Hello everyone. I
hope you are enjoying this first blast of winter. I know many of my friends in
PA got crushed by a few inches of snow. We are expecting 5 to 9 inches today,
with more in the mountains. Which is fantastic, as I just bought my helmet and
goggles and am all ready to start skiing. But I’m not here to talk about this November
but November 1998, long before I ever imagined moving to Vermont. But I still attended
what were considered hometown shows. So
without further ado, Kempepedia is proud to present It Was 20 Years Ago Today, Phish
Live at the Centrum, Worcester, MA November 27th and 28th,
1998.
After hitting the
Thanksgiving run in 1997, there was no way I was missing this one. While Phish’s
sound had evolved over the course of 1998, they were still on fire this Fall
tour even if it didn’t reach the almost unreachable heights of Fall 1997. This
time I went with Jared and his wife. Jared was my landlord at the time and the
only Italian hillbilly I have ever met.
Nov. 27th, 1998
SET 1: Funky Bitch, Ya Mar, Carini, Runaway Jim, Meat > Reba, The Old Home Place, Dogs Stole Things, Vultures, When the Circus Comes, Birds of a Feather
SET 2: Buried Alive > Wipe Out > Chalk Dust Torture -> Mirror in the Bathroom-> Chalk Dust Torture -> Dog Log ->Chalk Dust Torture > Sanity > Buffalo Bill > Mike's Song -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove -> Wipe Out -> Weekapaug Groove > Weekapaug Groove Reprise > Run Like an Antelope
ENCORE: Wading in the
Velvet Sea, Golgi Apparatus > Wipe Out
You can stream it here
Highlight
of the first set is Carini. Although it’s not the beast it would become, it
still is really heavy. It also references an incident a few weeks prior when a
naked guy was on stage. And it wasn’t Fishman.
The second set is one big long song. Don’t
believe me? Every song goes into one another and a whole lotta Wipe Out. The
band was one fire and having a hell of a good time. Jams and wackiness, definitely
Phish at its best. The Mike’s is very evil and Weekapaugh has so many peaks one
cannot keep track. A triple encore to send us off into the night is the icing
on the cake.
Nov.
28th, 1998
SET 1: Gumbo, Tube > Down with Disease, Guy Ute, Albuquerque, Foam, The Moma Dance, Split Open and Melt
SET 2: Julius, Wolfman's Brother > Timber (Jerry The Mule) > Loving Cup > Scent of a Mule[1], Prince Caspian > Crossroads,Tweezer, Cavern
ENCORE: Sample in a Jar > Tweezer Reprise
You can stream it here
Typical 1998
goodness here. The Disease is a nice first set treat. Moma had some nice funky
licks and Melt made everyone’s brain split open and melt. Julius was stretched out
and paired perfectly with Wolfman’s. Mule had a cool but rather long duel with
Mike and Trey. While a Tweezer this late in the second set is unusual, it has
more than a few amazing moments. Just like 1997, I skipped the final night.
Really wish I hadn’t. All the Pain and
Layla featuring Vermont guitar genius Seth Yacavone were outstanding. The man’s
voice and guitar playing are from another universe. I had to wait 19 years to
see him playing in person, but it was definitely worth the wait. The Dead Set I
saw him lead on July 3rd was among the best things I have seen up
here. He sings and plays like he sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in
the Northeast Kingdom.
So there it is. My
second and last (so far) birthday Phish shows. Feel so lucky to have seen what I
saw in 1.0 which just ads to my street cred living in the amazing city of
Burlington Vermont. Up next, a Dead Set birthday show with the incredible Zach
Nugent leading the proceedings.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
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