Monday 09/14/2015 by tmwsiy

PHISH HIT THE ROAD & PLAYED A TOUR THIS SUMMER - YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!

Unexpected things are part and parcel of the Phish experience and have always added to the mystique, aura, and wonderment of this band. Tours are usually sprinkled with a few surprise moments but this summer seemed to be chock-full of surprises.

What surprised you the most?

Read on to learn about the ten most surprising things that the band did this summer.

10. Sold Out Magnaball. And Dick’s. If you told most fans after the New Year’s run that they better not sleep on Magna and Dick’s tickets this year, they probably would’ve looked at you like you were mad. While the “Fare Thee Well effect” likely made a small difference, it was really a “Phish” effect. With incredibly strong playing and a stellar Summer Tour, it is no wonder that many who were on the fence decided to pony-up and get their asses to these shows. Admittedly, despite the admonition not to arrive without tickets in Watkins Glen, tickets were ultimately sold at the gates. (Presumably only to fans arriving in a car with other ticketed fans but with a little bullshitting, anyone got in.) Nevertheless, it was surprisingly strong demand for both.

9. Debuted Heavy Rotation Page’s “Heavy Rotation” was released on his self-titled album all the way back in 2007. And indeed, Sirius’ “JamOn” channel really did put it into a heavy rotation after the album was released. Yet, several months later the song disappeared from Sirius, and after it being played at every single show of Page’s tour in 2007, it was but a distant memory. That is until the first set of the second Bend show. It fit in nicely with a band member “side-show centric” set. (2-26-2003 in Worcester had a very similar setlist construction). The Bend show also included Trey’s “Scabbard” (also a Phish debut) and “Winterqueen” and Mike’s “How Many People are You” (yet another Phish debut). While it is always possible for Phish to cover a song performed by a band member, given the eight years since “Heavy Rotation” was performed, that was most surprising.

8. The Landlady Landlady has been around since the beginning of time - specifically 1989 when the “Latin-esque” instrumental ditty was sandwiched between “Punch You In The Eye”. After “Punch” was shelved, the standalone “Landlady” portion reappeared on 9-13-1990 and was played seemingly every night for a couple years. It was so common, that I’ve personally seen it 73 times. Yet, the “Landlady” was evicted in 1994. While of course, the “Punch You In The Eye” returned after a 414 show gap on 2-5-1993 at the Roseland and continued with relatively common frequency. So while many fans had a standalone “Landlady” on a personal bucket-list despite all the “Punch” performances, it wasn’t until the last night of Dick’s that they were able to check it off the list. A 768 show gap. Nearly twice as long as the Punch gap.

[Landlady. 9-6-2015 at Dick's. Video by @kembra allen]

7. First Sets that mattered. Look, this isn’t overly harsh or critical, but let us be honest with ourselves. Most first sets since the triumphant return in 2009 have lacked significant replay value. Don’t get me wrong: They don’t all suck and many (most?) are a total howl to be at in person. But candidates for entry in the revered “Jam Charts” and sets that really kicked ass? There are scant few in the last seven years. 2015 included many “first sets that mattered”. Among many 1st set gems included “Reba” from Shoreline, “Bathtub Gin” from Watkins Glen and “David Bowie” from the Mann. It was great that so many shows got the memo, particularly Magnaball Night 1 and Alpine Night 2. (Sadly, the memo didn’t circulate to Dick’s 3.)

6. No F’s. No Fluffhead. No Fee. No Foam. This is a particular tragedy to me as these three songs number among my “Top 10” favorite Phish tunes. The expectation of a monumental “Fluff” on the final night of Dick’s was palpable. The odds were so favorable, Vegas likely wouldn’t even take the bet. When “Fluffhead” opened 3.0, it was the longest show gap that it had ever had as it had not been performed since 2000. Yet, throughout 3.0, it has been a stalwart appearing in every year and every ten shows or so. No “Fluffs” this summer at all. Likewise, “Fee”, while not as common as “Fluff”, was a notable omission from 2015 Summer setlists. “Foam” also fell into a deep well, never to surface.

