Here's Mia Zapata's band The Gits, a punk band from Seattle in the early 90s. The Gits always get me fired up. Perfect Monday morning music.

RIP Mia.

35 years ago today.

Here's the set list...

4.12.78 Grateful Dead, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC

Set 1: Jack Straw, Dire Wolf, Beat It On Down The Line, Peggy O, Mama Tried, Mexicali Blues, Funiculi Funicula, Row Jimmy, New Minglewood Blues, Loser, Lazy Lightning > Supplication

Set 2: Bertha > Good Lovin' > It Must Have Been The Roses, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Truckin', Wharf Rat, Around & Around

Encore: U.S. Blues

Worlds colliding! For today's Monday Morning Key Bump, let's go way back in the Phish time machine... to 1990. Yes, 1990. Phish played an outdoor show in Woodbury, CT and  I love the rustic setting with logs of firewood from behind the stage completely visible. The video quality is what you'd expect for the late 80s, but this is vintage Phish and includes trampolines during Walk Away and a wook'd-out Fishman performing a vac solo.

Tons of fashion disasters as my girlfriend pointed out like "Gordo's mustard yellow pants and Beastie Boys leather fedora," but she loved "Page's adorable sweater that would get preppy Ivy League girls weak in the knees."

Here's the setlist via Phish.net:

Phish 4.29.90 Woodbury, CT

Set 1: Carolina, Possum, Ya Mar, Y.E.M., Dinner and a Movie > Bouncin' , Uncle Pen, Divided Sky, Fluffhead, Walk Away, Love You > Hold Your Head Up, Lizards, Fire

Note: Fluffhead was a birthday dedication to "Sarah." Walk Away featured Trey and Mike on the trampolines. HYHU was played for the first time since March 1, 1989 (165 shows).

I wrote a review (sort of) of the LCD Soundsystem documentary film Shut Up and Play the Hits. Head over to my main blog (Tao of Pauly) to read Shut Up and Play the Hits or How I Killed a Purple Cow, if you'd like to read more about my initial reaction to this amazing documentary. The doc focuses on an interview about why founder/frontman James Murphy decided to pull the plug on LCD Soundsystem, which is interwoven with a final farewell concert at MSG before the band finally broke up.

Here is "Us vs Them" from the final show...

Friday night. Time to rage proper. Need some UNTZ to keep the after-party going? We stumbled upon this gem by Leftwing & Kody. The track is titled "Lost"...

Free Phish! Worms not included.

Phish released the latest batch of free tunes in their Live Bait series. The ninth volume features one of my favorite moments form 98 summer tour (Tube > Slave).

Here's the track list...

Live Bait - Volume 9

1. Foam [11/2/94 Bangor, ME]
2. A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing [6/19/04 SPAC]
3. Moma Dance [7/6/00 Toronto]
4. Split Open and Melt > Kung > Jam [7/15/99 Holmdel, NJ]
5. Mike’s Song > Twist > Weekapaug Groove [7/9/99 Merriweather]
6. David Bowie [6/15/95 Atlanta, GA]
7. AC/DC Bag > Ghost [11/7/98 UIC]
8. Tube > Slave To The Traffic Light [7/16/98 The Gorge]
9. Undermind [8/31/12 Dick's]

Download Live Bait, Vol. 9 here!

Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to be fans of a band that actually cares about its audience. That's why I love the Live Bait series. Deep cuts for hardcore phans.

Editor's Note: Tom B. is a 3.0 phan who will offer up a different and unique perspective on the band and community. He has written previous guest posts including... Confessions of a 3.0 Phan and Let's Talk About MSG Sets.


Negative Nelly by Tom B.

There has been a lot of discussion recently (see Lawn Memo's post "What the Frig Is Going On?") about the level of negativity in the Phish fan base. As a card carrying 3.0 Nube, I can say that I have always assumed this was just the way things were in Phish world. Let’s face it, this band, this music, this community means a hell of a lot to a hell of a lot of people. Anytime you get that much passion and commitment stemming from that many people there is bound to be an element of negativity.

