Phish gets the Dead nod just right in Nashville

Showing once again why they still set the trends in the improv music world world, Phish beat the pack by doing the Dead thing last, and when it mattered most.

After Trey playing such a huge part in Fare Thee Well, and the resulting and rightfully earned celebration of 50 years of Grateful Dead music last year, the Dead cover thing boomed in huge way.
And why not? There can be no doubt that the whole jam/improvisational music scene owes a "nod" and a half to those pioneers of the extended musical adolescence we thoroughly enjoy today. More than a few Phish fans assumed this would translate into the band attempting, what SO many would similarly be doing in the next 12 plus months, mixing in some Dead tunes, and/or sit ins, to their repertoire. Or just maybe, an entire Dead set at last years magna ball, or potentially at this years Halloween. Instead, Phish did what they've always done when everyone else zigged; They zagged. While countless other bands delved into a catalog most fans know and love, Phish instead decided to take their own tunes out for a much needed spin. The result? Maybe their best tour in a decade.

Flash forward to a year later, and Phish is coming off a new album, a summer tour met with some very high (Hartford Gorge, Chula, Dicks, etc), and some noticeably low (you know which ones, don't lie), points. Three shows into a fall tour sprinkled with the same varied peaks and valleys; they deliver a strong, if typical, first set, peppered with favorites and a few of the increasingly better live Big Boat tunes. The buzz about Bobby sitting in on the soundcheck was well known online a few hours before the show, and the general consensus was that he'd sit in for a song, maybe two, keeping with the usual formula of members of the Dead sitting in with Phish in the past. Instead, Ace sat in for majority of the second set and encore, highlighted by him taking the vocals on a new, and very poignant (if not sometimes maudlin), Trey tune. The result was nothing short of remarkable, and shocking in a way that should feel ironically familiar to those of us who have always had our (sometimes petulant) expectations exposed and turned on their head by these four. If this is the last time Phish and Grateful Dead tunes intertwine, and it should be, at least for the next decade or so, then they pulled it off beautifully, and, as usual, on their own terms...

I was at Shoreline 10/6/2000... El Paso was good, Bobby was struggling to keep up during Chalkdust, and West LA Fadeway was decent... I was also there the following night, the last Phish show prior to the hiatus, this was truly an emotional weekend.

I was at Shoreline 7/31/1997, enjoying the nod to Jerry and Trey teasing Happy Birthday...

I was NOT in Nashville last night, but sure wish I was. I've always been on the "never cross the streams" side of the fence when it comes to Phish playing Dead songs (seen both bands dozens of times, there is no comparison, they are two completely different bands). However, this is a monumental second set for many reasons.

Fare Thee Well.... it's been in the back of everyone's minds for quite a while. "What will they do? Will they do anything? Will Phish play Dead songs? The question has finally been answered, and all speculation can finally be put to rest.

Samson and Delilah - Not a "Grateful Dead song" - a traditional piece, arrangement by the Dead, well executed by Phish fest. Ace. Also, who needs two drummers when you have a Jon Fishman?!? He was rolling fuego! Good one to start with - a happy medium.

Twist - Some of the online comments say that Bobby butchered the song, but I'm not hearing it. I hear a great rendition, not many flubs (what song doesn't have a few here and there? I'm a musician, I understand live performances are always better live) but the soundboard version sounds fantastic, and there's SOME JAMMING!

Miss You - I'm in f*cking tears. I have missed Jerry Garcia every single day for 7742 and a half days, it never gets any easier to hear Jerry singing, and hearing Bobby sing this song just chills me to the core of my soul. The lyric flubs are certainly forgivable. All I can really says is THANK YOU, thank you.... thank you. This is my favorite song on Big Boat and I actually wanted to write Trey a letter about how I connect with the song on many personal levels.

West LA Fadeaway - Way better than that version I saw in 2000. 16 years ago I was angry and frustrated about the hiatus, I thought Bobby showing up was a bit gimmicky. Fast forward to today, and I'm just a thankful and happy hippy. (Los Lobos does a phenomenal version of this song, too, by the way).

Playing in the Band.... That's the exclamation mark. We never have to talk about Phish playing Grateful Dead songs again, do we? The age-old conversation - can it finally be put to rest? I hope so.

"If a man among you
Got no sin upon his hand
Let him cast a stone at me
For playing in the band"

Thank you Phish. I love you even more today than I did yesterday, and every day since that hippy chick forced me to listen to that Junta tape back in 1990 when I was all about the Dead.

And the encore? Great bookend to close it out with the once common song that both bands executed many times in their careers.

"Come all without, come all within - You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn"

Or Phish, in Nashville, with Bob Weir.

This was certainly one of "those" shows. The day you catch lightning in a bottle.

Set one was very solid. Some nice unusually placed tunes (Sand), a nice surprise when 2001 closed out after Cavern which I was pretty certain was the Set 1 closer. All in all nothing mind blowing but very good. Nothing overly notable jam wise (Sand is the only one that even started to reach that point, all other jam vehicles were stopped in their tracks for segues into other tunes), but the band sounded good and it was a fun set.

Set two, which I'll venture to guess most reviews will focus on mostly. Julius was a pleasant surprise to see as an opener. I'm accustomed to seeing this one close things out vs open them up. Fuego was nice, and I was happy to see My Friend My Friend get some 2nd set love. I should note that before we get to the meat and potatoes of the 2nd set the Mike was on fire all night. I dunno if it was where I was sitting but his baselines were spot on and funkin things up a bit.

Then, as we all knew he would (being one of the worst kept secrets of the day), Bobby took the stage. I had noticed when he released his own tour schedule that this could have happened. But what were the odds, really? For every time "someone is in town" and never shows up, why would this be different? Luckily for us this time WAS different and here Mr. Bob Weir was in front of us. In true Phish fashion, while many were likely expecting Walkin Blues (which is what they'd soundchecked), the opening notes of Samson and Delilah hit and the crowd (myself included) went nuts. The tempo was must faster than recent Bobby / Dead & Co versions, which in my opinion is a good thing. As we approached the end of the song, I found myself wondering what else he'd stay out for (if anything), and as the opening notes of Twist found him standing front and center with the band, we knew we were getting at least two tunes out of his guest spot. The Twist itself is very good, Bobby and Trey feed off each other well. As Twist started to taper off, I figured this was it.

I'm so happy I was wrong. Not only did Bobby stay out for Miss You (a song I hadn't seen live yet), he sang it. His vocals were perfect for this tune, and it gave somewhat of a new definition to the song. Jerry was most definitely in the building. Every time a song ended, I found myself getting a bit sad that it was over because SURELY he wouldn't remain out, but every time he did. The opening notes of West LA Fadeaway gave way to the first true Dead cover of the night, a rarity especially for Phish who seems to avoid Dead tunes like the plague most of the time. By the time Playing in the Band hit I was so far above cloud 9, this night had exceeded all expectations even after knowing Bobby was going to show up. As perhaps a trade off for letting Bobby sing one of his tunes, Trey took the lead on one of Bobby's.

Quinn in the encore was like the 5th layer of icing on the cake. They could have come out and played a standard Character Zero or something without Bobby, but we were once again treated to his presence. They really seemed to all enjoy playing together. Six songs. Incredible. My words don't even come close to doing it justice.

Go listen.

Set 1: Literally nobody that is reading this review is going to care what I or anyone else thinks about this first set. Sand and Ghost sounded quite nice, and the first Set 1 ending Also Sprach Zarathustra since 2003 was pretty neat. There, done.

Set 2: So.

1. After Fare Thee Well was announced (and during the shows, and after the shows), I was one of the people on the forum most fervently against Phish covering Dead songs. I've had my fill of "nod to Jer" and "nod from the boys" talk. I want Phish to be PHISH. I love their tunes just as much as any Dead songs. I'm fine with them never playing Throwing Stones, or jamming on The Other One, or some such. My position on that - that I do not want Phish to be a Dead cover band - has not changed.

2. This, however, is not that - this is Phish playing Dead and Phish songs *with Bob Weir*, just as special a moment as when Phish played with Phil Lesh (although a tad less musically successful, perhaps) or when they played with Bill Kreutzmann (although this is several orders of magnitude more musically successful, for sure). I may not be as big a Dead fan as some folks on here (though I'm slowly getting there), but I'm certainly not dense enough to realize what a special moment this was, and is, for so many folks out there. Even if it sucked musically, the occasion itself is worth celebrating.

