Full Show Video: Oysterhead Plays The Fillmore In Denver On Halloween 2001
By Andy Kahn Oct 28, 2016 • 10:00 am PDT
On Halloween night in 2001 Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, Primus bassist Les Claypool and The Police drummer Stewart Copeland brought the lone Oysterhead tour to The Fillmore in Denver. Full Show Friday this week is devoted to the October 31, 2001 Oysterhead gig that was anything but ordinary for the supergroup.
The 2001 Fall Tour mostly stuck to songs on the band’s only album, The Grand Pecking Order with a regularly rotated set of classic rock covers thrown into the mix. Halloween was a bit different as the band was particularly loose, and weaved a handful of teases and other unexpected songs into the setlist.
Costumed in Phish drummer Jon Fishman’s familiar frock, Anastasio gave fans a treat with a taste of “Stash” during the mid-set “Pseudo Suicide.” The tricks continued inside the “Army’s On Ecstasy” that followed as the song’s jam section was revved up by a quick take on The Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night” and a spooky work up of the chorus to The Police hit “Walking On The Moon.”
Trey then jumped on his antlered Matterhorn guitar for Copeland’s spoken word meditation “Wield The Spade” before switching over to acoustic guitar for a solo portion of the set. A talkative Anastasio jokingly played few songs regularly covered by Fishman including Syd Barrett’s “Love You” and “Bike” and Neil Diamond’s “Cracklin’ Rosie.” He played “Birthday Boys” next with Claypool and Copeland reemerging at the end of the biographically celebratory tune. “Owner Of The World” appeared to be the final song of the main set until Les stepped to the microphone to sing one verse of “God Bless America” as his band mates left the stage. They all returned together and the regularly covered Jimi Hendrix/Buddy Miles favorite “Them Changes” was selected as the encore 15 years ago.
Watch how it all went down in the videos below:
Setlist (via Phish.net)
Set: Little Faces, Mr. Oysterhead, Oz is Ever Floating , Rubberneck Lions, Radon Balloon, Pseudo Suicide , Army’s On Ecstacy > All Day And All of the Night [1] > Walking On The Moon > Army’s On Ecstacy, Wield the Spade, Birthday Boys [2], Owner of the World, God Bless America [1]
Encore: Them Changes
[1] Oysterhead debut.
[2] Trey sang lines from “Love You,” “Bike,” and “Cracklin’ Rosie.”
Trey was dressed in Fish’s frock, Les wore a pig mask, and Stewart donned camo paint to celebrate Halloween. “God Bless America” and the cover of The Kinks “All Day and All of the Night” were Oysterhead debuts. “Army’s on Ecstasy” contained a “Tomorrow Never Knows” tease. “Birthday Boys” featured Trey singing lines from a number of covers that Fish often performs with Phish: “Love You,” “Bike,” and “Cracklin’ Rosie.” “Owner of the World” included a “Stash” tease.