Some of the negativity is legitimate, things have changed and not all totally for the better. The band has evolved, the music has evolved and more than anything the fans have evolved. There are a ton of new phans turning up at shows and, no doubt, some of them are annoying as fuck. They do not seem to be in touch with the spirit of the community, nor do they seem to respect the eldership in the fan base. I think one of the things we see happening is that some of the more jaded vets tend to view the band through the same prism as they view the newer elements of it’s fans. But, that is actually not what I want to talk about today. All I will say on that account is that I do my absolute best to honor the legacy that was built well before I ever walked onto the scene and not a day goes by that I do not feel thankful for all the great Phans that have welcomed me with open arms and introduced me to a world that has become one of the most enjoyable aspects of my life.

In an effort to address some of the negativity we are all feeling out there, I would like to ask you to take a moment and humor me with a little thought experiment.

Imagine the year 2035. Maybe we are the United Republic of China, maybe we are a loosely aligned cluster of independent nations that formed after the economy collapsed and our eastern and western seaboards fell into the ocean. Maybe we are just the same ol’ US of A, that is actually not the thought experiment we are having but an important notion to consider nonetheless.

Anyway, the year 2035 is upon us and Disney is making the definitive Phish bio-pic. The story of the most successful independent group in music history. The grass roots movement that led to an entertainment empire.

We watch the band and their scope grow to mind bending proportions. We see how the party starts to spin out of control and inevitable rise and fall of rock star indulgence.

Here is the part that matters: (Thank you for sticking around long enough for me to get to said part...)

Any Phish bio-pic is going to have one key scene.

3/6/2009 – North Hampton VA
7:58PM EST

House lights drop and the capacity crowd is screaming so loud that you can not even hear the opening moments of Fluffhead.

You all know what I am talking about. The impact of that moment has been discussed and relived and broken down ad nauseum. In fact, one of the best concert reviews I have ever read came from this site (The Return of Phish).

So here is the crux of this exercise. Where does that scene fit in your Phish movie?

God knows, if that was the final scene of the movie we still have a great story.

But what if that moment was simply the beginning of the final act? What if the best was yet to come?

I think too many phans right now are acting like the story ended that weekend in VA. It is like somehow, that three-day run was the culmination of everything Phish and all things after pale in comparison.

We have all put so much love/passion/energy/money into this crazy experiment. How is it that so many of us have lost the ability to trust the guys who not only are steering the ship but built the fucking thing in the first place? Sure, the phans have put their stamp on things and have had a huge role in creating the Phish universe; but in the end the God Particle resides in the space right in the middle of that stage when Mr. Gordon, Mr. Fishman, Mr. Anastasio and Mr. McConnell are playing their music.

Can we not trust these guys enough to believe that we are in the beginning of the final act and that, like all great movies, they are saving the best for last?


Tom B. can be found on Twitter at @tbrecken. This is his third guest post for Coventry. Check out... Confessions of a 3.0 Phan and Let's Talk About MSG Sets.

Official poster by Delicious Design League

Tour moved to Long Island for a one-night stand at Jones Beach. The weather has always been a gamble at these shows (the Joker and I survived a monsoon in 2009), and tonight's weather is sketchy.

Any rogue streams can be found at HoodStreams.com.

Tonight's setlist...

The Phish, 7/12/13 Jones Beach, NY

Set 1: Chalkdust, Cars Trucks Buses, Ocelot, My Sweet One, Ocean, Water in the Sky, Sloth, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Sugar Shack, 46 Days, Backwards > Reba, Bowie

Set 2: Rock and Roll > 2001 > Tweezer > Cities > Wedge > Velvet Sea*, Zero

Encore: Sleeping Monkey, Tweezer Reprise

Notes: * Pauly takes a piss song

Times: Set 1 began at 8:21pm ET and ended at 9:55pm. Set 2 began at 10:26pm. The show ended at 11:42pm ET.

