Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed
your Christmas and Festivus celebrations. I surely did but know I am
only thinking about one thing, New Year's Eve. The boys said they
will be cutting back on touring next year so who knows if they do
another NYE run in 2017. But my mind drifts back to another NYE, way
back in 1996. So without further ado, here is It Was 20 Years Ago
Today, Phish live at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA Dec 28th
and 29th 1996.
I can't remember who all went to
this with me, but I do know a lot of the Devolver crew went. One
unfortunate soul told me he was tripping really hard and got stuck in
the shotgun seat with Dr. Mike Lerman driving lol. I also remember
one of the nights we parked next to some members of Philly area band
Splintered Sunlight. When I saw them a few years ago, they had no
recollection of our historic encounter.
Dec.
28th,
1996
SET
1:
Runaway
Jim,
NICU,
Wolfman's
Brother,
It's
Ice,
Billy
Breathes,
Ginseng
Sullivan,
Split
Open and Melt,
The
Mango Song,
Frankenstein
SET
2:
Makisupa
Policeman[1]
→ Maze,
Bouncing
Around the Room,
Digital
Delay Loop Jam →
The
Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday >
Avenu
Malkenu >
Mike's
Song →
Strange
Design >
Weekapaug
Groove[2],
The
Star Spangled Banner
[1]
Key words: “Stink, Stank, Stunk"
[2] Ended with long Page solo.
[2] Ended with long Page solo.
Makisupa
Policeman included the cryptic lyrics “Stink, Stank, Stunk,”
which may have been a reference to the theme song in The
Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
Weekapaug Groove ended with a long Page solo. The Star Spangled
Banner was dedicated to Kate Smith, who used to sing God Bless
America at Flyers’ home hockey games.
You
can stream it here
The
Split is the highlight of the first set. The Policeman had a cool
little Grinch reference thrown in. The intro into the TMWSIY was
really good and I forgive them from not going back into it because of
such an awesome Mike's. Wow is it good. The Groove also had a cool
Coil like ending. And I love any encore with Johnny B. Goode.
Dec, 29th, 1996, Philadelphia, PA
SET
1:
Poor
Heart >
Caravan
>
Cavern
>
Taste,
Guelah
Papyrus,
Train
Song,
Rift
>
Free,
The
Squirming Coil,
La
Grange
SET
2:
David
Bowie,
A
Day in the Life,
Bathtub
Gin →
The
Lizards,
You
Enjoy Myself →
Rotation
Jam >
Sixteen
Candles[1]
>You
Enjoy Myself[2],
Harpua[3]
→ Champagne
Supernova[4]
→ Harpua
[1]
Phish debut; performed solo by Mike on piano.
[2] Vocal jam.
[3] Harpua, Poster, and Jimmy were confronted by the “Über Demon” and the “evil sound of hell.”
[4] Phish debut; Tom Marshall on vocals.
[2] Vocal jam.
[3] Harpua, Poster, and Jimmy were confronted by the “Über Demon” and the “evil sound of hell.”
[4] Phish debut; Tom Marshall on vocals.
Squirming
Coil contained a Sesame
Street theme
tease from Page. Mike performed the Phish debut of Sixteen Candles
solo on piano. Tom Marshall contributed the vocals to the Phish debut
of Champagne Supernova as Harpua, Poster, and Jimmy were confronted
by the “Über Demon” and the “evil sound of hell.” This show
featured the breakout of Caravan, which had been shelved since
December 2, 1994 (160 shows).
You
can stream it here
I
had no knowledge of the song Caravan but it was super cool to pair it
with Cavern. The Free was also typical 1996 vintage with Trey playing
his mini drum kit. La Grange was a nice addition to the set. I'm
sure I wasn't the only one expecting the set to end with Coil. The
second set was the best of the run IMO. Bowie opener, the YEM
madness, and a Harpua for the ages. And then Marshall sings Oasis was
just icing on the cake.
I
had a bit of an adventure after the second night. I friend of a
friend, Mike, was in town from Cali for a few days and hitched a ride
to the show. He had followed the Dead around and was pretty cool. He
had some of the best ganja food I ever ate. His banana bread almost
had me tripping. Anyway, he ran into an old friend who needed a ride
to the suburbs of Philly. Mike offered my services even though I had
to get home to try to get some shut eye before work Monday morning.
This whole sojourn took a lot longer than I expected and got home
super late. Called in sick the next day claiming I got food poisoning
from a Lot burrito LMAO.
I
hope you enjoyed this trip. The next entry will be about NYE 2016 at
MSG!
Dave
Kemp
BA
American Studies
PhD
Rock and Roll
