Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of The Rolling Stones. Certainly don’t hate them, but they’re not at the top of any lists for me. None of that mattered when it became clear just a few tunes into set two, Phish’s full performance of Exile On Main Street, that this would be the most tightly performed Phish set in recent history.

[All Photos by Regan Teti Marscher]

If Phish played their catalog as cleanly and precisely as they did these eighteen tracks, it would be scary. And all the while they made these songs their own often times in the way they would jam out the outros. I was trying to place what Phish/Trey song the Torn & Frayed outro sounded like when ScottyB chimed in and let me know it was Drifting – and it was awesome. Guest vocalists and horn players Sharon Jones, David Guy, Tony Jarvis, David Smith, and Saunda Williams blended extremely tastefully into the background never overshadowing or drawing attention away from either the songs or the performance.

It was nice to see Jon Fishman singing lead on Happy without it being a novelty cover song that lead to a vacuum solo. Fish did a great job when it was his time and all around it seemed like the right decisions were made on how they divided up the lead vocals duties. The backup singers interplay with Trey and the rest of the guys on Ventilator Blues/I Just Want To See His Face was superb, this was my biggest surprise – I knew Phish would knock Tumbling Dice, Shine A Light, etc. out of the park, but the Ventilator Blues > I Just Want To See His Face was really really smooth.

READ ON for more about Phish’s Halloween performance at F8…

Backwards Down The Number Line continues to be a jam vehicle for Phish 3.0, not to the lengths of the tour-closing SPAC version in August, but the Set 3 opening 1-2 combo of BDTNL & Fluffhead was a nice contrast of new school and old school compositions and what happens to them on the live stage. The Bathtub Gin & Run Like An Antelope filled out the day set nicely and the Suzie Greenberg encore complete with horns, Sharon Jones AND the jam reprise was a fantastic way to send off the fans last night.

Three hours until the acoustic set, we are all anxious to see what gets performed at this set and of course how these logistics go over for the coffee & doughnuts. Then it’s a nice long break in between sets, one as the sun sets and one more night-time throwdown.

Phish
October 31,2009
Festival 8
Indio, California

Set 1: Sample In A Jar, The Divided Sky, Lawn Boy, Kill Devil Falls, Bathtub Gin, The Squirming Coil, Runaway Jim, Possum, Run Like An Antelope

Set 2: Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Shake Your Hips, Casino Boogie, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia, Torn & Frayed, Sweet Black Angel, Loving Cup, Happy, Turd On The Run, Ventilator Blues, I Just Want To See His Face, Let It Loose, All Down The Line, Stop Breaking Down, Shine A Light, Soul Survivor

Set 3: Backwards Down The Number Line, Fluffhead, Story of the Ghost, When The Circus Comes, You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Suzie Greenberg

Notes: Phish played Exile On Main Street in its entirety for the second set featuring Sharon Jones, David Guy, Tony Jarvis, David Smith & Saundra Williams. Those musicians also joined the band for the encore.