Click here to see every Phish setlist from this summer tour, plus links to vids and recaps.

Via @Phish_FTR

Couch Tour Recap: Jones Beach Sharknados
By Pauly

Phans braved the elements for another bad weather show this tour (rainy SPAC and flooded Toronto). I was rocking out on couch tour (first set was a crisp stream courtesy of Taper420, but second set was stop/go). Friends at the show were bumming about the rain, but they gutted it out despite the cluterfuck to get inside. They were rewarded with a Rock and Roll jam that clocked in at 19+ mins.

I was watching the Twins/Yanksgame, which went into a rain delay about 1/3 thru Phish's first set. Pro baseball players sit it out when it pours, but the Phish show must go on!

Another strong, long first set (13-songs in almost 95-minutes) peppered with greatest hits. The band snuck in a couple of rain songs like A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing and Water in the Sky. Page spoke to the crowd a couple of times and hoped the music could keep everyone warm. Mini-jams of note occurred in Ocelot, Ocean ad 46 Days. That Sugar Shack was meh at best. It should get demoted to the minors (Mike Gordon Band tour) and they should give Yarmouth Road a little more playing time. Thought Reba would end the set but they tacked on Bowie. Ended the set on a strong note.

Set 2 kicked off with Velvet Underground's Rock and Roll. Heard crowd shouting "All right!" along with Leo. The outro was a monstrous sharknado jam that attemtped to give last year's Long Beach R-n-R Beiber-jam orgy a run for its money. I told my bud Girtz to expect jammy goodness in the second sets. They delivered with a 2003-era oxy-faded jam. Quickie 2001. The stream crapped out at the end of Tweezer jam, but not before Page busted out the voice box. Zero ended a rather unusual short set.

"This song is about redemption," said Page about the Monkey encore. I expected a formulaic "Loving Cup > Tweeprise" encore. Got a Monkey-Prise instead. Plenty of banter with Monkey. Seemed like the boys were having fun.

Jones Beach fit the formula for this summer... long first set with greatest hits and a second frame with jamiliciousness. Kudos to the super phans who roughed the elements to see the Phish. The circus migrates to Maryland for a double dip at MPP.

FYI... download 7/12/13 Jones Beach at LivePhish.com.

By Pauly

The Gorge. Nothing quite like it on tour. The Gorge is like a mini-festival spread out over two days of bacchanalia. I have never seen a bad show at the Gorge... and I've caught all 14 of them.

Sure, it's a hike to get to George, WA and only the most motivated phans make the journey to visit one of the most solemn venues on tour. It's totally worth the time and effort. When I moved to Seattle in 1997. I missed all of Fall 97 tour. On the flipside, I caught a plethora of West Coast Phish including the first three runs at the Gorge (97-98-99). Although I had seen 30 or shows by the time I graduated college, Phish was probably my third or fourth favorite band (nothing could top the Grateful Dead in my eyes). But something colossal happened during my first sojourn to the majestic Gorge in 1997, and I was instantly hooked on Phish. I remember driving back to Seattle after the shows totally bumming that I couldn't stay on tour. By 1998, I was ready to become a full-time tour rat. A monstrous four-song second set on 7/17/98 (anchored by a 24-minute cosmic-space-funk version of 2001) stands out as one of the Top 5 sets of Phish I've ever seen (includes one of my fav Mike Song as well). I've been chasing that high-water mark for the last 15 years. As a result, I'm happy to brag that I caught every Phish show at the Gorge including 2003 and their only appearance in 2.0 and all three throwdowns in 3.0 (2009, 2011, 2013).

We wised up and opted for premier camping in 3.0. This year we were invited to join Uncle Ted's Seattle friends at "Camppossum." We all met up in Seattle and my girlfriend and I joined a caravan to the Gorge. We raided a Safeway in Cle Elem on the way (looked like the wookpocalypse in there) and finally navigated a clusterfuck of a line to get into the camping area. Our basecamp was 20-25 strong and everyone was a veteran of Phish tour and/or the Gorge. We had everything set up (including shade tarps and an Ez-Up to combat the 100 degree temps) within an hour and were ready to preparty.

