Phish 20th Anniversary Montage

Sorry it's been a few days since the last post here... so here's a BIG one to make up for it.. the Phish 20th Anniversary Montage! This was played during setbreak at the 12/2/03 concert in Boston, MA. The band left the stage, the lights went down, and the sounds of Fluffhead filled the arena. Could it be the return of Fluffhead? Noooooo. Just another shot of Phish humor as a huge screen was lit up above the stage with some really old footage of the band. A great video with timeless amazing shots followed. So not really live Phish today, but some awesome old Phish stuff for your enjoyment:

12/30/94 Purple Rain!!!!

Never meant to cause you any sorrow, never meant to cause you any pain. I only want to one time see you laughing, only want to see you laughing in the purple rain. Purple Rain might be my all time favorite Fishman song and unfortunately one that I never was able to see live. This classic Prince cover, complete with vacuum solo is from 12/30/94 at Madison Square Garden. And of course, there's some HYHU and minor Fish bowing at the end.

Scent of a Mule>Blister in the Sun>Scent

Here's a hot one for ya... it's from 7-9-98 in Barcelona. Looks like a pretty steady cam shot from balcony or bar or something over on Page side. It's just kind of weird how they randomly go into Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes). I was at the Austin show the year before when Phish played it and that was clearly precipitated by the obnoxiously hot weather. They were even driving around the parking lot in a golf carts handing out free water to keep the crowd hydrated in the Texas sun. I wasn't on the Europe tour in '98 so I wonder if this show was just as hot or if Phish just decided to play it for fun. Blister seems like the song that EVERYBODY plays when they start to learn guitar. And is it just me or did Scent seem to disappear post-hiatus? Enjoy:

Mmmbop: Like an 11 Year Old Sex Machine

Phish.com calls this the rare example (maybe the ONLY example?) of a Phish soundcheck that is better known than the actual show. This soundcheck was open to the public and is some of the loosest most carefree fun Phish you will hear (click for pics of the limbo karaoke contest!). Check out the setlist for the soundcheck courtesy of Phish.net:

07-06-97 Spiaggia di Rivoltella, Desenzano (Brescia), Italy

Soundcheck: Jam, Oblivious Fool, Beauty of My Dreams, Hell's Bells (attempt)*, You Shook Me All Night Long#, MMMBop^, Another One Bites the Dust (Queen)$&, And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison)$, Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine)$, Day-O

*As the show is outside (on a beach), bells ringing at a nearby church prompt this attempt at this AC/DC tune. #Sung by Fish after Trey can't remember the words. Trey makes a comment afterwords about writing just one song like this one. ^Hanson cover, sung by Fish as James Brown ("Like an 11-year-old sex machine"). $The Soundcheck Limbo Karaoke Contest (sung by audience members). &Sung as "Another one rides the bus".

Today we've got a video of the MMMBop, which is just hysterical. Trey (in his oft-worn eyeball top hat shirt) looks like he's having blast. Fishman, unfortunately blocked by fans' heads here, is doing his typical crown prince/court jester. Page looks mildly amused. Mike- are you there? So here ya go-Phish doing James Brown's version of Hanson's Mmmbop. Take it to the bridge.. 23 times...hit me....116 times: