Phish

Countdown to Hampton: Phish Lands The Mothership

Hampton Coliseum

In just two ONE week, Phish will break nearly five years of silence with a three night run in one of their favorite venues: Hampton Coliseum. Over the next two weeks, we’ll give you a little look back at what makes Hampton Coliseum so special to Phish, their fans, and more.

 

In 1995, Phish announced their fall tour and included an October date at Hampton Coliseum. I’m not sure if the Phish community at large saw this as more than just another show but I certainly did. I spread the word amongst my friends and ordered my tickets. This was a must-see, in my book. We (my girlfriend and I) stayed at the beach with my friend Rob and had a terrific time.

Here’s the setlist:

1995-11-25 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
1: Poor Heart, A Day in the Life > David Bowie, Billy Breathes > Taste That Surrounds,
Bouncing Around the Room > Rift, Wolfman's Brother, Runaway Jim
2: Timber (Jerry) > Kung, Mike's Song > Rotation Jam > Mike's Song,
My Long Journey Home, I'm Blue I'm Lonesome, Strange Design > Weekapaug Groove,
Harry Hood, Hello My Baby, Poor Heart
E: Poor Heart Reprise, Fire
Show Notes: The first set Poor Heart was the original version.
The second set Poor Heart was the slow, shuffle version.
The Poor Heart Reprise slower, but only a few lines of the song were played.

The thing with “Poor Heart” was pretty crazy. To this day, I have no explanation for that other than the band forgetting that they’d played it. Everything was immaculately played; the feel in the room was incredible; with fans just grooving and having the best time. The “Rotation Jam” was bizarre (and it might not have been “immaculately played” but that’s beside the point) and a real treat to witness. All in all, this was a great start to a long love affair between Phish and the Hampton Coliseum.

Phish '95

That weekend carries with it another hallmark; something that is, personally, more significant than the good Phish show. The next day I learned that I was going to be a father. It was for this that I missed Phish’s next two visits to Hampton.

The first, exactly eleven months after the 1995 show, came in October 1996. This show is good, but not epic. In fact, we’re going to gloss over it almost entirely save for one significant note. Trey made the following announcement from the stage during this show:

Sometimes people ask me what the uh, best rooms that we play are ah, in are. This is pretty much it, for me. Just so you know to answer the question. Good sound. Everyone gets to go where they want on the floor. You can’t beat it.

Not the most eloquent of statements but, it does suggest why they came back again in 1997 and played two of their most renowned shows.

Here’s the setlists:

1997-11-21 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
1: Emotional Rescue > Split Open and Melt, Beauty of My Dreams, Dogs Stole Things,
Punch You in the Eye > Lawn Boy, Chalk Dust Torture, Prince Caspian
2: Ghost > AC/DC Bag, Slave to the Traffic Light, Loving Cup
E: Guyute
1997-11-22 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
1: Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood, Train Song, Billy Breathes,
Frankenstein, Izabella
2: Halley's Comet > Tweezer > Black-Eyed Katy > Piper, Run Like An Antelope
E: Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer Reprise

Where to begin? The Rolling Stones’ “Emotional Rescue”? Really? That song, from the album of the same name is the Stones’ disco “effort” but here, after an amusingly faithful attempt to cover the song (don’t let the falsetto vocals scare you off, folks,) Phish stretches it out with an additional ten minutes of cow-funk jamming before landing in “Split Open and Melt”. The “Ghost > AC/DC Bag” is a sublime journey with some phenomenal improvisation that simply must be heard to be believed. The “Slave To The Traffic Light” that follows is spot-on too.

Phish @ Hampton

The next night doesn’t mess around either. First set opens with a killer 30+minute “Mike’s Groove” followed by a “Harry Hood”. That’s a pretty great way to spend the bulk of an hour. The fact that set two opened with a 25-minute “Halley’s Comet” does not suck at all. And, when the “Halley’s…” segues into “Tweezer” which then segues into “Black Eyed Katie” also does not even remotely suck. This is awesome stuff, folks. Don’t just take my word for it, check out the reviews at Phish.net: 11/21 & 11/22.

Jump ahead yet another year and Phish (and I) returned to the Coliseum; for two more nights. Continue reading →

Old News and Other Current Events

Here at rowjimmy.com, as we’ve pressed into the new year, I’ve continued to maintain my high standards of neglect. So, today, I’m going to fill you in on a slew old music news as well as a couple of current items.

“Why old news?”
C’mon, it’s not as if anyone is reading this to get the latest scoop.

So, what’s new?

 

Phish Summer Tour:

06/04 – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY
06/05 – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY
06/06 – Comcast Center – Mansfield, MA
06/07 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
06/09 – Asheville Civic Center – Asheville, NC
06/16 – Fox Theatre – St. Louis, MO
06/18 – Post Gazette Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA
06/19 – Verizon Wireless Music Center – Noblesville, IN
06/20 – Alpine Valley – East Troy, WI
06/21 – Alpine Valley – East Troy, WI

Pretty cool little run if you live on the East Coast. The Asheville show is pretty small (fewer than 8000) but the St. Louis show is crazy small (approx. 5000.) Good luck to those trying to get into that one.