The ladies decorated the campsite with these furry things

Friday 7/26/13 

I cruised Shakedown and noticed hundreds of fans with their finger thrust in the air. I had not seen so many desperate heads at the Gorge scouring for tickets since the late 90s. The Gorge was not a sellout, but they were hoping to find cheap tickets. In this case, extra tickets were close to face (compared to 2009 and 2011 when I saw extras going for under $20). Washington state has legal weed (plus Cali and Oregon had medical weed) so Shakedown was flooded with nug-mongers. I sniffed some of the dankiest dank Lemon kush from a grower in Humboldt. I traded our SoCal nugs (XXX Kush grown in a former house used for porn shoots) for a couple shroom caramels.

The floor is where the party is at. We got a comfy spot near the soundboard and I was boomin' already before the boys took the stage. Standard Bag opener "Let's get this show on the road!"). Knew they weren't fucking around with a Timber Ho jam. Trey looked like a kid in a candy store and loved showing off his chops during Wolfman's. It was CK5's birthday and the band played a few notes of "Happy Birthday." I expected Bowie at some point (because Trey once mentioned that Kuroda requested Bowie every night because it's his favorite song to light). Trey pandered to the crowd of Seattle locals and revealed his Russell Wilson jersey and launched into a thunderous Wilson. He hopes the Seachickens play Wilson at home games this season. We finally got an extended Tube! They keep getting shorter and shorter (Chicago was under four minutes) but you know it's been bad ripcord city when I'm gushing over a 5:44 version of Tube. Yeah, Secret Smile is one of those weird 2.0 songs that never stuck. I caught all but one version of it and really dug the acoustic version at Festival 8, but electric? Not so much. At that point, I was outta my tits shroomin' and caught up in a fit of the giggles. Everything G-Rob said to me was fucking hysterical especially his reciting of the Secret Smile lyric "hold on..." G-Rob kept whispering "Hold on! Hold on!" and I lost it. He was dispatching sound advice considering I was on the edge of the abyss and radically gacked up so much that I was ready to topple over. McGrupp is an old-time favorite for sentimental reasons. They were rocking hard all set until the mellow pairing of Smile-McGrupp, which let a ton of air out of the show. As my girlfriend add, "Secret Smile makes Show of Life seem heavy." Love Leo on classic rock covers like Curtis Loew. The Melt to close out was the highlight of the first set. The sun had just gone down and it was time to freak out the acid heads by bringing out the Gimp for some after-dark occult shit. 

The Joker sent this to me...

The second set might seem a little disjointed on paper, but it was a true journey and an emotional rollercoaster. I fucking love tripping balls at shows when Phish kicks off the second set with a mammoth Crosseyed and Painless. This punishing version clocked in at 18 minutes and contained a couple of smaller jam bursts during the last 15 minutes. Toward the end of the jam, Phish reached a four-way fork in the road. Phish was giving a multiple choice test and they could have segued into a) Ocelot, b) 2001, c) Slave, or d) What's the Use. Of course, it was... e) None of the Above... and they ripped into Twist, which was intertwined with tons of Santana licks and teases. Steam was dark and dirty. Too bad I was slightly tilted during the middle when a couple of schwasted wookettes yapped the entire time and took like 50 selfies during the jam. I dug the insertion of Waves into the rotation. Man, someday I love to hear a 20-minute Waves jam, but I'll take what I can get. Waves kicked off four mellow songs in a row including Twenty Years Later > Mango Song > Bug. I was on the downslope of the shroom trip, so the serene vibe fit my mood. Bowie finally popped up (for CK5) and I thought they'd end the set with speed-grass Rocky Top. Felt like Fish was drained at that point and holding on for his life. It was humid and hot and stifling, and Zoe and I saw two people pass out and have to be taken off the floor by paramedics. A reeling Zero closed out the set, and Trey asked CK5 to turn down the lights so they could focus on the moon that was creeping over the huge hill that forms the lawn. Trey asked CK5 to do that during Hood at my first-ever Gorge show... talking about coming full circle. At the end of Zero, Trey ran amok with tons of feedback. We got treated to a double dip encore with a "sublime" Hood and homage to Jimi Hendrix with Fire.


