Live Phish Volume 9
Encyclopedia
Live Phish Vol. 9 was recorded live at the Townshend Family Park in Townshend
, Vermont
on August 26, 1989.
When the band begin choosing concerts for the Live Phish Series
, guitarist Trey Anastasio
required at least one release from the 1980s. This three-set concert, performed late on a summer afternoon in August, seems to be the most fitting representation of 1980s Phish
since almost all of the band's concert staples from the era are represented.
This 1989 show saw Phish enmeshed in a progressive rock
phase, as many multi-part epics and large scale compositions are littered throughout, beginning with the show-opening "Fluffhead" suite. At the end of the second set, Anastasio announces that the band is going to "let the sun go down a little" before returning to the stage for the final set, which ends with a blazing version of ZZ Top
's "La Grange
."
This concert, one of the longest Phish concerts of 1989, is seen by many fans as a defining record of the band's tightly-structured progressive rock period.
Townshend, Vermont
Townshend is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for the Townshend family, powerful figures in British politics...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
on August 26, 1989.
When the band begin choosing concerts for the Live Phish Series
Live Phish Series
LivePhish is an ongoing series of complete Phish concert recordings. The original twenty-volume series was released by Elektra Records and launched while Phish was on hiatus from recording and touring ....
, guitarist Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
required at least one release from the 1980s. This three-set concert, performed late on a summer afternoon in August, seems to be the most fitting representation of 1980s Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
since almost all of the band's concert staples from the era are represented.
This 1989 show saw Phish enmeshed in a progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
phase, as many multi-part epics and large scale compositions are littered throughout, beginning with the show-opening "Fluffhead" suite. At the end of the second set, Anastasio announces that the band is going to "let the sun go down a little" before returning to the stage for the final set, which ends with a blazing version of ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
's "La Grange
La Grange (song)
"La Grange" is a song by the rock group ZZ Top from their album Tres Hombres, released in 1973. One of their most successful songs, it was released in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to #41 in the Billboard Pop Singles list in 1974. The song refers to a bordello on the outskirts of...
."
This concert, one of the longest Phish concerts of 1989, is seen by many fans as a defining record of the band's tightly-structured progressive rock period.
Disc one
- "Fluffhead" (AnastasioTrey AnastasioTrey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
, PollakThe Dude of LifeSteve Pollak, best known by his stage name The Dude of Life, is a musician and lyricist, who has co-written numerous Phish songs, including "Suzy Greenberg", "Fluffhead", "Slave to the Traffic Light", "Run like an Antelope", "Sanity", "Crimes of the Mind", "Dinner and a Movie", and most recently,...
) - 15:23 - "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" (Anastasio) - 7:13
- "Fly Famous Mockingbird" (Anastasio) - 7:20
- "Harry Hood" (Anastasio, FishmanJon FishmanJon Fishman is an American drummer best known for his work with the band Phish. He is credited with co-writing 19 Phish originals, 8 of them as a solo credit....
, GordonMike GordonMike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
, Long, McConnellPage McConnellPage Samuel McConnell is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as a songwriter and keyboardist with the American rock band Phish....
) - 10:21 - "Split Open and Melt" (Anastasio) - 7:13
- "The Divided Sky" (Anastasio) - 12:08
Disc two
- "You Enjoy MyselfYou Enjoy MyselfYou Enjoy Myself, commonly abbreviated to "YEM" is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio. It is the band's most frequently played song, having been featured —as of August 2011— at about 36% of their 1,496 shows. The song is also one of the oldest in Phish's catalog, having been first performed...
" (Anastasio) - 14:50 - "Possum" (HoldsworthJeff HoldsworthJeff Holdsworth was a founding member of the rock band Phish. He was their first leader, singing lead vocals and playing guitar. He co-founded the band in the fall of 1983 with Trey Anastasio while living in the Redstone campus dormitories of the University of Vermont...
) - 7:18 - "Andy Griffith Theme" (HagenEarle HagenEarle Harry Hagen was an American composer who created music for movies and television. He is remembered for co-writing and whistling "The Fishin' Hole", the melody of the main theme to The Andy Griffith Show, the instrumental classic "Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme to television's Mickey...
, SpencerHerbert SpencerHerbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
) - 1:53 - "Bold as Love" (HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
) - 4:59 - "Ya Mar" (Ferguson) - 6:34
- "Slave to the Traffic Light" (Abrahams, Anastasio, Pollak) - 6:20
- "AC/DC Bag" (Anastasio) - 6:41
- "Donna LeeDonna Lee"Donna Lee" is a bebop jazz standard composed by Miles Davis. It was written in A flat and is based on the chord changes of the traditional jazz standard " Indiana". One unusual feature of the tune is that it begins with a half-bar rest...
" (ParkerCharlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
) - 4:29 - "Funky Bitch" (SealsSon SealsFrank "Son" Seals was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.-Career:He was born in Osceola, Arkansas where his father, Jim "Son" Seals, owned a small juke joint. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk, and later as a guitarist...
) - 5:09 - "Foam" (Anastasio) - 6:34
Disc three
- "David Bowie" (Anastasio) - 14:45
- "The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday" (Anastasio) - 3:31
- "Avenu Malcanu" (Traditional) - 3:32
- "Suzy Greenberg" (Anastasio, Pollak) - 6:20
- "Dinner and a Movie" (Anastsio, Pollak) - 3:57
- "Run Like an Antelope" (Anastasio, MarshallTom Marshall (singer)Tom Marshall is a lyricist, keyboardist and singer/songwriter best known for his association with Trey Anastasio and the rock band Phish...
, Pollak) - 13:47 - "Contact" (Gordon) - 6:12
- "The Lizards" (Anastasio) - 9:35
- "La GrangeLa Grange (song)"La Grange" is a song by the rock group ZZ Top from their album Tres Hombres, released in 1973. One of their most successful songs, it was released in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to #41 in the Billboard Pop Singles list in 1974. The song refers to a bordello on the outskirts of...
" (BeardFrank Beard (musician)Frank Lee Beard is the drummer in the rock band ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with the bands The Cellar Dwellars, who originally were a three-piece band, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and American Blues before starting to play and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.Beard was born in...
, GibbonsBilly GibbonsWilliam Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
, HillDusty HillJoseph Michael "Dusty" Hill is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.-History:Hill was in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas...
) - 4:50
Personnel
- Trey AnastasioTrey AnastasioTrey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...
- guitars, vocals - Page McConnellPage McConnellPage Samuel McConnell is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as a songwriter and keyboardist with the American rock band Phish....
- piano, organ, vocals - Mike GordonMike GordonMike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
- bass, vocals - Jon FishmanJon FishmanJon Fishman is an American drummer best known for his work with the band Phish. He is credited with co-writing 19 Phish originals, 8 of them as a solo credit....
- drums, vocals