If those dates don’t suit you, do not despair. Word is that West Coast dates are pending for late Summer. Also, watch for the Bonnaroo line-up to be announced on Feb. 3.
Edit to add: Red Rocks, too!

The lottery for Phish Ticketing is open now. Click here to get in on the action.

 

 

 

‘The Dead’ will be hitting the road this Spring on what’s become a somewhat controversial tour. The so-called “core-four” (Lesh, Weir, Kreutzman, Hart) have hired Warren Haynes to sling the lead guitar and Ratdog’s keyboardist to fill out the stage, replicating the favorably reviewed line-up from the recent Barack Obama fundraiser.

The controversy arises from the ticket prices. While not “Rolling Stones” high, tickets for this tour are nearly double what Phish is charging for their shows. Add to that the outrageous “VIP” bundles that sell “premium” seats along with special entrances, posters and a private cash bar for nearly $500 per person. The pre-sale has already begun and tickets ARE selling but, I’m afraid that you won’t see me at the local shows.

 

Instead, I’m planning to catch Keller Williams whose Winter > Spring solo tour gets underway this week. I taped his annual Xmas SPCA Benefit last month am had a great time. You can stream and download the show here.
Check out Keller’s website for more music, tourdates, tickets and more: http://www.kellerwilliams.net.

 

 

 

Speaking of taping, I’ve had the pleasure of taping several local bands in my neighborhood venue over the past few weeks. Prize Money, from the Charlottesville area, and Seven Minutes, from Richmond, played a hot rock show at The Loft in Fredericksburg, VA. The following week, local reggae band, The Transmitters made the walls sweat as they, accompanied by a three-piece horn section, danced through two great sets of original reggae laced with a couple of old favorites. I’ll see about posting streams from each show up here soon.

 

 

Lastly, I just got word that The Decemberists are offering a free mp3 of a song from their upcoming album, The Hazards Of Love. The song is entitled, “The Rake” and is available at http://www.decemberists.com.  Also, be sure to check out their singer/songwriter, Colin Meloy, this afternoon on World Cafe on XPN (http://xpn.org)

 

Thanks to Here Comes The Flood for the Decemberists tip!

Phish Returns

 

Three weeks ago, on a Tuesday night, word flew all over the internet about the impending announcement of Phish’s return to touring. Wednesday, October 1st, it came to fruition. I’ve got to say, I was barely able to keep my seat at work that day. The excitement of a kid who just learned about Christmas comes to mind. Only bigger. Imagine if, at six years old- when Christmas is the biggest freakin day of the year- someone told you that Christmas was going to happen 20 times in the next year.

Bigger than that.

This is one of those, “if you know; then you know,” sort of things. If you don’t get it, it probably seems a little ridiculous.

But, it’s not.

Phish is coming back.

The implications of the reunion are broad. In 2004, as they played their final shows, it was stated repeatedly that this wasn’t like the previous “hiatus”. This was for real. This time it was for keeps. Problem is, the shows were abysmal. The near-toxic combination of drug addictions and depression hit members of the band; Trey in particular had been having a difficult year onstage (and, it was later confirmed, off.) The missed notes, flubbed cues, etc,  made it all the more depressing that not only were we not going to see these guys again, but we had already lost them. Phish, as we knew it, was already gone.

In retrospect, that may have softened the blow. One could justify the loss as being “for the best.”

But now, despite their previous statements, Phish is returning to the stage. Trey has come through to the other side of a painful and public ordeal with a drug arrest and rehab. They’ve all explored solo projects (Mike Gordon’s recent tour garnered very positive reviews from the fanbase and Trey’s current solo tour is getting rave reviews) and, it would seem, they are intesested in being a band again. The question is, are they out for redemption and a new lease on life? Or are they reaching for dollars and nostalgia? 

As a fan, I’m hoping for the former.

 

When Phish played what was their final song, I, like so many fans, was extremely sad. Not just because they weren’t able to play my favorite song correctly (that did not help!) but because I felt as if a chapter of my life had just been closed forever. Getting into parenthood early, I did not spend as much time on the road with Phish as many of my like-minded friends. For me, Phish became a long weekend, once or twice a year; sometimes close to home, sometimes not. Their music connected these ‘weekends’ to earlier points in my life like beads on a string. The end of Phish’s touring career meant the end of that string. Listening to a show on cd or watching it on dvd can never supplant the actual, visceral, live experience.

Now, as I see it, that chapter cannot be reopened. The past is past. But a future with Phish shows is a pretty good future, indeed.

In March, when the lights go down on the first show back, I’ll be there.