Saturday 7/27/13

You can't sleep past 7am at the Gorge. I always say I'm gonna go to bed early, but I never do. I got up and restocked ice for the coolers. Glad I went early because the line a few hours later in Shakedown looked like bread lines from Soviet Russia in the 70s. I snagged a breakfast burrito and watched Miller/Ashu/Chad jam out in our campground. Awesome way to ease into the late morning than an impromptu jam session.

Furthur II bus parked in Shakedown

Phishy humor in Shakedown

Word was out that JJ Cale passed away. Everyone expected After Midnight at some point on Saturday night. I slung 2001 stickers in Shakedown and told everyone it was coming. Scored choc-shrooms. I saw a beer vendor refuse to sell to a kid in an OKC Thunder jersey. Man, those Sonics fans are bitter! The central WA fires got out of hand and we could see/smell smoke from miles and miles away.

Saturday before sundown (pic by @change100)

I liked the variation to the start of the set with Architect opener, then Golgi (which usually appears later in the set), and Curtain With. Things got cookin' with Moma Dance. As G-Rob said, Maze was the boys playing to his buzz. Totally understood. Peppy version of Roses Are Free had the crowd singing along. I originally thought Say Something was an obscure cover from JJ Cale, but it's an original Gordo tune (with Scott Murkawski). The funk back beat plus a falsetto totally sounded like something out of Laurel Canyon early 70s like Little Feat welded to the Eagles. Another faded-bluesy Ocelot (I wasn't wearing the shirt), and then we got the After Midnight we were waiting for. It gave me flashbacks of Big Cypress.

Set 2 was anchored by DWD. A giant beachball came crashing down from the lawn, which whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The boys got a lil bored and a lil lost with the DWD jam and slid into Undermind. They really stretched that out over the last couple of years. I guess they weren't prepared to play it in 2.0, but I dig Undermind because it's one of those rare songs when you can get almost anything (and go almost anywhere) with the jam out. Trey saw an opening after dragging everyone into the furthest cosmos and took an escape route through a wormhole with Light. The 2009 version at the Gorge still stands out as one of my favorites. I had one of those magical Gorge moments that time and have been hooked on the Light jam ever since. But we got a rare quick hook with Light. Gasp! A Light ripcord. But they went for a more funkified route with Sneaking Sally. Wise choice. Full-throttle funk. We got a quickie 2001 dance party but loved the UFO lights by CK5. The guy next to me was singing along to Walls of the Cave, especially the poignant moments, which brought him to near tears. Love seeing that at shows... when someone gets a song they rarely hear like WOTC. The last two songs of the set were plutonium -- Fluffhead and Antelope. I feared that they'd cheese out with a Show of Life encore, but the thunderous Good Times Bad Times hit the fucking spot. Big Red spooge factor was at its highest readings.

We left the Gorge on Sunday morning with a huge smile chiseled into our faces. Man, I fucking love seeing Phish at the Gorge. Too bad they didn't do three shows, or they played every summer instead of only in odd number years. I caught up with old friends and made some new ones (especially the phans from India... amazing to see Phish turn on folks in Asia). I was even more thrilled knowing I'd catch six more shows as we headed south. Shows #278 and #279 in the bag. Next stop... Lake Tahoe.

Watch the Gorge shows here. And for every setlist from this summer tour, plus links to vids and recaps, click here.

After a lengthy hiatus, our podcast is back! We recorded a couple of new episodes of The Wook Patrol Podcast featuring your favorite members of the Coventry Music crew. These special Tahoe episodes are roughly 3 minutes long and included cameos from the Joker, Pauly, Wildo, and Change100.

