Phish Debuts ‘Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It’ On Fall Tour 1998

This year marks 25 years since Phish’s historic Fall Tour 1995. In recognition of that noteworthy tour and to make up for the lack of shows this fall, JamBase presents a daily retrospective highlighting a noteworthy moment from a Phish fall tour concert that took place on that date over the past 25 years (read a note on Fall 1997 here). The 25 Years Of Phish Fall Tour series runs each day between the start of Phish Fall Tour 1995 on September 27 through that tour’s finale on December 17.

Phish drummer Jon Fishman led the band through their first and only cover of Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” on this date during Fall Tour 1998. The quartet’s lone performance of the song came at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia as part of a two-night stand documented on Hampton Comes Alive, a six-disc live album released on November 23, 1999.

Will Smith originally issued “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” on his debut solo album, Big Willie Style, in 1997. Phish’s performance of the song came within their second set at Hampton Coliseum on November 20, 1998. The one-and-done cover was fit between instrumental renditions of Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up,” a tune long used by Phish to introduce and mark the end of songs led by Fishman.

Fish emerged from behind the drum kit and gave his usual seat to guitarist Trey Anastasio. The drummer showed off his rapping skills and was helped by cue cards placed by tour manager Brad Sands on monitors in front of him. Fishman took a brief vacuum solo towards the end of “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and threw the cue cards into the audience during the “Hold Your Head Up” reprise.

The run had a special feel right from the start as the quartet opened with their lone cover of Gary Glitter’s “Rock & Roll Part Two,” which was followed by a high-energy “Tube” and Phish’s first rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Quinn The Eskimo” since August 10, 1987 — a span of 1,150 shows. The first set also featured tour debuts of “Rift” and “Train Song.”

An intense “Bathtub Gin” got Phish’s second set at “The Mothership” underway and led into “Piper.” Then, the four-piece worked “Axilla” into a cover of Ween’s “Roses Are Free” before the tender “Farmhouse” gave way to the “Hold Your Head Up” > “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” > “Hold Your Head Up” sequence. Fish namechecked himself, using the nickname “Bob Weaver,” during the Will Smith cover.

Fishman returned to the drum kit for a typically beautiful version of “Harry Hood.” Phish capped the second set with “Character Zero” and then were joined by old friend Carl “Geerz” Gerhard on trumpet for the evening’s “Cavern” encore.

Watch the “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” sequence below: