around with the array of gadgets in front of him. Guitar tech Brian Brown was summoned, celebrated, and sent away. Mike rang his foot bell a couple of times on the urging of Trey, who was speaking through a vocal effect that pushed his voice to a timbre of, say, Perry Farrell. The ensuing Been Caught Stealing, played for the first time since the cover-laden year of ’98, was a PARTY. Next, the actualization of Piper sailed upon Fishman‘s never-ceasing polyrhythmic rolls and fills while dual-duty Page had one hand nimbly cavorting up and down the piano keys while the other saturated the jam with organ. Piper segued neatly into My Friend, My Friend, and instead of punctuating the end with a hearty Myfe, Trey ripped into a must-listen run through Kill Devil Falls.
After only a quick breath following that shredder of a KDF, Fishman kicked off what became the night’s highlight for many: Split Open and Melt. Clocking in at over 14 minutes, the band effortlessly nailed the composed segment before wandering about the main theme and into a shadowy valley of psychedelic improv. Held together at first by Fishman’s periodic assertion of the song’s complex time signature, the sound completely dissolved into a puddle of gloom. Each member of the band took their time to emerge on the main theme, and then it was done. A one-two punch closer of Golgi and a particularly vivacious First Tube (complete with Jedi Trey wielding his Languedoc light saber for all to see) put the exclamation point at the end of a fantastic set. For the encore, a brisk take on Zeppelin’s Good Times, Bad Times sent fans shakin’ out to Shakedown Street for food and frolic. Thus ended a particularly memorable summertime romp through North Carolina with only one show to go on the first leg of Summer Tour 2011.
Raleigh Setlist
Set 1: Cars Trucks Buses, Peaches en Regalia, AC/DC Bag, Guyute, Possum, Halley’s Comet > 46 Days, The Divided Sky, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Run Like an Antelope
Set 2: Twist > Rift > Prince Caspian > Esther, Been Caught Stealing, Piper > My Friend, My Friend [1] > Kill Devil Falls, Split Open and Melt, Golgi Apparatus, First Tube
Encore: Good Times Bad Times
[1] No “Myfe” ending.
 Phish :: 06.15.11 :: Alpharetta, GA
Photo by Dave Vann Phish 2011 |
Fans lucky enough to have secured tickets to the smallest venue of the tour -with a 7,000-person capacity, the diminutive nTelos Pavilion holds just about one-third of the previous night’s stop in Raleigh – made their way across rural Eastern Virginia to a cluster of coastal cities that is all too familiar to veteran Phish aficionados. Portsmouth is perched on the mouth of the James River, along with Norfolk, Hampton and Virginia Beach, all of which have hosted a total of 21 shows since 1992. The venue itself was an astute architectural acknowledgment to the sailboats docked at the adjacent port. Ferries carried fans from the band of hotels on the Norfolk side of the river across to a scattered sea of festive parking lots and decks, and the brief stormy squall did little to quash the fevered anticipation of one last night of Phish.
Seeing as how the band had opened their last two Father’s Day shows with their kids piled in a bathtub while they played Brother, just about everyone assumed that’s how this show would open as well, but then Dr. Jack McConnell wandered out onstage for a quick dance step right before showtime, and all bets were off. Sure enough, those infamous lyrics, Oom Pa Pa, Oom Pa Pa, Oom Pa Paaaaaaa kicked off the first Harpua opener in 22 years. The middle portion of the song, which typically contains a silly narrative leading into an out-of-leftfield first-time cover, instead contained a Happy Birthday tease to a new 31 year-old and her mom in the front row before forging ahead to the story of Harpua and Poster Nutbag. And once the storm had gone, Jimmy and his father had their little tte--tte about Poster’s demise, voiced by Trey, Mike, Page and Jon and their fathers, Ernie, Bob, Jack and Leonard. Hilarious. The brief but brilliant Harpua was followed by the anticipated Brother with the kids, and after all of the family members had been introduced, including in utero, Question Mark McConnell!, there was an unspoken moment of reflection for both the band and the fans. 28 years into an awe-inspiring career and many of us have gone from crazy little kids rebelling against our own fathers into fathers ourselves, worrying about what kind of ridiculous shenanigans our own kids are seeking. Thankfully, there’s no need for an inquiry as to whether we can still have fun. Happy Father’s Day, everyone!