[This didn't happen here or anywhere else.]

5. No F's? No D's either. D for Dead. Many fans were convinced Trey was going to put to use his many hours in the woodshed preparing for “Fare The Well” and bust out a Grateful Dead song or two over the summer. There’s no doubt he approached some songs differently and perhaps teased a song or two. Fans variously heard “Dark Star” all over the place, “Terrapin Station”, “I Know You Rider”, and “Scarlet Begonias” teases and perhaps others. But after the final notes of “United We Stand” were played: Final Grateful Dead song count tally: 0, null set, zero, zilch, zip.

4. Debuts That Crush Hell yeah, in the history of Phish, tons of songs come out of the gate and just kick ass and take names from Day 1. But that’s kind of ancient history. Many 3.0 debuts have ripened on the vine and matured like a fine wine over time. In the Summer of 2015, no fewer than three songs came out of the gate running: “Blaze On”, “No Men In No Man’s Land” and “Mercury”. If you need evidence of how finely tuned these songs are, check out the very second “Blaze On” from Shoreline or the Magnaball version from Watkins Glen. Likewise, “No Men” had many strong performances: pretty much take your pick of any of nine. But personally, I really enjoyed The Mann and Magnaball performances. Finally, you only have a pick of three Mercuries. But good Lord: what a trifecta!

["Mercury" at Alpine on 8/8/2015. Video by @madpicken]

3. Five or Six Song Set Five song sets are common. You know, if we are talking 1997. But 2015? Yeah. It happened. 8-12-2015 was a throwback to an era where five (or even four!) songs could command an entire set in spectacular fashion. “Bathtub Gin”, “No Men In No Man's Land” > “Twist”, “Scents and Subtle Sounds” and “Harry Hood” was the set. Read that again. That was the entire set. “No Men”, “Twist” and “Scent” all were epic enough to earn spots on the Jam Charts. Previously in the tour on 7-24-2015, another spectacular set only included six songs: “Blaze On” > “Twist” > “Light” > “Joy”, “Harry Hood” > “Cavern”. All but “Joy” and “Cavern” have spots etched on the Jam Charts.

2. Return of "Second Jam" in Mike’s. Much ink has been spilled all over, both on the web, and here on Phish.net about the triumphant return of the “Second Jam in Mike’s”. For fans lucky enough to be at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, they witnessed this highly anticipated jam for the first time since 7-14-2000. Had it just been the “Mike’s”, fans would have left happy but it additionally contained a great “Piper” and culminating in the ferocious “Crosseyed-Groove”.

"Mike's Song", 8-4-15, Nashville, TN. Video by @LazyLightning55a

1. Dick’s Encore - THANK YOU Who possibly could have predicted one of the most, if not THE MOST STUNNING encore in the history of the band? After a great three nights to close the Dick’s run and the special 2015 Summer Tour, the bombastic notes of “Tweezer Reprise” engulfed the stadium and signaled the end of the run. Umm….wait, not so much. Spelling out ‘THANK YOU’ and continuing the tradition of “setlist antics”, the encore continued with “Harpua” > “After Midnight” > “NO2” > “Keyboard Army” > “Your Pet Cat” > “Once in a Lifetime” > “United We Stand”. In all that craziness we only had:

1) Perhaps the most entertaining “Harpua” ever performed

2) The first ”Keyboard Army” since 1995

3) The first “Once In a Lifetime" since its debut it 1996

4) An entertaining “NO2”

and

5) The debut of “United We Stand”.

So yeah, that. I knew it was coming all along.

"THANK YOU" encore at Dick's.


Honorable Mention:

> Halloween Songs That Really Stuck Around Fuses, Cats, Dogs, Birds, and particulary Monsters were scattered liberally throughout the summer. "Martian Monster" was showcased variously as a show opener, set opener, set closer, Free Interlude and Little Feat mash-up. Mike previously stated in an interview that many of these were written as deep grooves to have open space to build on, and "Martian Monster" is indeed deep, and as successfully versatile as anything in recent memory. Perhaps no surprise as “The Haunted House” set was one of the most well received sets in Phish’s long history.