3. Did the music suck? Well, there were a few awkward moments of Weir not quite syncing up from a rhythm standpoint, at one point in Twist Weir zigged when Mike (who owned that jam just as surely as Mark Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks) tried to zag, leading to a bit of a odd stramash, and I kinda wish Playing in the Band had gone a bit longer. Oh, yeah, and West LA Fadeaway isn't quite my favorite Dead song. So those are my negatives.

4. That said, a) Samson and Delilah sounded very nice (Fish made a great argument for wishing we'd had a 1-drummer Dead arrangement); b) Twist did make a move to the churning major key that 2015 honed to a fine point and then dissolved post zigging into grotty psychedelic weirdness, a nice two-guitar attack jam we just don't get as a matter of course; c) Weir's version of Miss You sounded nice (and I don't like Miss You as much as, say, Joy, although the subject matter really is heart-tugging); d) West LA Fadeaway and Quinn in the encore were both also nicely performed, and e) they played Playing, possibly my favorite Dead jam vehicle (8/27/72's is my favorite Dead jam), and they did make a mid-jam move into the Dorian (i.e. minor-key) mode of the mid-70s Playings, which absolutely warmed my heart and helped make for a very cool version. A great deal to like musically, even considering, well, you know.

5. From a purely musical standpoint, I'll hope to hear stronger shows musically this tour, but that's because I love Phish and how they perform both their songs and improvisations so much. From a "moment in time" standpoint, this is a show that absolutely needs to be heard. Oh yeah, and the music ain't too dang bad, either.

Well, I gotta say... I take back most of the critical things I said about the Bobby set last night. I blame shitty streams. I'm listening to the soundboard recordings today and it's soooo mmuuuuccchhhh bbbbeeettttteeeerrrrr than I heard last night. I thought the Twist was a trainwreck and that Miss You was butchered and that Bobby was only worth hearing on the non-Phish songs. It's like a completely different show listening to the SBDs. Twist in particular is completely different than I recall. Bob does a really good job of melding into the jam and complimenting the jam, just like he always did with the Dead. It's not perfect, but whenever he flounders, Phish does an amazing job of meeting up with him and adapting to him to make it work. And the Miss You... I recommend pulling up the lyrics and reading along while he sings it. Where I heard off-key notes and screw ups last night, I'm just hearing a Bobby re-interpretation of the song and it's all about the feels. He does miss a few notes or words, but much of it is him picking a harmony he can sing instead of going for a high note he can't reach. Third verse has a few missteps but it's easy to overlook in the moment. I can now fully geek-out about this show. So for any of you who were poo-pooing last night's performance like I was, get the livephish SBD recordings and give it a second chance. ---also, regardless of Bobby being there or not... PHISH PLAYS A BUNCH OF GRATEFUL DEAD SONGS AND KILLS!

Well-played first set, with little "depth" in the jamming, but fun nonetheless, with a curveball 2001 closer after Cavern, which was certainly unexpected. Julius > Fuego > MFMF is all right enough, but this show really takes on a near-legendary status after Mr. Bob Weir shows up. Two Phish debuts of Grateful Dead standbys--although Samson and Delilah was a cover even for the Dead--and Bob really adds a dimension to Twist we've never heard before. I was absolutely glued to the stream, and I think the gluiest part of it was the classic and resonant "nod to Jer" with Trey's Miss You sung by Bob. Classy as all get-out. And Phish doing PITB is just awe-inspiring. I voted this show a 4/5.

The moment many fans on both sides of "the divided sky" have been waiting for....wish I could have been there!

Other than 10/16/2000 (with Weir) and 9/17/1999 (with Phil Lesh), does anyone know if they ever had other members of the Dead as guests? And was 10/16/2000 the last time they played a Grateful Dead cover?

October 18th, 2016 was the first of two nights of Phish in Nashville, Tennessee. These would be the only two shows of the fall tour that I would catch, once again proving that I sure know how to pick ‘em.