Update... I added a bonus episode with Derek the Hitchhiker.

Wook Patrol Podcast - Tahoe 2013

Episode 1: Velvet Sea and Phishy Chick or Hooker? (2:53) -- Pauly asks Wildo and the Joker what they do during Velvet Sea. The Joker explains the new game we play late night in the casinos -- "Phishy Chick or Hooker?"

Episode 2: The Lot DJ (3:13) -- Pauly asks the Joker to explain his philosophy about being the best DJ on the lot.

Episode 3: Phamily Poker Classic 3 - Update #1 (2:44) -- The Mockingbird Foundation hosted a charity tournament at Harvey's. The Coventry crew participated (Pauly, Wildo, Change100). Pauly interviewed Wildo and Change100 during a break. Change100 describes how she busted a wook.

Episode 4: Change100 Makes Final Table of Phamily Poker Classic (3:59) -- Pauly busted in 56th place (out of 104), but Wildo and Change100 went deep. Wildo was knocked out in 12th place. Change100 made the final table. She busted in 8th place, but she made the money.

Episode 5: Poop Your Pants (with Derek the Hitchhiker) (1:29) -- Special guest "Derek the Hitchhiker" shows up at the after-party with 2 jugs of aloe vera water, which he claims will help you "poop your pants." He may/may not have pooped his pants during Tweezer.

Hopefully we'll record a few more episodes in San Francisco.

Visit the Wook Patrol archives here.

By Pauly

I'm short on time. I had to make a choice -- friends or recaps. I chose friends. It was an easy choice to make because I don't get to see a lot of my favorite people IRL on a daily basis, so Phish tour is one of the few opportunities I have to catch up, throw down, laugh at old memories, and blaze new ones.

Joker blowing shit up!

The Joker is my brother from a different mother. We don't get to see as many shows together like we used to (funny how life interferes with... life), which is why this Tahoe-SF run is extra special for us. We quickly got back into our old routine like "Clyde and Pearl." Swishing and dishing. Raging and caging. A portion of my friends from Colorado made the sojourn to Tahoe and we kicked it into high gear. Blasting off to 11, on a dial of 10 kinda of trip. Yup, it was one of those shows for me and we got super schwilly before we walked into the venue. Alas, my assessment of the first Tahoe show is turbo-chemically-enhanced. Like most of the stuff I write (especially about Phish), don't take it too seriously. Listen to the show(s) yourself and draw your own conclusions. Phish is what you make of it. For the Tahoe shows, it was all about hanging with an old friend and reliving glory days.

Tahoe 7/30/13

The Gorge and Tahoe shows are not easy to get to, and it requires a significant amount of effort, which weeds out the scensters and fake phans. Tahoe is a much smaller venue than the Gorge, and let's be honest, it's a fucking casino parking lot. I spent most of the last decade working in the gambling biz (poker and sportsbetting) and spent more time in Nevada than any normal human should be exposed to, so the Lake Tahoe shows were two of my opposing worlds colliding. Nuclear.

A mini-Shakedown popped up behind the venue. Plenty of shrooms and acid going around. I knew wed be in for a trippy run. I met up with Zobo (I met him on Japan 2000 tour) and he had a cottage 25 feet from the entrance. We sat on his porch and listened to some bluesy-shredding during 30 minutes of the soundcheck. Zobo is friends with Yasu (the Japhan who sometimes streams the shows) and I forgot I had met him a couple years ago in Alpharetta. I got to check out his gear... truly amazing.

Yasu's tools

My girlfriend and I posted up right in front of the soundboard and somehow most of my friends (e.g. Jesse, Dr. Jellyeater, et al) found us. Sometimes the opener is a throwaway, but a 10+ minute Wolfman's Brah was a positive omen. Funkification from the get-go. Zobo thought it was cool we got Cavern early on. "This is a set closer batting third!" he said. Someone brought their young daughter and she was on her parent's shoulders most of the set and digging the Birds. By Funky Bitch/Cities portion of the show, I had fallen into the mol-abyss and it took several hours before I climbed out. Ziggy hooked me up with some killer party favors and they over-delivered! At the start of Rift, the Joker joked, "So your jaded vet ass hates Rift?"