> No Randall’s After an overwhelming successful three-night stand in the Summer of 2014, I think many people assumed an encore performance was in store. With an almost festival-like vibe, ample space, fantastic acoustics and prime geography in one of the most densely fan-populated areas of the country, hopefully 2016 is on the horizon.

> Loose and liberal segues and sandwiches While this IS what Phish does and really should NOT be a surprise- the success and the way segues flowed especially as tour went on was jaw dropping. It represented a huge step above anything else in 3.0. "Martian Monster" sandwiches and Steam/WTU/Steam are cases in point. Chalkdust Torture -> Twist from Dick's was one of the best pure segues in many years as was the "Chalkdust -> Tweezer" (Or "Cheezer") from Blossom.

> No Northeast Shows Why does the Northeast always get shafted? Enough said. Hopefully this diabolical pattern ceases next year. Interesting reading here about tour patterns.

> Mexico Announced Though there were ample rumors, it was easy to write them off as yet another of the millions of rumors that don’t pan out. Even when URLs and images started circulating, many still thought it was an elaborate prank. But it was true. Phish is playing somewhere other than the United States or Canada for the first time since Osaka, Japan on 6-16-2000.

What did I miss? What were YOUR most surprising things from Summer 2015?

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Comments

, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred Nice job....

I was pleasantly surprised to hear lengthy (and very highly entertaining) Forbin and Harpua narrations.

Was there a lot of banter? I didn't catch a ton. There was certainly the shout-out to Ween.

But I was happy to see Trey firmly chatting it up a bit more.

And I was surprised by the thought seemingly devoted to every encore.
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy @raidcehlalred said:

And I was surprised by the thought seemingly devoted to every encore.
Good point, yes. First sets AND encores also mattered.
, comment by hellfaucet
hellfaucet I was able to experience a number of these points this summer. Overall Summer Tour 2015 kept me on the edge of my seat the whole run!
, comment by jasonsobel
jasonsobel "Heavy Rotation... and after it being played at every single show of Page's tour in 1997, it was but a distant memory."

Should be Page's tour in 2007, not 1997.
, comment by dbar218
dbar218 no TTE ;)
, comment by sliceyournipple
sliceyournipple HOW 'BOUT DAT DRIVE IN JAM?
, comment by FreeGhost82
FreeGhost82 Ditto!! It really was a great year for the band & phans!
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy @jasonsobel said:
"Heavy Rotation... and after it being played at every single show of Page's tour in 1997, it was but a distant memory."

Should be Page's tour in 2007, not 1997.
But of course! 2007 on the brain, 1997 on the keyboard for some reason. That has been corrected. Thanks!
, comment by AGayPhish
AGayPhish The shows might have been lackluster, but the fact that thy even came to Texas still causes me to smile. Hopefully they do a fall tour next year with stops in a much more hospitable-weather-wise Lone Star State!
, comment by whrdina
whrdina Bend instead of the Gorge. Odd.
, comment by Icculology
Icculology I would have included the Atlanta KDF and the Magnaball Caspian as notable surprises. I believe these are prime examples of how this band's unique combination of experience and fearlessness have continued to bring their established music to new and amazing places, and I for one am immeasurably thankful to be along for the ride. Thanks for the write up :)
, comment by ProfPhan
ProfPhan Surprised we still haven't gotten a type 2 Halfway to the Moon.
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy @Icculology said:
Magnaball Caspian
Uggh! How in the world did I neglect to remember that when making the list? It would've ranked right up there near the top of the list. I'm not someone who has ever hated Caspian. Frankly, I often enjoy it. It always brings back fond memories of seeing it performed at Red Rocks in '95. That being said, even though I never expect to dislike it, I never, ever would've expected the Magna Caspian. Breathtaking.
, comment by forbin1
forbin1 Great read...thanks for it!
, comment by B_Dub
B_Dub Great read! MPP1 is also definitely a first set that mattered. I'm usually not a huge fan of BBFCFM, but this version really jumped out at me and didn't hurt with the Pet Cat sandwich. Helped complete an awesome set. Good stuff, great tour, great band!!
, comment by melt_the_tek9
melt_the_tek9 @Icculology said:
I would have included the Atlanta KDF and the Magnaball Caspian as notable surprises. I believe these are prime examples of how this band's unique combination of experience and fearlessness have continued to bring their established music to new and amazing places, and I for one am immeasurably thankful to be along for the ride. Thanks for the write up :)
I came to add the depth applied to Martian Monster with the band rotation during the Lakewood Mars voyage, insane fun!!! Audio replays leave me feeling it was more fun in person than on tape, but in person, what an all out surprise that was, not just to hear it played, but Fish on bass for it?!?!! Like the Halloween prank x2.

