Sat Eye Candy: Phish Influences

Phish is a band that wears its influences on its sleeve. In their hearty embrace of cover tunes and even in the explicit name checking of artists in their originals. With all eyes on the Greek in Berkeley and the unfolding summer tour, we offer a selection of roots sources for this venerable band touched upon during the current road trip (no, this is not an attempt at a comprehensive survey of Phish's overall influences, just the ones they themselves have nodded to this summer. We'll tackle the bigger idea another Saturday...).

This one clearly makes Phish happy because it shows up in the rotation with some regularity.

Phish busted this one out just last night at the Greek. This clip comes from the period when King Crimson's Adrian Belew was part of the Heads touring ensemble.

Appropriately, Phish opened their 4th of July show with our national anthem, which does seem to touch a nerve in rockers ever since Jimi lit the mother-frucker on fire way back when.

Naming a song "David Bowie" takes brass clankers. Phish has borrowed lustily from both the Thin White Duke's musical oeuvre and large scale theatrical flair. They pull off both with aplomb.

We're really glad Page hasn't adopted cornrows even if they cover this soul bomb.

It's a treat that Skynyrd's "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" has been making occasional reappearances in the past year after being absent from setlists since 1993. Here's a pair of Skynyrd tunes including "Curtis" for y'all.

We end, as Phish did last evening, with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times." Bright tidings to those lucky enough to be holding a golden ticket for the final night at the Greek!

Keep up with Phish's Summer Tour in real time with JamBase's Real-Time Phish Page!