"Well, only when the fuck it up terriblly," I responded.

"Like now?" quipped the Joker.

The Bathtub Gin was pretty fucking weird. Pretty. Fucking. Weird. I appreciate the fact they took a risk with a dissonant jam instead of playing it safe... but they poorly executed whatever they were trying to achieve and fell flat on their faces (unless they were purposely trying to freak out the acidheads). I'd rather see them try/fail then ripcord the jam for a greatest hits tune. There was an older guy with a plastic-looking face which made him look like he was wearing a mask of some sorts. He was dancing in front of the Joker and kept turning around, which really freaked him out. He had to swap spots and move away from the plastic-face old dude. Tube is getting shorter and shorter. At this point, I'm wondering if they'll do one under three minutes? I decided that the next time I run into Trey, I'm going to go Jedi mind trick on his ass and pull some reverse psychology, "Hey Trey... can you play a shorter Tube?" In hopes that he goes 180 degrees and pulls a 15-minute funk orgy out of Phish's arse. I love Leo covering 70s classics. I'm also a huge fan of Joe Walsh (pre-Eagles and solo career during his stint in the power trio James Gang). I fucking loved every moment of Walk Away, which closed the set.

The second set was a little short for my tastes but they had a curfew lurking around the corner. My take is that the band fell into a time warp for half the set which is why Weekapaug was pushed into the encore. They probably wanted to end the second set with Zero, but due to their miscalculations they had to play Weekapaug/Zero in the encore slots instead of some other hijinks. I dug the earthy jam out of Golden Age, but they kept a short leash on 46 Days and Boogie On, which were songs they could have opened up into jam monsters. Instead, they let it rip during Ghost. I prefer dirty tones and spooky as shit Ghosts. I saw an apparition later that night while walking home, so this Tahoe Ghost was an ominous foreshadowing of some paranormal shit that Phish conjured up. Some nights they're not musicians, rather they're dabbling with the occult as alchemists. Phish opened up another portal to the netherworld and opened the floodgates to alt-dimensions. Carini continued the dark and dirty path, but it was contained on a short leash along with Piper, which bled intoa  Coltrane-like modular jam. Check out the Wook Patrol podcast about what we do during Velvet Sea. I don't think I've ever seen Slave as the lunchmeat in Mike's Groove sandwich. Slave was a lil sloppy and cut short due to time constraints, but it's my favorite song and love it so much that I only listen to it at shows... so anytime they play Slave, it's a good show for me. We got a rare Weekapaug encore and the Zero was an exclamation point on the first night in Tahoe.

In Shakedown after the show, Wildo freaked out the nitrous mafia because he shaved down to a Ditka-like mustache, which made him look like a state trooper. One of the spotters freaked out because they thought Wildo was gonna bust them! Too bad we didn't confiscate their tanks. It would have made the after-party a shade more crazier. At the after-party, I was the spirit guide for some friends who wanted to dabble in DMT for the first time. I was still a little jiggy because I saw a ghost while walking back to the cabin. I was holding my girlfriend's hand and thought someone was walking in the road about 10 yards in front of us until they disappeared! Vanished. Poof. Gone.

Yeah, it was one of those nights.


Tahoe 7/31/13

All you need to know is.... 36-minute Tweezer. That's why I blow all of my disposable income on this band and chase them all over America to catch those rare moments when they break out a half hour of improv. They took a risk... and delivered. I won't go into details. Listen for yourself and enjoy the ride.

