Phish is more than just a band; it is a way of life, a worldview that transcends jamming guitars and drums. Experiencing the live performance stirs up waves of emotion that make you move and dance with a freedom that can only be described by simply saying, “I was at a Phish show, man.” And man, Phish’s Festival 8 proves that the Phish way of life is stronger and more vibrant than ever.
The three-day festival kicked off in high gear with “Party Time,” and sustained the energy with “Chalk Dust Torture.” For the rest of the first set, Phish gleefully played many songs from their new album Joy, and sprinkled in a couple of classics like “Stash” and “NICU.”
As the band prepared for a second set, the crowd had doubled in size, and the anticipation felt explosive. Capitalizing on the increasing energy, Trey and company pounded through slamming renditions of “Punch You in the Eye” and “Down with Disease.”
Adding to the festive vibe, some in the crowd were exhibiting early Halloween costumes. We saw moms dressed up as Jedi knights and babies dressed as Yoda. We saw others take advantage of the night by creating inventive lighting: dancers with lit hula hoops, walking pieces of art with glow stick lit frames. The band’s version of a Halloween costume has been to play an album of another band. With Festival 8, their album choice remains a mystery [Ed. - They played Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street. Tune in tomorrow for the review!]. For weeks, Phish’s website has teased us with a list of potential albums, eliminating some by axing and stabbing the album art. One of the most exciting moments of the night came when Trey said “Here’s a little hint for our Halloween set,” right before breaking into the song “David Bowie.” Phish is known for their red herrings, so we’ll have to see if it really is a Bowie set on day two!
As Phish broke into “Harry Hood,” a massive floating bouquet of balloons made its way above the crowds and around the fields. The balloons cycled through different colors, sometimes spinning and twirling, adding to the spectacular light show from above the crowd. For even more spectacular lighting effects, the palm trees behind the stage and lining the fields were all lit with colors that changed with the mood, on beat with the music.
Phish is not just back in full force; they are better than ever. One long-time Phish fan, Emily, told us that this was the best they had played since the late 90s. We heard the same opinion echoed throughout the crowds.
Set List:
Set 1: Party Time, Chalk Dust Torture, The Moma Dance, NICU, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Stash, I Didn’t Know, Poor Heart, Cavern, Beauty Of A Broken Heart, Ocelot, Time Turns Elastic
Set 2: Punch You In The Eye, Down With Disease -> Prince Caspian > Wolfman’s Brother -> Piper -> Joy, David Bowie, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus
Encore: Character Zero
DOWNLOAD: Phish - Soundcheck (Hartford, CT - 8/14/09) (MP3) or Follow us for more Phish MP3s (Twitter)
Hey Merseilles did a live web show at sonicbirds office gig on Friday that was pretty spectacular. Can anyone find a copy of that?
by Smallweed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 11.40 am from the entry: SXSW Send Off Show - Visqueen + Hey Marseilles - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Mar. 5, 2010)
I was thinking of looking up some of them newspaper websites, but am glad I came here instead. Although glad is not quite the right word…
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Kelli Shaefer’s songs get stuck in my head non-stop. Every other day I find myself waking up with one in there. And that’s a good thing, she’s a talent!
by Siri on Thu Mar 11, 2010 at 04.37 pm from the entry: Artist Profile - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
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by fake tattoo on Wed Mar 10, 2010 at 10.03 pm from the entry: The Reverend Horton Heat + Nekromantix – Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR; Jul. 9, 2009)
ha, yes! the photogs in the front row were drooling throughout the entire set…
by chris on Wed Mar 10, 2010 at 01.05 pm from the entry: Washed Out + Small Black - Mercury Lounge (New York, NY; Mar. 7, 2010)
nice pics Chris. Don’t you love it when the artist brings some cool light. It’s a bunch of low hanging fruit after that.
by colin on Wed Mar 10, 2010 at 12.53 pm from the entry: Washed Out + Small Black - Mercury Lounge (New York, NY; Mar. 7, 2010)
Phish really got the vibe going for Halloween with their mind blowing acoustic set...it was amazing how crowds continued to multiply as the weekend progressed....I came across this amazing review that really summed up the performances well…