Grousing The Aisles: “Third Ball” AKA Phish – Live In Woodstock, NY June 6, 1996

Third Ball (Phish) – 06/06/1996 MP3s [zip file]

Phish took the first part of 1996 off to start recording their follow up to 1994’s Hoist entitled Billy Breathes. Phish pretty much stayed holed up in the studio trying to finish things up. The quartet managed to come to the surface twice in the Spring. Once at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the second being at a small club in Woodstock, NY called The Joyous Lake. In classic Phish humor, the band booked themselves into the club as Third Ball w/ special guest: Juan Hung Low.

This show really seemed to serve more as a vehicle for the band to loose the rust from not playing live in a while than as a premiere for the new material. Matter of fact, the only Billy Breathes songs that were present in the entire set was Character Zero, Theme and Waste. A Split Open and Melt opener set the pace for a loose and fun-filled night of classic Phish songs played in an intimate setting never to be seen again. This is a fantastic soundboard recording of a magical moment in the band’s history.

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