p.s. I'd add the Falls from Lakewood to the list of uber surprise too, who would've expected that song to be the jam vehicle it became?!!? Probably the longest and most exploratory since 'Roo '09???
, comment by shaunfunk
shaunfunk Very entertaining read.

Don't forget the funky Llama.

Hope they Rework more songs in their catalog to give us surprises like that!
, comment by toddvoss
toddvoss I was surprised they never played a full(or even a what they did with 46 Days> Dogs) version of The Birds - just tiny teases and samples of They Attack. Hopefully it will reappear and we will "be attacked". I think I can guarantee them a ROAR from the crowd when the narration opens.
, comment by OldButNotJaded
OldButNotJaded For me the biggest surprise for 2015 is the music as a whole, this summer has been called by many as the best they have sounded since the 90's, and it's hard to disagree with that feeling.

NOW ANNOUNCE THAT WINTER HAMPTON RUN ALREADY!!!
, comment by umpapa
umpapa Don't forget the slow Llama from Walnut: https://youtu.be/Xx97NWBmZ4g
, comment by Gumbro
Gumbro That KDF really is amazing. I think there a decent number of folks who haven't listened to 10/28/14 with all the exclamations that the Lakewood version is the first jammed-out take in a long time. Make sure you hear that excellent BGCA version from the fall 14 tour, marked by a superb dark groove and trippy ambience that fades out beautifully into Mountains in the Mist.
, comment by bkirk1977
bkirk1977 Type II Kill Devil Falls (ATL) and 46 Days (MPP1) rock!

Type II all over the place!

Band phan love all summer --- Not only the mike's second jam, the Let Henrietta Sing, Let Fish Suck, and a couple of possible DL nods in Dicks with Slave to the Traffic Light for Pete Mason (PhanArt), Fish Singing (my Let Fish Sing shirt). I like to think there are two more, but they are coincidence (Piper in Nashville for my sick daughter/150 show) and while giving nods to show number stickers, the I Saw It Again in Dicks for my 150 show stickers. Those last two... yeah, I'm dreaming, but let me dream :)