I flew in and cabbed to my standard dive hotel, a neo-hippie takeover Comfort Inn reasonably close to downtown. When I arrived I noticed a small group of people protesting in front of the hotel, waving around signs featuring home-drawn pictures of bedbugs and other unsavoury critters. Like I say, the place is a bit of a dive. I checked in and strolled down the street to buy some mix for my duty free. By the time I returned the hotel had obviously taken care of the pest problem; there wasn’t a protester in sight. I grabbed a glass from my room, settled into the busy pool area and started in.

I think I might have walked downtown for the show, I don’t remember for sure – perhaps I hopped on the free tourist bus – but I do recall being on foot as I approached the venue. With every step the faint rumblings of amplification grew until the soundcheck crystallized in my ears. “That’s funny,” I said to m’lady, “it sounds like they are playing Walkin’ Blues, and it sure sounds like Bob Weir singing.

“Do you think that’s the soundcheck we are hearing,” I pondered as we walked, our pace increasing, “or are they playing music through the PA?”

We kept walking, they kept soundchecking, and soon the two of us were convinced; that was definitely Bobby singing with Phish. Well now!

We cruised the lot before the show and bought some food and sundries (I got the coolest Steal Your Boognish t-shirt for a mere $20) and hung out before heading in. Inside the nearly-new amphitheatre we parked ourselves on the lawn and made friends with our grassy neighbours.

The band came out and got the place up and moving with blazing Chalkdust followed by a torturous Blaze. Then Ghost appeared, and man, all of us on the grass were ready for the Lawn Boy that came next. It almost sounded like hell was coming when they went into Halley’s, then they come at us with Sand!

I could keep this going, but how about I give both of us a break. Let’s just say the first set odyssey ended with a funky twilight run though of Also Sprach Zarathustra.

Of course the second set was the money when it comes to this show. After My Friend, My Friend (one of my Phish faves) the band introduced their friend Bob Weir. Actually, scratch that – as I recall nobody said a word of introduction. Come to think of it, I don’t believe that Bob’s name was mentioned at any time, even after the show. However, it was literally a case of a man needing no introduction. Bobby came out, they launched into Samson and Delilah and the crowd went completely nutballs.

It was pretty exciting when he stayed onstage for Phish’s Twist and even took the lead vocals on Miss You. And they kept going! West LA Fadeaway and then Playin’ In The Band (which was at one time my absolute favourite Grateful Dead song), with Trey on vocals! (Let Trey Sing)

Again without a word to the audience, Weir joined Phish for the encore too, treating us to a blissful version of Dylan’s Quinn The Eskimo. Bobby had sat in for basically half the concert and it had sounded great – by the time we filed out of the place and walked the two blocks to the Nashville strip the show had already become the stuff of legend on the interwebs.

M’lady and I poked our heads in on a Jeff Coffin gig but it was too notey and non-Nashville for us so we opted for a bit of honky-tonkin, stopping in for a beer and a song or two at a half-dozen bars along the noisy street. We found out the next day that we had left our seats by the door in one place just a few minutes before Trey and Mike had walked in. Too bad we missed them but it’s not like they got up and played or anything. It is interesting to note that Bobby wasn’t with them.

I bet he was out partying with Fishman.

http://www.toddmanout.com

Some disjointed thoughts from me rewatching the morning after...

It's historic because phish wanted it to be. It was a rare moment because phish wanted it to be.

We could all dork out on a definitive history of phish and the dead and how they have seen each other. In fact from the first known recording through terrapin through bittersweet motel clip through ftw and last night you can learn a lot about how bands care so deeply about image and legacy. Don't believe the opposite.

If bobby jumped in once a year than this was just another show where the new album gets the musical attention and type 2 doesn't quite take off at any point.

I feel like this is the dream show of a 3.0 fluffer and a new fan begging to be present at one of "those" shows. Could this be the end of ratings? How do you rate a musically choppy show with unquantifiable historical significance ?

For all the claims of once in a career, does this rank above phils sit in? Bobby's first one? Billy's? Is that how we must compare this show?

Phish future. Best year since 2.0 in 2015 come by all accounts to a screeching halt in 2016. Is this Halloween going to be the talking heads moment? I mean the band takes a peak moment of their career to completely change course eventually ending up like we did in 1997?