On Day 3 of Phish Festival 8, Phish played their first full-length acoustic set at, in their words, “the crack of noon.” The early risers and hardcore fans who showed up when the fields opened enjoyed free coffee and doughnuts shaped like 8s. When Trey Anastasio walked out on stage, he asked the fans if they had gotten the doughnuts, which earned enthusiastic cheers in response. As the band set up—notably in reverse of their normal positions—there were numerous shouts from the crowd, thanking them for the night before and for giving them a whole weekend of music.
After the first couple of melodious acoustic songs, Trey invited everyone to sit, considering the heat and the mellow songs. The crowd eventually complied when Trey urged them to try it out, saying he had “never played to a sitting Phish crowd before.” A huge seated audience across the field was quite the sight. Although the crowd dutifully sat through the next couple of songs, when Phish broke into a slightly more upbeat number, they couldn’t resist that dancing urge and jumped back to their feet. In the middle of “Wilson,” Trey announced that he had to tell a story before continuing. He said that before the show, two crew members had asked him to ask the crowd to sit, and so at their urging he had. Upon reflection, he didn’t know why he did it, because he hates telling people what to do, and on top of that he’s ADHD and hates sitting! After standing himself, they broke into the final portion of the song amongst the crowd’s cheers.
After an afternoon break where fans could stroll around their last day to make sure they got to ride on the “big wheel"—a giant ferris wheel overlooking the venue—climb the snake coil, or purchase one of 50 micro brews available, Phish came back on just after dark for a solid second set.
The third set of the day, and final set of the festival, Phish rocked out the entire set from from start to finish. “Tweezer” began the momentum, followed by “Maze,” with the crowd again celebrating in a wild glowstick-throwing frenzy. The end of “Mike’s Song” was mind blowing, transitioning into a soaring “2001,” and the set wrapped up with a resounding “Slave to the Traffic Light.”
Phish came out for their encore breaking into the always-entertaining a cappella song “Grind.” Fans then got a real treat as they played one of their classic vintage songs, “Esther,” before wrapping up the night with the rowdy “Tweezer” Reprise.
Festival 8 sustained a peaceful yet energetic vibe throughout the weekend: fans from all over coming together to celebrate the music, the scene, and the camaraderie found only at Phish shows. Fans left highly satisfied and already looking forward to when they could attend their next show, with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that Phish is back.
Set lists:
Set 1 (Acoustic):
Water In The Sky, Back On The Train, Brian and Robert, Invisible, Strange Design, Mountains In The Mist, The Curtain With, Army of One, Sleep Again, My Sweet One, Let Me Lie, Bouncing Around The Room, Train Song, Wilson, McGrupp
Encore: Driver, Talk, Secret Smile
Set 2: AC/DC Bag, Rift, Gotta Jibboo, Heavy Things, Reba, The Wedge, Guelah Papyrus, Undermind, Sparkle, Split Open and Melt
Set 3: Tweezer -> Maze, Free, Sugar Shack, Limb By Limb, Theme From The Bottom, Mike’s Song > 2001 > Light > Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore: Grind, Esther, Tweezer Reprise
DOWNLOAD: Phish - Slave to the Traffic Light (Live at Lakewood Amphitheatre - 7/4/99) (MP3) or Follow us for more Phish MP3s (Twitter)
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
Your photos from Festival 8 are gorgeous!
Thanks so much!! It was such a blast!