Tonight, Phish front man Trey Anastasio continues his first-ever symphonic tour at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, where he’ll be backed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. PSO staff has been trying to prepare Phish fans by providing an email filled with information about what they can expect at the venue in hopes the crowd won’t be as raucous as those who hooted and hollered at last Thursday’s tour opener. The DJs for Pittsburgh radio station WDVE’s morning show had fun with the email and interpreted it for “hippies.” Take a listen to this surprisingly hilarious segment…

For the September 4, 2011 Phish show at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver, drummer Jon Fishman eschewed his typical “donut hole” dress for a red dress with blue “X”s. This rare piece of Phish history is up for sale to the highest bidder as part of the latest batch of Mimi Fishman Foundation auctions. Other items up for bid are show-used drumheads and drum sticks from 2010 and 2011. Proceeds from all of these items benefit the Mimi Fishman Foundation –  a non-profit organization which aims to raise both awareness, and funds, and make contributions, in the honor of Jon’s mother Mimi, to organizations that will directly and significantly benefit others.

In other Phish news, the band has announced that they will release their debut album Junta on vinyl, which will be available exclusively at participating independently owned record stores across the country on April 21, aka Record Store Day. Junta will be released as a 3-LP set limited to 5,000 copies. 2,500 of these copies will feature a a brand new Limited Edition hand-carved, hand-printed linolium block poster by Jim Pollock, created exclusively for this release. Head over to the band’s Facebook page for a full track listing and more information about the first-ever vinyl release of Junta.

With the three year anniversary of Phish’s “return” looming, and finding ourselves in between the madness of New Year’s and the announcement of Summer Tour, I felt it was a good time to take a look at the transformation of Phish’s scene in this day and age, and more specifically, what’s missing from outside the shows, more specifically the aspects of the scene and parking lots.

[Photo by Joel Berk]

While the days of packing up the car and doing a full tour are seemingly long gone with the two-leg breakdown, often requiring fans to fly, there is seemingly a LOT (pun intended) missing from the scene we once knew. Sure, there are many things still prevalent: from the tailgate mentality to the nitrous vendors looming in the shadows, the overall feel and vibe of a community on the road, traversing the highways of this great land just seem to be a thing of the past. Call me nostalgic, or a bit older, but most things that were tour staples are now simply a rarity, or gone all together.

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For those wondering what went into the “gag” that Phish pulled off as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, there’s a great article you need to read from Live Design. Author Marian Sandberg spoke with both the man behind the stunt, Tony Award-winning scenic designer David Gallo, in Part One of his two-piece feature, and Phish LD Chris Kuroda in the forthcoming second installment in a revealing look at how it all went down.

Phish – Steam > Auld Lang Syne > Down With Disease

The band threw down for custom jetpacks with RGB LEDs, foggers and wireless controls to make the stunt look realistic according to the article and surprisingly the gag was pulled off without the use radio or headsets. Gallo has worked with the band in 2009 for the “Sarah” gag and again in 2010 for the “Meatstick Musical” stunt. Be sure to read the entire article for a revealing look at what many fans consider the best part of Phish’s recent New Year’s Run.

In a story we’ve been following for a while, the Atlantic City City Council has voted unanimously to approve four multi-day festivals to be held this summer at the shore town’s vacated airfield – Bader Field. The festivals will take place on June 15 – 17, June 24 – 25, Sept. 22 – 23 and Sept. 29 – 30 according to the Press of Atlantic City.

[Photo of DMB Caravan @ Bader Field by Jeremy Gordon]

The big question is which acts will play at these four festivals? The promoter’s representative, Ken MacDonald of Starr Hill Presents, who you may remember as the guy who confirmed Phish Summer Tour 2012 will indeed take place, played coy and not only wouldn’t reveal the bands, but also claimed “no one on the planet” would be able to confirm the festivals’ headliners.

We’ve got to think MacDonald’s “no one on the planet” quote referred to Atlantic City legend Pinky Kravitz. Just one week ago Kravitz theorized that Phish would perform at Bader Field from June 15 – 17 and that the other June event would feature one of four bands who could draw 50,000 fans per day – “the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, U2 and Bruce Springsteen.”