 Phish :: 06.14.11 :: Alpharetta, GA
Photo by Dave Vann Phish 2011 |
The rest of the first set [and the second set as well] contained more than a handful of repeats from earlier in the week, but this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Echoes from Alpharetta included solid versions of Back on the Train, Timber, The Moma Dance, and David Bowie, as well as particularly tasty takes on Down with Disease and Funky Bitch. The other special moment before the sun fell below the sea was a first-time cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road in honor of the recently passed Clarence Clemons, who was both a long-time member of Springsteen’s E-Street Band and a native of nearby Chesapeake. Rounding out the set were a sadly short and stuttering Tube, a good but not great Alaska, and a textbook reading of The Wedge.
The lights went down for one final time in June of 2011, and the band wasted no time with a rip-roarin’ Crosseyed and Painless that never lost an ounce of energy. Walls of the Cave followed, leaving many to wonder why it isn’t in more of a regular rotation with its well-crafted multi-part composed portion and its easily explored rock-n-roll outro. Said outro segued into a sweet and sublime Slave, and then on into Fluffhead. Sliding on smoothly into Sand, the band found even greater party potential in this version than its last rockin’ take in Alpharetta. The jam wiggled and wandered with a great deal of subtle interplay between Trey & Page and included a bit of old school stop-start jamming. The final stop-start was practically a Sand Reprise, which then snuck into fan-favorite Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, featuring a brief vocal jam that then rocked its way into Light. Without a doubt the most powerful jam vehicle of Phish 3.0, this particular version went a slightly different direction than its many other versions, sticking to a major key for its able-bodied build, release and subsequent trek of tranquility. The already stellar jam began its second build along with the anticipation of the next tune. What followed was Backwards Down the Number Line. Say what you will about this tuneso I don’t have to. Closing out the set was another Page-powered Suzy Greenburg. Apparently, Page has houses in Alpharetta, Charlotte AND Portsmouth.
After Julius, an interesting choice for an encore but well-executed nonetheless, fans slipped off into the night for one last drink, one last dance, one last after-party. Without a doubt the hottest ticket was The Phro Boat. This new post-show tradition for notable tour stops near bodies of water, the double-decker party boat scooped up the lucky revelers from right behind the venue and took a wild trip up the James River before dropping them off at the hotel in the wee hours of morning. West Coast phans, don’t be the only ones left on the dock – check out The Tahoe Steamer coming to a rockin’ resort lake near you. And with that, we bid you a weary but cheerful Adieu. Rest up, get excited for SuperBall, and whatever you do, take care of those shoes.
Portsmouth Setlist
Set 1: Harpua [1] > Brother, Down with Disease > Back on the Train, Funky Bitch, Timber (Jerry), The Wedge, The Moma Dance, Thunder Road [2], Tube, Alaska > David Bowie
Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > Walls of the Cave > Slave to the Traffic Light > Fluffhead > Sand > Sneakin’ Sally through the Alley > Light > Backwards Down the Number Line, Suzy Greenberg
Encore: Julius
[1] With the band’s fathers voicing the part of Jimmy’s father.
[2] Phish debut
Thanks yet again to the great and knowledgeable ZZYZX.
Phish Tour Dates :: Phish News
JamBase | Gilled Up
Go See Live Music!
Tags: Cars Trucks Buses, Encore, Fat, friend, Guitar, open, rock, springsteen, stage, voice, waves, wedge
June 23, 2011 in 06, 09, 10, 11, 2, 2009, 2010, 2011, 28, 31, 6/4, a, after, Again, age, all, Alpharetta, an, and, another, Are, around, Artie, as, at, band, bands, Bass, book, bouncing, brother, Burn, but, ca, can, center, Chalk, Chalk Dust Torture, Chant, City, close, Closer, Col., Colonel Forbin's Ascent, COMPLETE, concert, Crowd, dancing, dave, David, Day, down, Drums, Dust, effects, en, Encore, end, Enjoy, enjoy myself, Eve, Famous, FEAT, fee, fi, final, First, fish, fishman, Fly Famous Mockingbird, FOR, Forbin's, four, Free, Frenzy, friday, From, front, Funk, gain, get, Ghost, gin, Good, great, Groove, Guitar, hampton, hd, hi, hiatus, high, Hold Your Head Up, home, Hope, icculus, ice, in, into, is, IT, jam, jamming, jar, Joy, Keys, las, Last, late, Laugh, Led, leo, life, light, Like, LITTLE, live, live music, long, lot, love, Loving Cup, MA, machine, mass, MI, mike, Mike's, Mike's Song, Mockingbird, Music, My, Myself, nate, nc, New, News, night, Nine, NJ, no, ny, of, on, one, op, Open, opener, opening, out, PA, page, Part, party, Phish, Phish Tour, Piano, Pop, pro, rad, rain, read, reba, rock, roll, room, row, rs, run, sample, Sample In A Jar, Say, SC, scent, second, seconds, set, Setlists, show, Shows, Simple, Sky, So, solo, song, sound, SPAC, St, stage, start, Stern, stick, stone, stones, Summer, tab, tease, That, the, theatre, third, to, tone, Too, torture, tour, trey, two, us, va, vacuum, van, verizon, vocal, war, Way, we, Web, Weekapaug, Weekapaug Groove, Wilson, wireless, with, wolfman, wolfman's, Wolfman's Brother, words, years, yem, You, You Enjoy Myself, Your |
Words by: Billy Jack Sinkovic
Phish :: 06.17.11 :: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre :: Charlotte, NC
 Phish :: 06.14.11 :: Alpharetta, GA
Photo by Dave Vann Phish 2011 |
On the night off following the two wet & wild shows in Alpharetta, many fans took the responsible route and actually took the night off. Others headed east in search of more partying, with a large contingent stopping at Pisgah Brewing’s outdoor stage, the hottest new venue in Western North Carolina, for a funk-filled evening with Galactic and Orgone. Many others made it all the way to Charlotte to check out the nightlife, including the band itself. Reports of Trey and Mike gallivanting about NoDa [North Davidson Arts District] in a pedicab surfaced on the interweb, and more than a few lucky fans caught glimpses of the duo enjoying The David Mayfield Parade show at The Evening Muse. But more on that later.
The heavy-handed heat and humidity that typically signifies the start of summer in the South did little to dampen spirits on a particularly sticky Friday afternoon. The lot parties were in full swing early in the day, and the police presence typically associated with Charlotte shows seemed relatively placid. This was the first show of the year for a large portion of the crowd, and by the time the prodigious amphitheatre was [mostly] full, the fans were whipped into a sweaty frenzy. The band was greeted with a roar, Trey chose a sign, and they were off.
Considering it’s not happened since the final show before their break-up [or second hiatus, or the end of Phish 2.0, or whatever you'd prefer to call it], a Mike’s Song opener would have been special if Trey hadn’t tried to hold the Mike’s House sign in his teeth, causing him to start the song in the wrong key. Despite the silly slip-up, the jam out of the song was smokin’. Hydrogen followed, and considering the band is playing this less and less as part of Mike’s Groove, it’s begun to regain its enchanting nature, despite another Trey flub. The Weekapaug Groove that followed was fast & furious, with machine-gun Trey and a particularly funky Mike leading the charge. Typical first set fare followed – Bouncin’ Around The Room, NICU [Leo's House!!!] and Sample in a Jar. However, there seemed to be an extra amount of heart and energy behind Sample, as though the band was really dialed in and ready to deliver. Further evidence of this followed with the thrashing and crashing intro to the relatively rare Col. Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird. The prodigious peak of Trey’s great saga was delivered with focus and savvy, nearly note-perfect, quite the upgrade from their last reading nearly a year ago on a similar run of the Southeast.
 David Mayfield by Josh Joplin |
By this point, everyone in the audience who was at least semi-lucid had noticed Trey & Mike’s matching shirts. Showing a silhouette of a bearded man with hipster glasses, the theories ran wild: A nod to Page’s new specs; Salman Rushdie; a likeness of Col. Forbin. It was actually an image of David Mayfield, the frontman of the band that had played for Trey and Mike the night before. But still, more on that later.
Following the flight of that famous bird from Gamehenge, the fist-pumping fury of a quick Axilla arrived, followed by Wolfman’s Brother, which delivered the hottest jam of the first set. Never departing Type I jam territory, it instead built a slow but solid groove, driven by Mike’s hard slappin’ funk dexterity that peaked after nearly ten minutes and sailed on. This could have easily ended the set, but instead they brushed off the lesser-played Scent of a Mule with a bit of fun & frolic from Page. Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan has found a home as a set closer, and thankfully they kept it short & sweet because this crowd needed a break.
