All the Years Combine: I Have Seen Some Really Serious Phish

     I just received the BOOK, and by that I mean The Phish Companion, vol. 3 curated by the fine folks that run phish.net. Its something like 800 pages of setlists, reviews, etc. Already found some shows to listen to that flew under my radar. But the feature I like best is they have compiled a list of the top 100 shows Phish has played. It goes up to Mexico. But it's not ranked 1 through 100, it just notes it as a Top 100 Show. So please indulge in a little humble bragging, as that is truly what the Internet is for. So Kempepedia is proud to present All the Years Combine; I Have Seen Some Really Serious Phish

Chronologically speaking

10/31/94 Glenn Falls, NY

What needs to be said? If we've ever discussed Phish you know this show changed my life. The Grateful Dead did nothing for me musically for 2 weeks.

Favorite moment: When they played the Ed Sullivan intro, I knew we were getting the Beatles.

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1994/1994-10-31

12/1/95 Hershey, PA

An incredible trip in the Land of Chocolate with about 100 people I knew

Favorite moment: When Trey did the narration about King of Prussia

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1995/1995-12-01

8/16/96 Clifford Ball. Plattsburgh, NY

The first Phish fest, truly an almost religious experience

Favorite moment: Walking across the landing strip as they tore into Split Open and Melt

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1996/1996-08-16

8/17/96 Clifford Ball. Plattsburgh, NY

I can't wait to write about these shows

Favorite moment: My Old Home Place opener. Truly felt like home

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1996/1996-08-17

8/16/97 The Great Went, Limestone, ME

At the end of the country, almost in the Great White North

Favorite moment: The Jam before Slave with the Odd Couple theme

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1997/1997-08-16

8/17/97 The Great Went, Limestone, ME

1997 was just awesome all around

Favorite moment: I remember Trey grabbing a glow stick in the first 'war' and using it as a slide. But that might not have happened.

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1997/1997-08-17

11/22/97, Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

My first show at the sacred site

Favorite moment: The Mike's opener or the whole second set. Too close to call

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1997/1997-11-22

11/28/97 The Centrum, Worcester, MA

My birthday show from the tour that Phish Destroys America

Favorite moment: The Ghost

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1997/1997-11-28

11/29/97 The Centrum, Worcester, MA

The Runaway Jim. Seriously thought it was gonna be entire set. It took up the entire side of a 90 minute cassette tape.

Favorite moment: Besides the Jim? The triple encore : Buffalo Bill, Moby Dick>Fire

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1997/1997-11-29

11/27/98 The Centrrum, Worcester, MA

Same place a year later and ANOTHER mind melter

Favorite moment: That Second Set, all hose

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1998/1998-11-27

12/11/99 The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA

Opened with Hood>Mike's>Simple>H2>Groove. I could have went home after that

Favorite moment: 2001

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1999/1999-12-11

7/4/00 E Centre, Camden NJ

The Fourth of July in Philly, the way it should be

Favorite moment: The Gotta Jibbo. I think they are still playing it

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2000/2000-07-04

8/2/03 IT, Limestone, ME

We hit traffic at 6 am, turned the car off at 12 am, 18 hours later

Favorite moment: Discern through Bowie. I was separated from my friends and in another universe

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2003/2003-08-02

6/19/04 SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY

SOOOO many jams

Favorite moment: The whole second set. I mean come on. All hose

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2004/2004-06-19

6/20/04 SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY

Many people have said these two shows are the peak shows of 2.0 Who am I to argue?

Favorite moment: The second set, 4 songs

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2004/2004-06-20

8/31/12 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO

The Fuck Your Face show, the show where 3.0 Phish turned the corner

Favorite moment: When Switzer came up to me during Undermined and said they were spelling out Fuck Your Face. We all love Dick's!

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2012/2012-08-31

10/31/14 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV

The peak of my own personal favorite run because of my crew, my girl and the cities SF>Vegas. A Dave Kemp sighting pre show inside the arena. Plus, I published an article in STTF

Favorite moment: The second set. The songs are fresh and funky. I was ready for something like this, unlike in 2013.

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2014/2014-10-31

8/22/15 Magnaball, Watkins Glen, NY

From Clifford Ball to Magnaball, I've only missed missed 3 fests.