But overall, the increased level of band - phan interaction into the sets is awesome!
, comment by DriveMeToFirenze
DriveMeToFirenze Scents and Subtle Sounds intro for only the second time since It in the middle of the best set of the summer (Mann2 II) was a huge shock.
, comment by Believers76
Believers76 Honestly, The Caspian at Magnaball was for me the most amazing part of the summer tour. I was completely overwhelmed and blow away by this performance. Absolutely amazing - is why I love these performers!!
, comment by smoothatonalsnd
smoothatonalsnd Agreed that the slow Llama was a huge surprise - big bustouts (Scents intro) and huge jams on unexpected songs (Magna Caspian) are amazing, but do happen from time to time, like the 11/26/97 Character Zero. But for a song to get a complete stylistic makeover, that really hasn't happened in a long time - maybe not since the funky 4/5/98 Cavern? And before that, the bluesy Poor Hearts from the mid 90s? I guess you could also count the slow "Dog Log" from 12/11/95, too. But still, quite rare.
, comment by Jackaroe
Jackaroe My surprise is the quality of playing. I used to hit many shows in the mid '90s, but it has been scarce for me since. Every time I have gone to see them I've walked away with a feeling that it just isn't the same. I was thinking that maybe I was old, or they were old, not sure. At any rate, I went to Magnaball this summer and heard from more than a couple people that they are spot on these days. I have to say that the feeling was back for me. The combination of song selection, energy, crispness, and excitement were all there. Several thousand people jumping out of their skulls all at once and then being softly replaced before getting it ramped up again. This was the Phish that I knew and now see it again. I was talking to another old codger like myself at the shows and he said they are better than they were. Too many factors to make an assessment like that, but I am shocked at how amazing they were playing this summer.
, comment by blockfisher
blockfisher Not mentioned and I understand as it technically was not a part of the show but I had tuned into the Bunny while I was driving and caught the middle of sound check which was amazing. Although I spent most of the time trying to figure out what I was listening to I was blown away. After they said it was sound check at the end I was so psyched that I caught it. Was a huge highlight and a great way to begin the end of Summer tour. Needless to say I raced back to my couch in anticipation of the weekends events.
, comment by iaguilar1221
iaguilar1221 The return to Alpine Valley! Phish loves Alpine Valley!
, comment by RealMadrid
RealMadrid @smoothatonalsnd said:
Agreed that the slow Llama was a huge surprise - big bustouts (Scents intro) and huge jams on unexpected songs (Magna Caspian) are amazing, but do happen from time to time, like the 11/26/97 Character Zero. But for a song to get a complete stylistic makeover, that really hasn't happened in a long time - maybe not since the funky 4/5/98 Cavern? And before that, the bluesy Poor Hearts from the mid 90s? I guess you could also count the slow "Dog Log" from 12/11/95, too. But still, quite rare.
Chalkdust Torture Reprise
, comment by Big_Phil
Big_Phil Well written Parker. I would just add that the boys and Trey in particular seem to be having fun on stage again. Lots of smiles and lots of antics.
, comment by DrewG
DrewG @raidcehlalred said:
Was there a lot of banter? I didn't catch a ton. There was certainly the shout-out to Ween.
I think it was one of the Bend shows, but Trey referenced Peaces and the "The Teaches of Peaches" which I thought was hysterical.
, comment by aeklund
aeklund I've been putting the 8/12 Twist on repeat. It's so beautifully spectacular.

Also, for something completely different, I don't think Wombat was played all tour. Still waiting for this one to find a groove -- hell, it could even go dark like a Split. With Trey's MuTron on full regalia, I figured Wombat was a shoe-in.
, comment by jasong_iheardtheoceansing
jasong_iheardtheoceansing @Big_Phil said:
Well written Parker. I would just add that the boys and Trey in particular seem to be having fun on stage again. Lots of smiles and lots of antics.
Just about every tour stop (could be all?) got some sort of Trey / Mike on stage theatrical interaction. Coolest I saw was the guitar pretzel at the forum.
, comment by Guyuteman
Guyuteman Thanks for the great read !...my only input would be the choice of Farmhouse as an encore...a lackluster spot IMO....
, comment by Guyuteman
Guyuteman @aeklund said:
I've been putting the 8/12 Twist on repeat. It's so beautifully spectacular.

