Nectar’s Up For Sale
By Scott Bernstein Jul 24, 2019 • 10:11 am PDT
Landmark Burlington, Vermont venue and restaurant Nectar’s has been put up for sale for the second time since 2017. Nectar’s is best known as the venue where Phish honed their chops before becoming a touring juggernaut. Located at 180-192 Main Street, the building hosts both Nectar’s on the bottom floor and Club Metronome on the top floor. As per listings found by the Burlington Free Press, the business is on sale for $300K and the building is on sale for $2.2 million.
Phish made their Nectar’s debut on December 1, 1984 as per Phish.net’s records. While 64 Phish performances are listed on the site, it’s thought numerous other concerts went undocumented. Original owner and namesake Nector Rorris gave the quartet the opportunity to experiment and develop their sound. Phish went on to dedicate their 1992 major label debut album A Picture Of Nectar to Rorris.
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Guitarist Trey Anastasio discussed the importance of the venue to Phish in a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone:
“When we started the band, for all intents and purposes, we had a residency. We used to play at the same place.” The guitarist is referring to Nectar’s – the club in Burlington, Vermont, Phish’s hometown, where the group established and advanced its unique blend of jamming, knotty composition, conceptual adventure and audience-participation jest. “We played long, multiple nights there” in the Eighties, a workload made easier because “we lived about 600 yards from Nectar’s,” Anastasio recalls. “So it was very comfortable and homegrown.”
Listen to audio of Phish’s debut at Nectar’s on December 1, 1984 below:
Set 1: Jam, Wild Child > Bertha, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, Camel Walk, Jam, In the Midnight Hour, Scarlet Begonias > Fire [1] > Fire on the Mountain > Makisupa Policeman, Slave to the Traffic Light [2], Spanish Flea [3], Don't Want You No More [4] -> Cities [5] -> Drums [6] -> Skippy the Wondermouse [7], Fluffhead [8]
Encore: Eyes of the World
Skippy and Fluffhead featured The Dude of Life on vocals. The jam after Camel Walk may have been Back Porch Boogie Blues. Spanish Flea included an introduction of the band members. Don’t Want You No More was not performed in its entirety, as it lacked the final lyrics. The lengthy percussion jam featured a guest appearance from Marc Daubert. Mike recalls that there were approximately 200 people in the audience. This gig featured the first known version of Slave to the Traffic Light and Fluffhead, the first known Phish versions of Fire, Don't Want You No More, Cities, and Skippy the Wondermouse, and the only known Phish version of Spanish Flea. This performance was on the upstairs level of Nectar's.
