Velvet
Greetings and salutations from the big donut. I am really happy to have a day off. Being on tour is awesome - I love it so much. Seeing different friends and family, seeing different parts of the country, eating all sorts of local cuisines, havin' a good time. However it isn't for the faint of heart. It's legit a grind. A rush from city to city. Coordination of hotels, tickets, friends... Phish is my job (I'm kind of serious). And tour itself is a marathon, not a sprint. Living out of your suitcase, the lack of a normal routine, struggling to get workouts in, not being home, missing my dogs and my own bed. Therefore a day when I can sleep in until noon, causally get together w some friends and family in the city, check out the park and the museums, basically hang out and relax all day is beautiful. It's also nice to wake up and not feel that nervous day of show energy. I take Phish seriously. Very seriously. It's so much more than just having a good time to me (although it is a great time). Phish is my religion, my church, my community, my soul recharger, my serpent deflector. Muggles (slang for people that don't get the P fish) probably think Phish means more to me than a band playing music should... I just hope they can find something positive in their life that moves them and means as much to them as Phish means to us.
When the dozen was announced I wasn't really that into it. I thought I would miss traveling the country, road tripping, visiting multiple cities. I also was questioning spending three weeks in the summer in New York. We've already had a serious rainstorm, heat, humidity... and it's only been one weekend. However I'm really digging being able to settle into the city and not have to be hustling to the next destination. Let's be honest... despite my previously announced retirement (that literally lasted one run) I'm going to go wherever Phish is playing. Chicago, Dayton, Pittsburgh, New York...it really doesn't matter. Being able to be stationary while on tour is a new phenomenon for me and one that I am really enjoying.
When thinking about the Bakers Dozen these past few months I always concentrated on how great being stationary would be for the band. Settling into the venue, not having to break down and set up every stop, the sound getting dialed in, Trey sleeping in his own bed, etc. I didn't think about the other side of that coin - the traveling circus of our phish community would also have the opportunity to be stationary. We too would have the ability to settle in, enjoy the off days, recharge the batteries, get to know the city a little better than just a venue, a cookie cutter hotel, a parking lot and maybe a restaurant in town.
It's been discussed plenty before but there is an energy exchange that occurs between the band and the crowd. It is something really special. One feeds off of the other, building each other up. When the band and the crowd are both locked in, firing on all cylinders, the crowd hanging on every note...that's when the true magic happens. I believe the residency is positive on both ends, the band and the fans, of that equation.
Speaking of good energy from the crowd, Sunday night is typically a more serious fans night out to enjoy the show. Friday and Saturday some of the less passionate / less serious / more there for the party crowd are out and about. Sunday means more serious business. I can only imagine what Jam Tuesday is going to be like. Pro AF. Anyway I was pretty pumped up going into our first Sunday of the Bakers Dozen.
A quick point of correction from my post yesterday. Strawberry Letter 23 is in fact a Shuggie Otis original tune. Fink needs some fact checkers but I'm a one man operation trying to bang these posts out on my iPhone between shows. No excuses though (after making a bunch of excuses), Shug deserves all the credit for that dope jam. Also news to me (thanks Matt!) was that Shuggie was the bass player on the Peaches en Regalia studio recording explaining the infrequent cover's second appearance in 4 shows.
Back to Funday.... In my blog yesterday I mentioned the theory about Mike not being as engaged, not taking the lead on jams and being truly engaged thus far. Specifically I said the following:
"Cactus has not been taking many leads this tour. I don't know why but he seems to be enjoying sitting back and laying down the groove. Maybe he just doesn't like phish or has some issues with Trey? He seems to prefer his own band. Anyway that's great but it would be nice of him to take a more proactive roll on the jams. This was especially evident when Trey moved to the Marimba Lumina. Trey wasn't on guitar so Mike was forced to take over and it added an awesome and incredible element to the show. More Mike leads, por favor y gracias."
