[Stream provided by www.phishtracks.com]
There is something to be said about the vibe a venue brings to a show and there's no better place to get a good vibe then at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Designed by the renowned architect, Frank Gehry, one of the greatest aspects of the venue is the forest that surrounds you, making the lawn a summer tour haven. But by the end of this summer throw down, the lawn care takers would have their work cut out for them to revive the stomped grounds.
Download Show (Link sourced from The Spreadsheet)
Set 1: The Wedge, NICU, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley -> Guyute, Fikus, Farmhouse, Possum > Sweet Jane
The opening drum beat to The Wedge has to be one of the best sounds a Phish fan can hear opening a summer tour show. It's just one of those happy, we're dancing on the lawn and enjoying life kind of songs. And when this song is followed up by yet another summer tour favorite in NICU, the smiles can be seen for miles. There isn't much more that needs to be said about these two openers other then they signal the beginning to an epic night of Phish.
With everyone's feet in happy dance mode, the funky intro to Sneakin Sally sets the place into high gear. Having been played only twice since it's big bust out at the now hall-of-fame show, 12/30/97, where it hadn't been played since 1989, the songs jam was just starting to take shape for the band. This jam is a graceful funky romp that has similarities to the version from Nassau during the short spring Island tour a few months prior. Trey gets playful with his notes as he weaves in and out of Page's clav comping. Gordon and Fishman per usual are in a lock step groove. The jam comes to a head about 11 minutes in to the song with Gordon changing up the key that signals a change in the songs direction and as soon as Trey starts chopping away at his strings, it was obvious the song was over and if you were a Phish geek at the time you would have easily recognized the chop as the opening to Guyute.
Other than the fact that they nail this rather difficult fully composed song, there isn't much to say about Guyute. But when they do hit all the notes it helps lead to a strong finish and this song is make or break when it comes to the finish.
Fikus adds a well deserved break in the dancing. Looking at the songs history, it's surprising to me that it has only been played 5 times. Especially now that the band is exploring more ambient, trippy like sounds in their shows. I could see them easily reviving this one and extending it's ambient vibe.
Farmhouse brings the energy back up a notch. Unlike the Penn State show where the energy shift was all over the place, this set is panning out nicely. Some may look at this song as another Bouncin' tune where all the hippies role their eyes when it gets played but I rather enjoy the lyrics in this song. The jam isn't too shabby either even if it is often a straight ahead jam. Although the Denver shows this past summer showed that even the most standard of songs in their arsenal have potential.
Possum brings a welcome return to the energy level of the show and like almost all Possums, it delivers the goods. But the real energy comes with the next little gem.
This was the first version of Sweet Jane ever played. We would later learn that they had chosen to go with Velvet Undergrounds historic album, Loaded, as the Halloween gag so this all now makes sense that they would absolutely destroy this song. This version at Merriweather may not have the same appeal as the Halloween version, which is quite exceptional to the say the least and if you have time you should give it a listen, but the fact that this was the debut and it closed out a stellar set of Phish makes it all the same special.
There aren't many flaws to be found in this set. But if I had to be picky, I'd say the fact that the set clocks in at just under an hour is a drawback. The hope is that they make up this time in the second set.
Set 2: Cavern > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Tela > Piper, Sexual Healing > Hold Your Head Up, Harry Hood
Encore: Sabotage
The start of this set sure feels like the beginning of the end as Cavern ain't no set opener. In fact, this is only one of two instances where the song has been given the second set opening nod by the band (the other being 4/28/90 at The Strand Theater in Dorchester, MA). So yeah, playing this to start off the set was a statement of sorts that said, "get ready to be rocked".
As Cavern came to a close, this sense of a show about to take off comes to fruition with the introduction of 2001 (Also Sprach Zarathustra). Nothing says dance party quite like this cover of Strauss composition (although the version Phish clearly covers is the one by Deodato). A fan favorite since the early 90's, the funk laden jam sections that tee up the two ascending stanzas in the song are on point here in this version.
After two rocking "get your dancing shoes out to party" songs, they slow the speed down with Tela. While I may normally want the band to keep the energy going in a second set, I'll take a slow down if it means this little gem. While not necessarily a bust out at this show since it was played 8 shows prior, Tela in general is rare having only been played 79 times since it's debut in 1988. To put how rare it has become, since this show it has only been played 8 more times.
The centerpiece of the second set, Piper, starts up softly allowing the crowd time to contemplate what is about to take place. During this era of Piper the slow climb is drawn out much farther then it is today. Some might say the quick entry to the vocal section allows the band time to jam on the back end but I still prefer this slow build and wish they would return to this pattern.
But I digress. The meat of this Piper gets going about 7 minutes in where Trey leads the band with some Hendrix-esque riffing. After a few minutes of Trey fueled energy, they pull back the thread and slide into a slower, more precise funk groove with each member adding their color. From about the 9:20 mark on we are in full on funk mode. Fishman picks up on Trey's groove around the 11 minute mark and the two of them begin to join forces in steering the jam to its next destination. After a few minutes of calming, space type jamming, the song comes to a close and as soon as you hear Fishman give a, "phew", and you hear the crowd going nuts, you know the man has stepped out from behind his kit to showcase Henrietta's pipes.
Sexual Healing being played at a Phish song is probably not what most folks would expect to hear but that's exactly what happened this very night. While Fishman doesn't have what you would consider a good voice, he holds his own on this Marvin Gaye classic. This was the second of only four ever played and all of them having been played in 98. Would enjoy the funny man dusting this off in the coming tours.
The closing Harry Hood rocks the roof off the place and leaves the crowd begging for more. The best versions of Hood often show considerable patience from the band to start out the jam section. This often elicits a crowd cheer and right on queue, we get a little burst of crowd energy around the 7:20 mark. But the band doesn't take the bait and keeps the patience in check. They start to turn the corner in preparation for the climatic finish around the 9:30 mark and from here on out it's a joyous ride to the finish line.
Huge cheers from the crowd as the band takes their bows and leaves the stage. For what ever reason - the venue, the stars, the moons, the fluidity of the show - the fans were really pumped up all night long and they were eager to let the band know at every chance they could and what better time then when trying to get them to come back for an encore.
This whole tour had been a tour of covers where at just about every show they played a new cover song. We thought we already had gotten ours earlier in the show with Sweet Jane but they had something up their sleeve. Without any banter or hesitation, they picked up their instruments and blew the doors off the place by absolutely killing Sabotage by the Beastie Boys. When they first laid into the song, the crowd was basically frozen, trying to figure out what they were being hit with and when it started to soak in, people, were, going, absolutely crazy. I can still remember seeing how high everyone was jumping. Even listening back to this today gives me goosebumps.
Verdict - 8.5 / 10
The only reason this show doesn't get a 9 is due to it's shortened sets. I can handle a shortened first set but when the second set doesn't make up for it, that's a bit upsetting. But there isn't much else to be upset about at this show. From the fun start (Wedge, NICU and Sneakin basically setting the tone for the whole show) to the fun bust outs in Sweet Jane and Sabotage, this show was top notch and clearly one of the best shows in my early career as a Phish head.