I played in the Phamily Poker Classic 3, a charity tournament to raise money for the Mockingbird Foundation (which gives grants to fund music programs for school kids). It's one of the many ways this community gives back and I was honored to be a "bounty player." Whoever knocked me out won a Roxy '93 CD box set. My friend, poker pro Jesse Martin played in the event. If you don't know, Jesse won his first bracelet at the WSOP this summer in Vegas. So cool that he scheduled Tahoe into his vacation after a crazy two months in Vegas. We got 104 players and raised over $7,200 for Mockingbird. I busted in 56th place. Wildo almost made the final table, but was knocked out in 12th. My girlfriend (aka @change100) made the final table and finished in 8th place. She was down to 1 chip late in the tournament and survived with her short-stack ninja skills. Phil from Phish.net made the final table along with Scotty Berger. His buddy Schwartz won the whole thing. Well done!

Phamily Poker Classic 3 - Winer's Trophy

After the tournament, we headed to Shakedown where the Joker was the lot DJ. You can listen to more about his deft skills in one of our Wook Patrol Podcasts. The boys kicked off the second night with Chalkdust and then leaped right into a lil Tahoe funk with Camelwalk and Back on the Train. First Brian and Robert in two years... nifty bustout. Gordo's reggae vehicle Yarmouth Road is getting better and better. "Is Yarmouth Road a less sketchy version of Shakedown?" my girlfriend wondered. The Joker felt Page was trolling us with Lawn Boy because we were standing on asphalt in a casino parking lot. They played Ocelot and I was not wearing the shirt.

The entire Tahoe run was anchored by that 36-minute Tweezer. I was waiting for that monolith for some time now. It had three major sections highlighted by audience participation with random wooos! If everyone wasn't cooking on psychedelics, they might not have responded the same way. I seriously had not seen a higher ratio of acid/shrooms to molly in the lot since the mid 90s. Did the Mothership run out of molly supplies? The band fed off the trippy vibe and vice versa. Mellow Tela was one of the only ways they could follow up that monstrous Tweezer. With the intro to Twist everyone assumed we were getting a T-set. The Architect saved us from getting  TTE'd. That TAB tune is growing on me. Antelope heat (with wooos) closed the set. Tweeprise also included a few wooos. Check out the Joker's Tweeprise vine. Hell of a show. 36-minute Tweezer is why Phish is one of my favorite bands. That's the kind of hijinks that alienates civilians and music snobs, but it's our fucking wheelhouse. But as our bud Tres joked on Facebook... "What's the big deal? I've seen EOTO play the same song for four hours."

Was it the best jam of 3.0? Was it the best Tweezer of 3.0? Was it a top 5 Tweezer? WHO THE FUCK CARES!

It is what it is... an amazing night with Phish and friends. Enjoy this buzz while it lasts, because it can all be taken away from us in a flash. Someday Phish ain't going to be around and we'll have to masturbate in the dark.

Tahoe is dunzo. The circus migrates to San Francisco. 

Grant and I helped Fink out with his Song of the Year posts by acting as guest judges in the fictitious boxing match between Tweezer and Carini. Which song will win the title and become the champion? We'll have to see which song dominates at MSG to end the year.

Here's the match that Fink provided...

Round 1: Carini 12/30/12 MSG vs. Tweezer 12/28/12 MSG        
Round 2: Carini 7/6/13 SPAC vs. Tweezer 7/6/13 SPAC
Round 3: Carini 7/30/13 Tahoe vs. Tweezer 7/31/13 Tahoe        
Round 4: Carini 8/4/13 BGA vs. Tweezer 7/12/13 Jones Beach    
Round 5: Carini 9/1/13 Dicks vs. Tweezer 8/31/13 Dicks        
Round 6: Carini 10/18/13 Hampton vs. Tweezer 10/20/13 Hampton
Round 7: Carini 10/25/13 Woostah vs. Tweezer 10/27/13 Hartford
Round 8: Carini 10/31/13 AC vs. Tweezer 11/2/13 AC


Here are some notes about Tweezer by myself and Grant....

Grant's Scoring Notes
****

Check out Fink's posts on Song of the Year, Part 1 and Part 2 (Coming Soon!)

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