The dozen or so songs that the band brought to its fans via the album Joy in 2009 have all found their niches in regular setlists, and just as Stealing Time likes the first set closer slot, many a second set has originated with Backwards Down the Number Line. A lot of fans are still struggling with the bubblegum pop lyrics and chord progression of this tune, but the jams that it has produced have all been re-listenable, to say the very least, and this was no exception – straight-up, guitar-driven pop-rock in a major key. Right out of the closing chops charged Rock & Roll, and thus truly began a second set that will be talked about for some time. Never losing the energy of the It’s alright! It’s alright now! Alright! Alright! outro, the band cruised full-speed ahead for a couple minutes in full-on rock band fashion. Then, Fishman delivered the jam into the Type II realm with some dizzying fluid beats, while his three cohorts saturated the sound with simple yet sublime fills. This jam focused less on how many notes they could play and more on dynamics, major vs. minor keys, and LOTS of texture. Fans could be seen with their eyes closed – despite CK’s killer light work – their bodies barely moving, as though the hypnotizing groove caused them to forget dancing but only for a moment. As the drums faded out, the spacey groove changed again from major to minor, and the haunting rhythm of Ghost emerged.
 Phish :: 06.15.11 :: Alpharetta, GA
Photo by Dave Vann Phish 2011 |
Since its inception during the late nineties cow-funk era of Phish, Ghost has won the hearts of many fans as a mid-second set groove with all sorts of exploratory possibilities. This high-energy version featured prime performances from all four members. Trey wandered about upon a series of arpeggios, held in place with similar Mike ministrations over Fishman’s syncopated beats. A slow, steady major build was filled out some hard work from Page’s long organ fills and bright piano chops. Arriving at the top, it was all Page, soloing on both the Hammond and the concert grand, while Trey began to form the opening chords of Free. This particular tune has lost its jamming prowess of former years, although Mike definitely funked it up a bit with some boggy bass effects, and it was over in seconds. It seemed like a good time to take a breath, but there was none. Yet another song from the show worth a another listen, Reba found its way through the still-awe-inspiring-after-22-years composed segment into an extended peak that brought fans to their feet, arms to the sky, cheers to full volume.
Thus began the hilarity ensued portion of the show. Following up on Forbin’s quest in the first set, the great and knowledgeable Icculus showed his face for only the third time in 16 years with a clearly tickled Trey chuckling through the narration. Describing his night out in NoDa, he directed the cameramen to display the silhouetted face of David Mayfield on the shirt he and Mike both wore in the first set. Either Trey had decided that Mayfield shared a resemblance to the mythical Icculus or it was Mayfield himself who wrote The Book. Either way, I can only hope that guy reaps the benefits of some serious publicity. Following Icculus, Page’s organ chops on Argent’s Hold Your Head Up brought Fishman out front and center on Barrett-era Pink Floyd’s Bike. This was a treat, complete with slightly askew lyrics [What the fuck were the words again?] some primo vacuum work, a lap or two around the stage, and some massive paper airplane launches. Thanks, Fish.
Having had the opportunity to rest (and laugh), the audience slipped back into their boogie-shoes for an absolutely rockin’ Chalk Dust Torture that could’ve gone on for a bit longer. But the band instead launched into You Enjoy Myself, which fans had been expecting for several shows. While it didn’t have the memorable vocal jam teases of 2010′s Charlotte YEM, it still excelled as a show closer, exhibiting the fine-tuned skills of all four members, along with Trey’s multi-part compositional brilliance. Winding up this consummate event was a two-song encore, with one last foray into Gamehenge featuring the tale’s antagonist, Wilson, followed by the beloved Stones cover Loving Cup. What a beautiful buzz, indeed.
Thanks again to ZZYZX
for the stats info.
Setlist
Set 1: Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Bouncing Around the Room, NICU [1] > Sample in a Jar, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird, Axilla, Wolfman’s Brother, Scent of a Mule [2], Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan
Set 2: Backwards Down the Number Line > Rock and Roll > Ghost > Free > Reba [3], Icculus, Hold Your Head Up > Bike [4] > Hold Your Head Up, Chalk Dust Torture, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Wilson > Loving Cup
[1] “Play it, Leo!” lyric replaced with “Leo’s House!”
[2] The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) tease from Page
[3] No whistling
[4] Somewhere Over the Rainbow played by Fish during vacuum solo
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Tags: chalk, chant, complete, dancing, Encore, fee, Fly Famous Mockingbird, Guitar, house, night, phish-tour, rain, theories