Favorite moment: Tweezer>Prince Caspian. The Tweezer blew my mind and the Caspian rebuilt it only to destroy it again

Stream it http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/2015/2015-08-22

Feel very blessed to have seen epic shows in every era. Especially the shows that weren'tholiday or festival shows. That's why people do whole tours. Never know what you're gonna get. Shout out to all those that went with me to these shows.

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll

Phish, Live at the Mann Music Center, June 28th and 29th, 2016

     Hello everyone. I hope you are having a safe and festive Fourth of July. Just got done enjoying the hell out of the SPAC webcasts. But I'm not here to review a webcast, I'm here to review two shows I actually attended. So without further delay, here is my take on Phish, live at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA on June 28^th and June 29^th, 2016.

     We headed out with the skies clouding up and the threat of thunderboomers on the horizon. We rented a sweet place via AirBnB about 20 minutes away and took Uber to and from the show. So it was a totally shared economy show. Found out there is a parking lot BEHIND the venue. That only took me 22 years to acquire that knowledge.

Tuesday, 06/28/2016 The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Set 1: Wilson, Funky Bitch, No Men In No Man's Land, Roggae, Nellie Kane, Gumbo, Birds of a Feather, Sleep Again, Things People Do[1], Limb By Limb, Split Open and Melt, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony>Suzy Greenberg

Set 2: Fuego, Runaway Jim, Gotta Jibboo, Breath and Burning>Timber (Jerry), Slave to the Traffic Light, You Enjoy Myself[2]

Encore: Quinn the Eskimo

[1] Debut.
[2] With Trey on Marimba Lumina.

Teases:
· The Birds quote in Birds of a Feather

Notes: The Birds was quoted at the end of Birds of a Feather. Sleep Again was last played 2010-08-07 (224 shows). This show featured the debut of Things People Do. YEM featured Trey on Marimba Lumina.

You can stream it here

http://phishtracks.com/shows/2016-06-28

     Lots of first set highlights. I really like the new bluegrass tune, Things People Do. Sleep Again was a nice bust out and love the old school one two punch of Oh Kee Pa and Suzy G. Highlight of the second set was definitely Breath and Burning. Some serious Type II jamming going into Timber. Fuego and Jim had some nice pieces as well. On the ride home, the driver mentioned she liked jazz. I talked up keyboardist extraordinaire Jimmy Smith. The next song on her jazz station was a tune featuring Mr Smith. That's why I'm Management.

     Parts of Philly got soaked but we lucked out at the venue and awoke to a Wednesday morning bright and beautiful. Got to the Lot, met up with some friends and away we go

Wednesday, 06/29/2016 The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Soundcheck: Friends, Tide Turns, Things People Do, Unknown song (unconfirmed and possibly incomplete)

Set 1: Wolfman's Brother Your Pet Cat Blaze On Waking Up Dead[1] Llama[2]Devotion To a Dream Reba Mike's Song Horn Farmhouse Weekapaug Groove

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless Friends[1] Down with Disease What's the Use?Meatstick The Line Tide Turns[1] Backwards Down the Number Line Dem Bones

Encore: Dear Prudence Harry Hood

[1] Debut
[2] Performed in a slow funk style.

Teases:
· The Birds quote in Weekapaug Groove
· Whole Lotta Love tease in Llama

Notes: This show featured the debut of Waking Up Dead, Friends, and Tide Turns. Llama was performed in a slow funk style and ended with a Whole Lotta Love tease from Trey. The Birds was quoted in Weekapaug.

You can stream it here

http://phishtracks.com/shows/2016-06-29

     We had seats on Mike's side in the terrence. So we had a much better view of the screens and lighting rigs. I liked all the new songs and the slow funk version of Llama was a nice surprise. I didn't even notice the slower version of Reba but the Mike's Horn Groove was a great way to end the set.

Second set heralded the return of Crosseyed opening a second set. Plenty of jamming within this sweet version. DWD was also a monster that flowed really nicely into What's the Use?. I like Tide Turns and thought Dem Bones was a nice accapella call.

     And the encore? Dear Prudence. I know they debuted it at the opener. If they hadn't, my brain would have exploded. It's been 22 years since I saw them do it at my all time number one Phish show (10/31/94). I've seen Phish 105 times since that performance. Perfect way to cap off a perfect vacation for us. And then Hood? Didn't expect that.