Also, for something completely different, I don't think Wombat was played all tour. Still waiting for this one to find a groove -- hell, it could even go dark like a Split. With Trey's MuTron on full regalia, I figured Wombat was a shoe-in.
Also, although not exactly my favorite song by any means, no Sing Monica....
, comment by MoPhish
MoPhish Great article! I'm so grateful that I was able to be there for the THANK YOU encore. I saw my first show in 1999 but have only been able to catch a couple shows a year (if that) since then and have therefore missed out on a lot of infamous shows. To be able to say "I was there" for such an incredible (and moving) experience, I feel truly blessed. Love this band.
, comment by MoPhish
MoPhish Also, honorable mention needs to go to the No Man's from The Forum. Killer jam!
, comment by JesusFreak
JesusFreak @whrdina said:
Bend instead of the Gorge. Odd.
As incredibly beautiful as the Gorge is, I live in the northwest, and I gotta say I really enjoyed the change of pace in Bend this summer. The Schwab amp in Bend is a neat little place, and really enjoyed that venue and the surrounding area.
, comment by BornXEyed
BornXEyed In terms of surprises--and this may sandwich in the new songs OR GD line item--I would add the use of new effects pedals, particularly Trey's mutron pedal (aka, the "Dancin in the Sts" a la '77 effect). That was a big take from the FTW practice that made it into Phish's sound this summer. Add to that the guitar swapping Trey employed throughout tour and you have an honorable mention for "Effects and Equipment Employed."

One more off the cuff observation/surprise: no Antelope Greg??? Was he spotted at any shows this tour?
, comment by VWPhan
VWPhan What was stunning to me was the party scene at Magnaball, having attended both festival 8 and SuperBall. It was like Bonnaroo. Lots of k-holes, oil rigs on the field. Having to shush people during TMWSIY (like really?! You want to talk during this?!!) The trash, beer cups on the ground was astounding - I'd never seen that from a "Phish" crowd before.

Fast forward to Dicks - barely any trash on the ground. Much older crowd, and folks you were stunned knew every word to every song played, and WEREN'T TALKING DURING THE SETS.

No Wombat!?!
, comment by Sir_Loin
Sir_Loin Lounge Llama!!
, comment by conormac
conormac I don't think the Chalkdust > Twist was a great segue. I was 10 rows back, and the whole band was surprised when Trey started singing. Page, Mike, and Fish were all building around the Twist theme, primed and ready to drop it as a unit, but Trey jumped the gun and just started singing. He turned back to Fish to see what happened. Luckily it was all smiles and the band Blazed On to even deeper territory.

Great article. Just had to point out my onion on that so-called segue. Thanks!
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS Good post. To me the biggest surprise is how they manage to continue to surprise. Wonderful tour....so much better than last year.
, comment by nickulus
nickulus Great post. The sandwichfest at MPP1 was a great surprise for me... not the least because the meats were YPC, WTU and NO2.
, comment by fhqwhgads
fhqwhgads Hard to say which of the offered choices is the most surprising, but I think I have to go with "First Sets That Mattered." In my heart of hearts, the first set always matters, but I haven't gotten as excited about first sets in quite a while before this summer. Thanks for the write-up.
, comment by lizards95
lizards95 great summer of music my highlights night 1 LAKEHOOD -Caspian opener 46 days -MM NIGHT 2 happy birthday in heavy things- tweezers-Carini - the mann MM -> skin it back -> MM AXILLA-vultures night2 set 2 -5 song set - to many great moments to count.
, comment by PiperRodgers
PiperRodgers Northeast shows? Watkins Glen, New York is in the northeast, right? Doesn't that count?
, comment by TreyKaboom
TreyKaboom I can't believe I missed this tour. I regret not going to Blossom.
, comment by gnosticaspirant
gnosticaspirant "Why does the Northeast always get shafted? Enough said."

LOL
, comment by grupp92
grupp92 @VWPhan said:
What was stunning to me was the party scene at Magnaball, having attended both festival 8 and SuperBall. It was like Bonnaroo. Lots of k-holes, oil rigs on the field. Having to shush people during TMWSIY (like really?! You want to talk during this?!!) The trash, beer cups on the ground was astounding - I'd never seen that from a "Phish" crowd before.

Fast forward to Dicks - barely any trash on the ground. Much older crowd, and folks you were stunned knew every word to every song played, and WEREN'T TALKING DURING THE SETS.

No Wombat!?!
Interesting observations. We all love Dicks!
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