So how does the show start last night? With Trey on drums, Fishman blessing the audience and Mike not only laying down some funky bass but laying down on his back like a true rock n roll god. Right away Mike was in the lead and more importantly engaged. This made me feel very postive about the direction the evening was going to go.
It was a fun, perfect, appropriate cover - the Velvet Underground on a sunday in New York. Up next was Axilla (really short), Phish metal and Your Pet Cat. Not much to report there although I'm surprised how many similar songs from the first five shows of the tour were repeated the first weekend in New York. I thought maybe they would be spread out a bit more throughout the Bakers dozen.
I always love me some Back on the Train. Sometimes I play a game in my head - is this an underrated, overrated or properly rated phish tune? I think Back on the Train falls in the first category. Very good version here, the band was beginning to find it's jam legs. I was hearing a continuation of the funk themes from Saturday night.
Up next was what I felt was the most important song of the night and made for some really special Sunday songs. Our first real Mike song of the night was How Many People are You. The band took it deep and jammed it out. Big time. Granted it's a short list but best version ever. At the end of the song I had eyes on Gordon. He was soooo happy, a big grin (for Cactus anyway) on his face. Gordo was fully engaged and loving it. I turned to some of the regulars next to me and told them this was going to be special because Gordon was in IT.
Glide was up next. It's a song that hasn't been played since MPP and at that show through various channels it was specifically played for Gayla, a beautiful soul and wonderful member of our community who had terminal cancer and has since succumbed to it. In a move I loved and respected so much decided to spend her final days seeing music, Phish and Fare the Well specifically. During Glide I was thinking about Gayla. I was thinking I was glad to be alive. I was thinking about my recent messages about embracing life, tomorrow not being guaranteed. Gayla was an amazing and beautiful person, smiling and hugging until the end. I will never hear Glide and not think about her. #fuckcancer
When the dozen was announced I wasn't really that into it. I thought I would miss traveling the country, road tripping, visiting multiple cities. I also was questioning spending three weeks in the summer in New York. We've already had a serious rainstorm, heat, humidity... and it's only been one weekend. However I'm really digging being able to settle into the city and not have to be hustling to the next destination. Let's be honest... despite my previously announced retirement (that literally lasted one run) I'm going to go wherever Phish is playing. Chicago, Dayton, Pittsburgh, New York...it really doesn't matter. Being able to be stationary while on tour is a new phenomenon for me and one that I am really enjoying.
When thinking about the Bakers Dozen these past few months I always concentrated on how great being stationary would be for the band. Settling into the venue, not having to break down and set up every stop, the sound getting dialed in, Trey sleeping in his own bed, etc. I didn't think about the other side of that coin - the traveling circus of our phish community would also have the opportunity to be stationary. We too would have the ability to settle in, enjoy the off days, recharge the batteries, get to know the city a little better than just a venue, a cookie cutter hotel, a parking lot and maybe a restaurant in town.
It's been discussed plenty before but there is an energy exchange that occurs between the band and the crowd. It is something really special. One feeds off of the other, building each other up. When the band and the crowd are both locked in, firing on all cylinders, the crowd hanging on every note...that's when the true magic happens. I believe the residency is positive on both ends, the band and the fans, of that equation.
Speaking of good energy from the crowd, Sunday night is typically a more serious fans night out to enjoy the show. Friday and Saturday some of the less passionate / less serious / more there for the party crowd are out and about. Sunday means more serious business. I can only imagine what Jam Tuesday is going to be like. Pro AF. Anyway I was pretty pumped up going into our first Sunday of the Bakers Dozen.
A quick point of correction from my post yesterday. Strawberry Letter 23 is in fact a Shuggie Otis original tune. Fink needs some fact checkers but I'm a one man operation trying to bang these posts out on my iPhone between shows. No excuses though (after making a bunch of excuses), Shug deserves all the credit for that dope jam. Also news to me (thanks Matt!) was that Shuggie was the bass player on the Peaches en Regalia studio recording explaining the infrequent cover's second appearance in 4 shows.