     Once again Phish is still proving 30 plus years into their career, they are not a nostalgia act. The new tunes are good and have some serious potential for the future. Next up for me, the August Bluesfest and then a return to Dick's Sporting Goods Park for another Labor Day weekend run.

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll

Winter House Band, Live at Miscreation Brewing Company, Hanover, PA April 30th, 2016

     Good day folks. A real short one today. The Winter House played a show last night at Miscreation Brewing Company last night and crushed it. They only play a few shows a year so you can't sleep on these events.

Set 1

Bertha, Harder They Come, BIODTL, Ramble On, Loose Lucy, Brown Eyed Women, Jack Straw, Greatest Story Ever Told, Row Jimmy>Franklin's Tower

Set 2

Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain, Half Step, Eyes of the World, The Wheel, Deal, Sugaree, Tom Thumb Blues

     The whole show was great. All high energy. I've said it before, but I love their arrangement for Jack Straw. The Eyes had everything an Eyes should have. The '73 '74 era jams after the lyrics and the King Solomon's Marbles ending, which they nailed. And a Dylan tune for an encore? Hell yes. WHB reminds myself of Joe Russo's Almost Dead. They treat the Dead's tunes as a jazz band treats jazz standards. A common language which all can understand. I got that idea from the blog The Barn.

     And a final thought. If the band is tearing it up, you only have to tell me once. Telling me five or more times how good they are playing is unnecessary. Thanks.

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Widespread Panic, April 21st, 1996, Boalsburg, PA

     Greetings everyone. Hope you are doing fine on this last weekend of winter. This installment might be a little early but I just can't wait to get it down on paper. It is without a doubt my all time favorite Widespread Panic show. Tunes, people, setting, this one had it all. So without further ado, It Was 20 Years Ago Today : Widespread Panic, Live at Tussey Mountain, Boalsburg, PA, April 21^st, 1996.

     I had graduated from Penn State the previous spring but was still in touch with my friends up there. These were the same friends that turned me on to Panic in the first place. I had also seen Panic enough and had enough tapes that I knew their repitoire pretty well. My buddy Adam was really tight with the band. According to my hazy memory, I think he even lobbied them to play Penn State while he was there. Boalsburg was right outside State College so that was close enough.

04/21/96 Tussey Mountain Amphitheater, Boalsburg, PA

1: Disco > C. Brown, Heroes > Impossible > Rock, Wondering > Sleeping Man, Goin' Out West, Space Wrangler > Red Beans

2: Rebirtha > Porch Song > The Take Out > Tall Boy > Driving Song > Hope In A Hopeless World > Driving Song > Breathing Slow > Mercy > Nobody's Fault But Mine > Walk On > Chilly Water

E: Vacation > Get Up Early In The Morning

You can stream it here

http://www.panicstream.com/vault/widespread-panic-04211996-boalsburg-pa/

      The “venue” was on the side of the mountain, right at the base. All of Happy Valley was spread out before us. Without a doubt, second best view for a show I have ever attended after the great and mighty Red Rocks itself. The weather was spectacular as well. Sunny, comfortable temps. All welcome because it snowed a few times in April when I attended school there. It was rather sparsely attended but the boys still put on a hell of a show.

     Disco is my favorite Panic tune and to open with it was brilliant. Everything in the first set was high energy. Space Wrangler exploded into Red Beans and we were all chomping at the bit for the second set. Porch Song> The Take Out> Tall Boy> Driving Song might be my all time 4 Panic songs in a row. The only Tall Boy to eclipse that was at Bonnaroo 2002 with Dootie Peoples and the People's Choir. The Nobody's fault was really sweet because the Dead covered it back in the day and that was a nice nod to them. I didn't know either of the encore tunes but it was enough for my short ride back to Hanover after one last hurrah at Penn State.

      I had another Panic show the following week at Gettysburg College but that is for another blog post. I hope your bracket is doing better than mine.

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll

It Was Almost 20 Years Ago Today : Blues Traveler, Live at Stone Ridge Pavilion, Bristow, VA Oct. 9th, 1995

     Hello everyone. Hope you are celebrating the anniversary of the return of Phish back in 2009. But I'm going back a little further today. Back to 1995, to a show I forgot about until I was going through my old ticket stubs. Kempepedia is proud to present It Was Almost 20 Years Ago Today, Blues Traveler Live at Stone Ridge Pavilion, October 9^th, 1995.