Pinky changed his tune yesterday when he claimed “Phish will be the act that will perform on June 22, 23 and 24.” Oddly, June 22 and 23 are two days which aren’t included in the permits issued by the city, yet are Friday and Saturday nights while the 24th and 25th fall on Sunday and Monday. Kravitz went on to say that Metallica will play at Bader Field on the last weekend in June (June 29 and 30), though again that isn’t one of the weekends for which Starr Hill received a permit. Finally, Kravitz claims that Kenny Chesney will headline one of the September fests. Hopefully the discrepancies will be sorted out soon, but – as always – we’d suggest waiting for an official announcement before making any non-refundable reservations. We’ll keep you posted on any further word.

Today, we’ll wrap up our exhaustive holiday run coverage with the tradition we started back during the southern run of summer 2010 - the A to Z analysis. In this segment, we evaluate all aspects of a tour by touching on all the bases from beginning to end with a bullet for every letter in the alphabet.

The band certainly left a lot of room for debate with regard to the recent four dates at Madison Square Garden as they played uncharacteristically well to begin the run, but trailed off noticeably as the days led up to the New Year’s Eve celebration. While many fans finished the run with a bad taste left in their mouths, when we look at it all in aggregate there were plenty of big-time highlights to reflect upon.

A is for Auld Lang Syne Tease – After all these years, Trey still manages to catch everyone off guard when he throws Auld Lang Syne teases in unexpected places, and what better a spot than smack in the middle of a climactic Fluffhead solo at the end of a flawless version to close out the first set.

B is for Belt Buckle – You have to hand it to the folks behind Dry Goods. Whether its limited edition posters, merit badges, or tour shirts, they always have something fans want to take home as a keepsake, but this year they outdid themselves. Phish created a giant Texas-sized gold belt buckle custom-made especially for the New Years Run.

C is for Cost – Ticket prices reached record new highs both in terms of face value and in the secondary market. Stubhubbing profiteers started the bidding for New Years Eve tickets at an overwhelming $350 a piece for behind the stage nosebleeds and the piece went up n a hurry as the seats got closer to the stage. READ ON

Over the first few years of our existence, we welcomed one of our favorite writers, David Schultz of the Earvolution staff, to contribute features and reviews from time to time. It’s been a while since his last post for Hidden Track, but we’re happy to announce that will change in 2012 as today marks his first every-other-week column for us. David’s column, titled Hitting The Trunk Road, will offer a mix of reviews, opinions, editorializing and the like. For his first piece, David brings some much needed perspective into the conversation about Phish’s New Year’s Run.

To close out 2011, Phish returned to Madison Square Garden for a quickly sold-out set of four shows. Given that you are reading this column on this particular site, you are probably well aware of that fact as Hidden Track has been known to be partial to the boys from Vermont and may have written a few stories about the jamband poster-boys over the last few years. Unlike this fine section of the Web, the mainstream musical press tends to treat Phish, their penchant for selling out arenas on multiple dates and ability to anchor their own festivals with a bemused sense of admiration. They acknowledge the band’s accomplishments while condescendingly mocking its underpinnings. In a world where the music industry seems to have lost its ability to relate to its consumers, what does Phish do that no other band seems capable of doing and why can’t they seem to get any respect outside of its wide circle of friends?

[All Photos by Rob Chapman]

More than most bands, Phish fans draw sustenance from the camaraderie of their brethren, whether at the arena or sitting at home. It’s this devotion that elicits much of the mockery from Williamsburg and other non-Phish loving quarters. Attempts of fans to “review” any show or describe the experience aren’t helping matters…or advancing the field of music criticism. For any band that changes their set list on a daily basis, reviewing a single show tends to have the same effect of describing a snowstorm by writing about one of its snowflakes.

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Last evening while watching a replaying of The Fugitive on AMC I happened to notice the commercial below. The Liberty Mutual spot was a seemingly unremarkable interruption of the Harrison Ford classic. But at the end of the ad something caught my eye, take a close look and see if you spot a notable detail.

A quick Google search for “Forbins Restaurant” provided no results about an actual real-world diner, but I did find this post on the www.week4paug.net message board. The post was created by forum user “Nobes” on Dec. 27, alerting fellow members of the upcoming “commercial running nationally starting in January” which he apparently had a hand in creating.

We.Are.Everywhere.

[Ed. Note - We're still getting used to this whole 2012 business. The ad went live in January 2011.]

To end 2011, Phish returned to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for a four-night stand that marked their second New Year’s Eve year in a row (and their sixth overall) at the venue. With memories of a very impressive run to end 2010 at MSG, as well as to start 2011, with the first-ever show on New Year’s Day, things seemed to really be clicking for the band. Throughout 2011, they made huge strides in playing and jamming as the year stretched onward, which all led up to this standalone New Year’s Run following no fall tour this year. What were the results? Anti-climatic at best musically, but still a lot of fun overall.

[Photo by Michael Stein]

Now, let me say something and be very clear: there is absolutely no place in the universe I’d rather be than at a Phish show. The vibe, the ENERGY, the people, the ritual are all things I live for and have toured the country to experience for many years. But, sometimes expectations exceed the performance, which seemingly happened this past week for many in attendance (and some watching at home, as the shows were broadcast live via pay-per-view streams). Were there standout moments? Absolutely! The problem was, they were far less frequent than we have come to expect from Phish, on New Year’s runs, and especially at Madison Square Garden. But, on the flip side, did I enjoy these shows as much as many other barnburners of 2011 and years past? Definitely. Just for different reasons than the music alone.

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Tonight, HT faves Phish return to Madison Square Garden for their traditional New Year’s Eve performance. This marks the group’s sixth NYE show at “The World’s Greatest Arena.”

The New Year’s Gag

A Pay-Per-View webcast of tonight’s show is available through LivePhish.com.

We’re trying something different this run. In addition to our at-a-glance recap of the show we call The Skinny and the setlist, we’re also presenting a Live Blog with the help of our friends at Next Jam. We’ll compile tweets from @YEMblog along with screenshots and other interesting notes. You can find our Live Blog after the jump.

Setlist:

[via Phish.net]

Check out our Live Blog and The Skinny from MSG…

READ ON

On the 20th anniversary of a memorable night at The Aud in Worcester, Mass. that signaled Phish’s rise to a new level of success the band has released an official recording of December 31, 1991 through LivePhish.com. Current LivePhish mix maestro Jon Altschiller recorded the show both through a soundboard patch and through an audience recording and has combined the tapes to create a matrix. Mastering guru Fred Kevorkian worked his magic on Altschiller’s files to create the best available recording of New Year’s ’91.

You can purchase FLACs, MP3s or ALACs at LivePhish.com. One of the many highlights from 12/31/91 was a raucous Tweezer that opened the door for the jam style that would develop the next spring. As a sample, here’s Tweezer > McGrupp and The Watchful Hosemasters from the LivePhish mix…

Tweezer McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters by HTBloggin

Setlist:
12/31/91 Worcester Memorial Auditorium (The New Aud), Worcester, MA

Set I
1. Possum (8:25)
2. Foam (8:11)
3. Sparkle (4:33)
4. Stash (9:00)
5. The Lizards (10:03)
6. Guelah Papyrus (5:46)
7. Divided Sky (12:42)
8. Esther > (9:49)
9. Llama (4:47)
10. Golgi Apparatus (4:56)

Set II
1. Brother (6:12)
2. Bouncing Around The Room (3:43)
3. Buried Alive > (2:28)
4. Auld Lang Syne > (0:52)
5. Runaway Jim (7:37)
6. The Landlady > (3:27)
7. Reba (11:30)
8. Cavern (4:53)
9. My Sweet One > (2:28)
10. Run Like An Antelope (10:35)

Set III
1. Wilson > (6:50)
2. The Squirming Coil > (7:33)
3. Tweezer > (13:13)
4. McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters > (8:10)
5. Mike’s Song > (7:42)
6. I Am Hydrogen > (3:04)
7. Weekapaug Groove (7:09)

Encore:
8. Minkin Appreciation (1:26)
9. Lawn Boy > (2:30)
10. Rocky Top > (2:36)
11. Tweezer Reprise (3:16)

We’re nearing the home stretch of Phish’s New Year’s Run at Madison Square Garden. This evening, the quartet took the stage for the third of four NYE Run performances.

[Photo by Michael Stein]

A Pay-Per-View webcast of tonight’s show is available through LivePhish.com.

We’re trying something different this run. In addition to our at-a-glance recap of the show we call The Skinny and the setlist, we’re also presenting a Live Blog with the help of our friends at Next Jam. We’ll compile tweets from @YEMblog and @Bizarchive along with screenshots and other interesting notes. You can find our Live Blog after the jump.

Setlist:

Set 1: Punch You In the Eye > Prince Caspian^[1] > Backwards Down the Number Line, Nellie Kane,Divided Sky, Sand, Vultures, Rift, Joy, Quinn the Eskimo

Set 2: Wilson > Axilla > Piper > Twist > Julius > Golgi Apparatus > Also Sprach Zarathustra, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, David Bowie^[2], The Squirming Coil

Encore: Boogie On Reggae Woman, Good Times Bad Times

[1] Unfinished.
[2] Silent In the Morning teases.

[via Phish.net]

Check out our Live Blog and The Skinny from MSG…

READ ON

Tonight marks Night Two of Phish’s traditional New Year’s Run, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City this year. The group got off to a rousing start last night and hopefully they’ll offer more of the same this evening.

[Photo by Michael Stein]

A Pay-Per-View webcast of tonight’s show is available through LivePhish.com.

We’re trying something different this run. In addition to our at-a-glance recap of the show we call The Skinny and the setlist, we’re also presenting a Live Blog with the help of our friends at Next Jam. We’ll compile tweets from @YEMblog and @Bizarchive along with screenshots and other interesting notes. You can find our Live Blog after the jump.

Setlist:

Set 1: The Sloth, You Enjoy Myself, Back on the Train, The Moma Dance, Funky Bitch, Maze, Roses Are Free, Halley’s Comet > Run Like an Antelope

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > Simple > Lifeboy, Guyute, Mike’s Song > Chalk Dust Torture^[1] -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Show of Life > Character Zero

Encore: Loving Cup

[1] Unfinished

[via Phish.net]

Check out our Live Blog and The Skinny from MSG…

READ ON

Phish @ Madison Square Garden, December 28

Words: Scott Bernstein
Photos: Michael Stein

Last night’s NYE Run opener from Phish at MSG featured two above-average sets that laid the groundwork for what should be a memorable set of shows. From the first Free opener in Phish history to the well-played Glide bust out (the song was last played at the 2009 MSG Run) that followed as well as a rare third-song trip into Type II territory within Cities, the band was feeling their oats in a statement that the near four-month layoff wouldn’t lead to the typical “warm-up show” fans feared.

[All Photos by Michael Stein]

Bassist Mike Gordon ascended to the highest register of his Modulus bass after a few minutes of standard Cities jamming, leading his mates on a short but wonderful romp into previously unexplored terrain that was so tight you almost wondered if they had worked out the segment in advance. The Cities jam dissipated to silence when guitarist Trey Anastasio started up the third Curtis Loew of the year – hard to imagine considering the Skynyrd cover was shelved for 16 years. Next up was Stash and just when you thought the band was ending the jam way too soon, Trey lit into the Ocedoc for a few of the best minutes of the set as if to quote the “it ain’t over till it’s over” Yogi-ism and the rest of the group was happy to oblige.

• Setlist, The Skinny & Live Blog: Phish MSG Night One

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After a layoff of nearly four months, Phish returned to the stage tonight for the first of four shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City that make up the group’s annual New Year’s Run. This evening’s performance marked the 20th Phish show at the storied venue.

Pay-Per-View webcasts of all four shows are available through LivePhish.com.

We’re trying something different this run. In addition to our at-a-glance recap of the show we call The Skinny and the setlist, we’re also presenting a Live Blog with the help of our friends at Next Jam. We’ll compile tweets from @YEMblog and @Bizarchive along with screenshots and other interesting notes. You can find our Live Blog after the jump.

Setlist:

Set 1: Free, Glide > Possum, Cities, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Stash, Contact > Sample in a Jar, Kill Devil Falls > Bathtub Gin

Set 2: Birds of a Feather, Carini -> Tweezer^[1] > My Friend, My Friend^[2] -> Rock and Roll^[3] -> NICU,Bouncing Around the Room, Harry Hood > Bug

Encore: Tube > Rocky Top > Tweezer Reprise

[1] Streets of Cairo tease.
[2] No “Myfe” ending.
[3] Birds of a Feather jam.

Notes: This performance featured the first ever Free show opener. Tweezer contained a Streets of Cairo tease. My Friend omitted the “Myfe” ending. Rock & Roll contained a Birds of a Feather jam.

[via Phish.net]

Check out our Live Blog and The Skinny from MSG…

READ ON