Back to Funday.... In my blog yesterday I mentioned the theory about Mike not being as engaged, not taking the lead on jams and being truly engaged thus far. Specifically I said the following:
"Cactus has not been taking many leads this tour. I don't know why but he seems to be enjoying sitting back and laying down the groove. Maybe he just doesn't like phish or has some issues with Trey? He seems to prefer his own band. Anyway that's great but it would be nice of him to take a more proactive roll on the jams. This was especially evident when Trey moved to the Marimba Lumina. Trey wasn't on guitar so Mike was forced to take over and it added an awesome and incredible element to the show. More Mike leads, por favor y gracias."
So how does the show start last night? With Trey on drums, Fishman blessing the audience and Mike not only laying down some funky bass but laying down on his back like a true rock n roll god. Right away Mike was in the lead and more importantly engaged. This made me feel very postive about the direction the evening was going to go.
It was a fun, perfect, appropriate cover - the Velvet Underground on a sunday in New York. Up next was Axilla (really short), Phish metal and Your Pet Cat. Not much to report there although I'm surprised how many similar songs from the first five shows of the tour were repeated the first weekend in New York. I thought maybe they would be spread out a bit more throughout the Bakers dozen.
I always love me some Back on the Train. Sometimes I play a game in my head - is this an underrated, overrated or properly rated phish tune? I think Back on the Train falls in the first category. Very good version here, the band was beginning to find it's jam legs. I was hearing a continuation of the funk themes from Saturday night.
Up next was what I felt was the most important song of the night and made for some really special Sunday songs. Our first real Mike song of the night was How Many People are You. The band took it deep and jammed it out. Big time. Granted it's a short list but best version ever. At the end of the song I had eyes on Gordon. He was soooo happy, a big grin (for Cactus anyway) on his face. Gordo was fully engaged and loving it. I turned to some of the regulars next to me and told them this was going to be special because Gordon was in IT.
Glide was up next. It's a song that hasn't been played since MPP and at that show through various channels it was specifically played for Gayla, a beautiful soul and wonderful member of our community who had terminal cancer and has since succumbed to it. In a move I loved and respected so much decided to spend her final days seeing music, Phish and Fare the Well specifically. During Glide I was thinking about Gayla. I was thinking I was glad to be alive. I was thinking about my recent messages about embracing life, tomorrow not being guaranteed. Gayla was an amazing and beautiful person, smiling and hugging until the end. I will never hear Glide and not think about her. #fuckcancer
I always love a good Theme from the Bottom. It has my favorite Phish lyric:
So toss away stuff you won't need in the end
but keep what's important - and know who's your friend.
Every show I will turn to my friends during those lyrics and have a huge group hug during that moment. Last night it was me and my bro Dave taking the show in together. Dave hooked me up BIG TIME with NY accommodations and it was really special to have that moment with him. Theme also seemed to be continuing the Shuggie funk theme from the previous night; had flashbacks to the funky shaft Atlantic City theme.
Up next was It's Ice. Tough song to play, the band nailed it. I can't speak highly enough of this version. This felt like a continuation of the other theme from Strawberry Goo night: weird and dark. This was top shelf Phish and at the time I thought maybe my favorite jam of the tour to date. I do suffer from recency bias however. Really dug this song, I dig when Phish gets jazzy in their jams.
More closed out the first set. Pretty standard version. Fzappa is the expert in all things chomper and he says this is the quintessential chomper anthem. I had that thought in my mind last night during the song and it's impossible to argue. Everyone was singing (chomping?) along. For a reason I can't put my finger on I liked the Chicago version more.
Second set opened up with Bag out of nowhere! I liked the placement, can't remember the first time it was played in the second set. This was apparently a theme with the wolfmans also making a rare second set appearance. I believe the last time was when the power went out in Mansfield. I was so excited for that second set Wolfmans, it was heading for greatness. Apparently we weren't ready for it or something because the power blew out in the back and the band stopped the show. Momentum killer for what was going to be a great show too.
but keep what's important - and know who's your friend.
Every show I will turn to my friends during those lyrics and have a huge group hug during that moment. Last night it was me and my bro Dave taking the show in together. Dave hooked me up BIG TIME with NY accommodations and it was really special to have that moment with him. Theme also seemed to be continuing the Shuggie funk theme from the previous night; had flashbacks to the funky shaft Atlantic City theme.
Up next was It's Ice. Tough song to play, the band nailed it. I can't speak highly enough of this version. This felt like a continuation of the other theme from Strawberry Goo night: weird and dark. This was top shelf Phish and at the time I thought maybe my favorite jam of the tour to date. I do suffer from recency bias however. Really dug this song, I dig when Phish gets jazzy in their jams.
More closed out the first set. Pretty standard version. Fzappa is the expert in all things chomper and he says this is the quintessential chomper anthem. I had that thought in my mind last night during the song and it's impossible to argue. Everyone was singing (chomping?) along. For a reason I can't put my finger on I liked the Chicago version more.
Second set opened up with Bag out of nowhere! I liked the placement, can't remember the first time it was played in the second set. This was apparently a theme with the wolfmans also making a rare second set appearance. I believe the last time was when the power went out in Mansfield. I was so excited for that second set Wolfmans, it was heading for greatness. Apparently we weren't ready for it or something because the power blew out in the back and the band stopped the show. Momentum killer for what was going to be a great show too.
Well this second set Wolfmans was at full power. What a thing of beauty. A serious groove, super danceable, funky and just so much fun. This one will be on the top jams of the summer playlist, which at this rate I might need a separate iPod for because Phish is laying down epic jam after epic jam. We are in some all time peak Phish territory. I'll explore that specific thought in a future post.
Loved the move into Twist. I was wearing my Titleist Twist hat (how about Speith yesterday! Wow) and waving it around like a madman. I've noticed how patient Phish has been moving between songs. The -> have been really well executed this tour. Twist is the sexiest Phish song put there. I am a huge fan of Twist and this was an all time version. Not quite Fukuoka but it's beautiful and sexy. Wolfmans -> Twist is a beautiful pairing, like cheese and wine. Another patient segue into a lovely, weird and dark Waves. Once again the jams kept reminding me of Saturday. Throw on the -> Waves to the Wolfmans -> Twist and this is an incredible 40 minutes of music. I suppose continuing the wine and cheese pairing the Waves would be a nice piece of dark chocolate.
After posting about my mom yesterday you would think the Miss You is a moving song for me. It's not. It just doesn't do it for me. I try to get there, think about people that I'm missing, think about Mom, think about Trey missing his sister, think about Bobby singing it for Jerry in Nashville. But for whatever reason it's not a song I can connect with. I hated it the first time I heard it in Chicago. Still don't like it. It's too cheesy for me or something.
Boogie is always fun to hear, especially on a night that was so much fun for Mike where he was taking the lead and dropping bombs and shaking the building. I think this was one for Cactus. He earned it last night. Brought the heat.
Velvet Sea closed the second set, it was not a matter of if but when based on the night 3 donut. I was hoping this standard song would go monster type 2 similar to Pittsburgh Caspian but it was fairly standard outside of the crowd and band acknowledging the Velvet theme.
A glorious Sweet Jane to close out the show. I'm glad they went with Sweet Jane over Rock N Roll here. Their catalog is ridiculous and they are so confident and comfortable they don't need to go the usual choice. And in hindsight donuts are "sweet" so it fit the theme (from the bottom) even more.
Cactus tweeted at 11:55 PM after the show "That was a religious experience." Yes Mike, it was. In fact it usually is. We are blessed to be members of the Church of Icculus.
✌🏼❤️🎼🐠🍩🤙🏼
#liveyourliphe
#collectmoments
#enjoyeverysandwich
Photo by my little bro Adam.
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