We’re proud to announce that Rupert of The Ghosts of Wayne Fontes has joined Hidden Track as a full-time contributor. Let’s celebrate this glorious occasion by debuting one of his new columns…

Today marks the birthday of a new brainchild here at Hidden Track. This is the inaugural edition of Bust Outs, a recurring segment dedicated to the finest surprises thrown down by our favorite bands. The idea is to highlight some of the special moments that blow your mind in the live setting, be it a setlist rarity, a stellar cover selection or a back-from-retirement resurgence.

Phish - 2/28/2003 - Destiny Unbound

Obviously, the inaugural episode would be utterly remiss, and not nearly cliché enough for us, if it didn’t include the ‘03 Destiny Unbound bust out. The lucky Long Islanders at the Uniondale show were treated to one of the most sought-after bust outs in all of Phish history. Hearing Destiny became huge. It was THE song that had to come out of retirement. It became bigger than any old favorite, bigger than a giant black boner, bigger than even bringing back Halley’s or Boogie On. Destiny was everyone’s dream bust out. Well, they just did it one night in 2003…randomly. It was monumental, if not a little anti-climactic. Nevertheless, they busted it out and played it well, which is always the worry with a big bust out. What’s the point of packing the heat if you don’t know how to use it?

Read on for several more prized bust outs from the road…

Umphrey’s McGee - 5/5/2006 - Home Again

Umphrey’s McGee provided half of one of the cooler bust outs in recent memory when they hit the Electric Factory in Philly on May 5, 2006. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise given that the Umphrey’s boys are like surrogate brothers to the Philly heroes, the Disco Biscuits, but nevertheless it felt like a big surprise when they meandered into a phenomenal take on the Biscuits’ Philly anthem, Home Again. Umphrey’s really nailed the tune, thanks to Jake Cinninger playing with the melodies in the style of Biscuits’ guitar player Jon Gutwillig. Umphrey’s trudged through a really powerful, building digi-groove before lifting the roof off the building and placing it somewhere in nearby Ohio.

Disco Biscuits - 5/5/2006 - In The Kitchen

As we alluded to above, there is a Part Deux of this home and home bust out. While Umphrey’s was busy delivering the goods to the children of the Untz in Philly, the Disco Biscuits simultaneously performed their take on Umphrey’s’ Jammy award winner, In the Kitchen, at their Chicago show on the same night. Make no mistake, the Biscuits wasted little time heading straight for the trance, so diehard Umphrey’s fans may have preferred a more true-to-form cover, but the Biscuits definitely brought a unique take on the song. And let’s be honest, it would probably take months to learn a whole Umphrey’s song note for note. Further, the Biscuits chose to hold up their end of the bargain in a crafty manner as they weaved in their own classic, Basis for a Day, for a couple minutes before returning to the verses to close out their take of the Umphrey’s McGee monster.

KVMW - 3/17/2007 - Pusherman

It’s a little misleading to call this one a bust out, since KVMW (sans Hertz, plus Molo) really only played two shows together, but Kimock tends to maneuver with largely the same arsenal of songs no matter who’s in the lineup. SO, it’s a bust out in my book, biaaatch. KVMW played a masterful rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s soulful drug anthem, complete with coke inhalation sound effects. They really go deep into that dark, funky, porn feeling of this song here. If you happen to have a toilet paper roll stuffed with Downy sheets in your cubicle desk drawer, this is a good time to get it out.

Allman Brothers Band - 6/16/2000 - Mountain Jam

This Allman Brothers mammoth odyssey is best known for the 33+ minute version played at the famous Live at the Fillmore East shows in 1970. The Allmans took the melody from Donovan’s There is a Mountain hallucination…er, I mean song. Several extended versions surfaced in the Allmans early days, presumably because it was a Duane favorite. But it disappeared from the rotation for a large part of the bands career. Nevertheless, fate has a strange way of doing things.

Dickey Betts got himself too drunk, beat his wife and found himself out of a job. Next thing we know, Mountain Jam is back in the rotation. While we will certainly always miss Dickey’s uplifting presence in the band, it’s nice that this little ray of light came out of the whole ordeal. We don’t have a copy of the Mountain Jam bustout from 6/16/2000, but we’re sharing an exceptional version of the tune from last summer in Aspen.

Well, that’s all for today, but if you see or hear anything that you think is special, feel free to leave us a comment below. We’ll do our best to include it in a later Bust Outs installment and give you a well deserved tip of the hat.