This was the second and last time I got tickets for free through a fan club, the first time being here

http://kempepedia.blogspot.com/2015/03/it-was-20-years-ago-today-blues.html

You can stream it here

https://archive.org/details/bt1995-10-09.flac16

     We almost missed the the unannounced opener Mathew Sweet but Adi heard his jam and was really geeked. Bradford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFunk came on next and they were good. But the highlight was of course Blues Traveler. They were riding high on their new found MTV fame but still managed to squeeze in some of the older tunes that I liked better than most of the stuff on their album Four. It was cool to get an Imagine encore for Lennon's birthday.

     Sorry, but not a lot to say. I have a bunch of shows like this where I really don't have too much recollection. But that's OK, I have many more details for the important stuff i.e., Phish and Widespread Panic

Dave Kemp

BA American Studies

PhD Rock and Roll

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Phish, Live at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA Dec. 15th, 1995

      Good day everyone. Hope you are enjoying this El Nino inspired warm spell we are experiencing. But I come to you today not as a meteorologist but as a chronicler of music events, and few were bigger than Phish's Fall of '95 Tour. And now Kempepedia proudly presents the final installment in my documentation of this Tour, It Was 20 Years Ago Today Phish, Live at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA Dec 15^th, 1995.
      This show came 2 weeks after my adventures in Hershey so my expectations were pretty high. First time Phish had played the Spectrum and I figured Trey saw a few shows here growing up across the river from Philly.

Friday, 12/15/1995
CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA

Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture > Harry Hood > Wilson > Maze > Ha Ha Ha > Suspicious Minds > Hold Your Head Up > Cars Trucks Buses, Bouncing Around the Room, Free > Possum^[1]
Set 2: Tweezer Reprise > Runaway Jim > It's Ice > Bathtub Gin -> Rotation Jam -> Mallory^[2] > Also Sprach Zarathustra > David Bowie, Sweet Adeline
Encore: Good Times Bad Times -> Tweezer Reprise
[1] Oom Pa Pa, Simpsons and All Fall Down signals.
[2] Debut.
Teases:
· Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tease in Possum
· Lazy tease in Chalk Dust Torture
Notes: Trey teased Lazy (Deep Purple) in Chalk Dust. Possum included Oom Pa Pa, Simpsons and All Fall Down signals and a Voodoo Child tease from Trey. Trey mentioned that he saw his first concert (Jethro Tull) in this very venue. Mallory debuted at this show.

You can stream it here

http://www.jamstreams.net/phish/1995/1995-12-15

      First set was solid if typical for the era. I really enjoyed my first Ha Ha Ha. Also like the fact there was no let up in the first set. Nearly everything goes right into something else. I also had my final encounter with the Devil and Uncle Leo. These were two guys who knew each other and we were seated really close to each other for 3 of the 4 shows I went to on this Tour. I can't remember their names but Uncle Leo kind of looked like Jerry Seinfeld’s Uncle Leo from the show, plus he took his shirt off at every show and danced topless for most of the show. Yes, he could have used a manziere. His friend I nicknamed the Devil because he had all these piercings in his ears and crazy tribal tattoos on his arms. Remember, this was 1995, before everyone and their uncle had ink. But they were cool and I never saw them again.

      This show was all about the second set. First, they start the second set with a Tweezer Reprise. They had done it before on this Tour but I wasn't aware but still WOW! The Jim>It's Ice> Gin were top notch. All have some tasty nuggets within them. The Rotation Jam and Mallory were weird to say the least. The 2001> Bowie were out of this world, except I had some clown keep asking me during the long build up to the Bowie Intro if this was Bowie. Yes, I have been putting up with people trying to talk to me during the show for over 20 years.
      They made a Mike Tyson joke before GTBT (He was fighting the next night at the Spectrum) and some how squeezed even more juice out of Tweezer Reprise. And then it was over. The journey that had started when Jerry died and getting the notice in the mail about an expansive Fall Tour had been completed. I had seen my musical future without Jerry G and it looked rather bright. Have a safe holiday season and I’ll be back with my reports on Cabinet and the Infamous Stringdusters for NYE and Phish at MSG in NYC night 4.


Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll

It Was 20 Years Ago Today; Phish, Live at Hershey Arena, Hershey, PA December 1st, 1995

     Of the four shows I saw on the '95 Fall Tour, 12/01/95 Hershey is my favorite. And it just so happens I got off work early today, on the 20^th anniversary of said show. So look out, straight from my brain to the page It Was 20 Years Ago Today, Phish Live at Hershey Arena, Hershey, PA December 1^st, 1995.
      This was one of the shows that jumped out at me when Phish announced their Fall Tour. I had lots of friends come down State College. I had just moved back to Hanover from Penn State in May so I was still in touch with my crew. Plus, practically everyone I knew and was about to meet was there from York Adams counties. Many of the Hanover High people I know now I met at that show.
      I rode up to the show in someone's Volkswagen bus. It wasn't a classic looking van but it got me there. Got inside and low and behold my seat was dead center, almost directly in front of Trey, 5 rows back. Up until then, it was far and away the best seat I ever had for a show.

Friday, 12/01/1995
Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, PA

Soundcheck: Buried Alive > Down with Disease, Dog Log, Funky Bitch (half-speed)
Set 1: Buried Alive > Down with Disease > Theme From the Bottom, Poor Heart, Wolfman's Brother^[1] > Chalk Dust Torture, Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird^[2], Stash, Cavern
Set 2: Halley's Comet > Mike's Song -> Weekapaug Groove, The Mango Song > Wilson > Suspicious Minds > Hold Your Head Up, David Bowie -> Catapult^[3] -> David Bowie^[4]
Encore: Suzy Greenberg
[1] Trey flubbed lyrics and remarked that, since he likes them so much, he would sing them again.
[2] Narration referenced chocolate and the rhombus.
[3] Started over David Bowie hi-hat intro.
[4] Homer Simpson quotes ("mmmm... chocolate") and Simpsons signal.
Notes: Trey flubbed the lyrics to Wolfman’s Brother and remarked that, since he likes them so much, he would sing them again. The narration during Mockingbird referenced chocolate and the rhombus. Weekapaug was played in a different key. Catapult started over the Bowie hi-hat intro, which also featured quotes of Homer Simpson (“mmmm... chocolate”) and a Simpsons signal.  This was the first time ever that Mike’s and Weekapaug were played without anything in between them. This show is available as an archival release on LivePhish.com.

You can stream it here

http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1995-12-01

      Buried Alive opener gets things flying. All high energy rockers. Trey does a narration that is so long and so detailed. He talked about giving us a big hint, the biggest clue we would ever get... CLUE TO WHAT???? It's on the recording, clear as a bell. Still don't have any idea what he is talking about.
     On Feb 10th, we were going to see the David Grisham Quintet in Miller Chapel at Lebanon Valley College. Nad and myself went to King of Prussia and found a Wilson road. But who knows if it was the right one. Looked around but found nothing but open fields and it was really cold that day. 
      As they came out for the second set, someone told me they saw Mike give someone in the audience one of those giant chocolate chip cookies they used to sell. They were instant diabetes size.
     Halley's>Mike's> Weekapaugh. Are you fucking kidding me? There is so much energy in the jams that there isn't room for ANYTHING between Mike's and Weekapaugh. This is burned in my head, up there with the Hood from 11/22/97 and Split and the Mike's from Clifford Ball. This Mike's is criminally overshadowed by the Niagara Falls and NYE MSG versions but it is the third longest of all time.
Mango and Wilson allow us to catch our breath before the spectacularly caped John Fishman singing Elvis's Suspicious Minds. He did the karate moves and everything. The cape lit up, it was truly amazing.

Best photo I could find. 

Video

     Bowie sandwich with a Catapult protein? Hell yes. And then during Suzy rave up to end the song, Trey points his guitar at someone diagonally from me, in the row in front of me and yells “You!” It definitely was NOT at myself.
      And then it was over. Three shows down with one to go. In Philly. At the Spectrum. Where I saw the Grateful Dead and Trey saw Jethro Tull. He was playing in one of the most famous arenas (music wise) in the world. It was were I saw some incredible dead shows and historic Dead Lots. Look the fuck out!


Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll