What to expect at Essex

Expect the unexpected at Phish concerts, bassist Mike Gordon told the Burlington Free Press last week. And that is about right. The band continually mixes up its setlist, mixing in new originals with covers, concert standards and old favorites. If past benefit shows Phish has played are any indication, expect a few specials guests, some original debuts and/or a few surprise covers at tonight's show at the Champlain Valley Expo.

5/16/95, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell Mass.:This was a Voters for Choice benefit hosted by womens' rights activist Gloria Steinem. The band debut 10 songs at this show, including several witch would find their way on to their sixth album "Billy Breathes." The show also included debut covers of Velvet Underground's "Lonesome Cowboy Bill," Brian Eno's "I'll Come Running" and the appropriate "Gloria."

3/18/97 The Flynn Theater, Burlington. This was a benefit for the Waterwheel Foundation and coincided with the release of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. The show featured Vermont musicians Tammy Fletcher, Dave Grippo and James Harvey. The band debuted three new songs this night, all covers, most notably "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young.

103/1998 New World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, Ill. This set was a part of the Farm Aid benefit in a concert which also featured Wilco, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp. After playing several originals the band was joined by Neil Young for his songs "Arc" and "Down By The River." Willie Nelson and Paul Schaffer joined the band, along with Young, for "Moonlight in Vermont" and several other traditional songs to close the set.

10/17-18/1998 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, Calif. Two weeks after Farm Aid, the band performed the Bridge School benefit. The band played one acoustic set each day, debuting new tunes such as "Sleep" and "Driver," and also debuted songs with Young and Sarah McLachlan such as young's "Helpless" and The Band's "I Shall Be Released."

Show information courtesy of phish.net.

Back to the Future with Phish

The Storage Jam set at Super Ball IX was the event of the entire weekend and maybe of Phish 3.0. The Self Storage USA building was the centerpiece of the Ball Square Powerhouse, which was billed as a trilogy of American History. The Olde Forge represented an early American settlement; the Bull Run & Sun Co. represented the Industrial Revolution and the Self Storage building represented the future. The building had a few exhibits in each corner, but many of the garage doors remained closed all weekend. Until Saturday night, when the Storage shed was transformed into the hidden stage and Phish performed an unannounced 60+-minute set of improv, electronica and Pink Floyd-esque jams. It wasn't until the next day during the narration of "Fly Famous Mockingbird," did the true story behind the storage jam come to light. Trey explained as the band was setting out on their first tour to Colorado, the van they were driving broke down and the band was forced to put their equipment in storage while the van was getting fixed. Now anyone who has broken down on a road trip knows what a downer that can be. The cost of getting a vehicle fixed, hotel rooms during the wait, general agony and frustration of the unknown can all mount on one's head. Instead the band used the time in the storage shed to play and get closer to each other and the music and as Trey said, create a mental projection of a future reality. And more than twenty years later, Phish used a piece of it's past to spell out it's future. It's all come full circle for the band, the smaller festival, cool vibes and great music brought Phish back to the future.

Cheer? For what?

So I was walking through Ball Square Friday afternoon from the Pinball Lounge when I heard faint sounds of a trumpet. I thought it was some bozo blowing it off in Puerto Rico. As I got closer to the Ferris wheel, the sound grew fuller: trombones, tubas, snare drums all joined the cacophony. A large crowd was gathered around, cell phone cameras reaching out, trying to get shots of the What Cheer? Brigade, performing on the ride. The Providence, R.I., street band performed impromptu sets all over the festival grounds: Marching through the paddock and campgrounds, at all the art installtions in Ball Square. It's a safe bet that if you were at Super Ball IX, you saw and/or heard these guys at one point. They were absolutely one of the non-Phish highlights of the festival. I love Phish. But I also love all music, and to have these guys perform every night between sets and after the shows was a pure treat.

Pinball Wizards

The Pinball Lounge was one of the coolest installations at Phish's Super Ball IX, a visual and aural feast of bright lights and buzzers that made you feel like you were in a pinball game. Designed by Burlington artist Kat Clear, it was a full service nightclub designed like a pinball game, with flipper seats and bumper tables. In the back near the bar were rows of vintage pinball games, one that was allegedly "stolen" by Fishman to bring backstage because he liked it so much. I was emotionally upset Mrs. Pac-Man was zapped by an electrical malfunction early in the weekend (I love her), but oh well, did I really want to spend a whole afternoon trying to score with Mrs. Pac-Man? After the show each night, Heloise Williams of Heloise and the Savoir Faire would come in and sing some of her electro-rock with a troupe of "pregnant" dancers, and it was reported to me that Sunday night a ragin' hip-hop party continued into the early morning. Overall, it was one of the must-see attractions at the festival.