As it would so work out, my friend M lived in an apartment within walking distance of the venue and a bunch of cool restaurants. We ate at the Soy Cafe which had an amazing vegetarian hot sausage wrap. I'm kinda vegan, mostly vegetarian and have been so impressed by how good vegan food is. So after filling up, we headed to the venue.
The Fillmore is a new venue in Philly and it is really great. Good sight lines of the band everywhere, plenty of bars and space in the back to congregate without having to shout over the band. Now I do have an issue with the name of the venue however. Way back in the day, Bill Graham rented out the Fillmore Auditorium in the Fillmore (mostly black, like San Fran's Harlem) neighborhood to put on shows. He then rented out a hall in NYC that he christened that the Fillmore East. He then took over the Carousal Ballroom and renamed it the Fillmore West. Both East and West were closed in 1971 but among music heads they were legendary venues. If a band released a live album recorded there, it held a certain cache. Fast forward to today, entertainment conglomerate Live Nation decided to slap the name Fillmore on any venue they could. The snooty rock critic inside me is not pleased. And I think Bill sums up my feelings nicely.
We choose the 30th instead of Halloween because Cabinet was opening up. After seeing them close to 10 times over the course of 3 years, I hadn't seem then since August 2013 when they opened a skate park in Baltimore. They have definitely gotten better since then. They incorporated the electric guitar and electric bass more into their sound since I saw them last. I even loved JP referencing Mischief Night,a NE PA tradition from when I was a wee little lad.
You can stream it here
Highlight for myself was the Mr Spaceman encore. I love that tune and their arrangement.
After a short break, Moe came out and did their thing. As usual, their light show was out of this world. Was pleasantly surprised they did 2 full sets after having an opener.
You can stream it here
Total guitar shredding was the
theme of the night. Definitely a little more sedate than usual as
they had such a big night planned for Halloween. And even though I've
been seeing them since 1996, I'm really not fluent in all their
songs. I know what I know. But it was still a good time.
Ate breakfast at Sabrina's
Cafe in Philly, which was located in a predominantly Italian
neighborhood. Got some incredible decedent non vegan pastries at a
local bakery and even walked by Michael Anastasio's Fruit Company.
Last show until Thanksgiving
as my next few blog post will be about Phish's most important tour,
Fall of 1995.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
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