Phish Halloween Atlantic City Setlist And The Skinny
By Team JamBase Oct 31, 2013 • 4:00 pm PDT
Phish continued a long tradition of Halloween performances tonight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. On Halloween in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009 and 2010 the band played three-set shows in which the second set was a “musical costume” where they covered an album by another band. Tonight Phish broke with tradition and covered themselves. The quartet performed Wingsuit, what they described as “an album from the future” that they will soon record. Phish announced the unorthodox and frankly ballsy move in this year’s Phishbill which contained a statement from the band and an essay by Josh Baron featuring quotes from all four members.
Back in October of 2012 Phish walked into “The Barn” without any material. Over the course of the last year, the band has been meeting to jam and work out material collectively in the studio setting. This evening’s second set saw six debuts were created using that process as well as two Mike Gordon/Scott Murawski originals and four Trey Anastasio/Tom Marshall originals. The Vermonters also revealed in the Playbill they will begin recording their new album, tentatively dubbed Wingsuit, in three days with famed producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel).
Included among the varied material that Phish presented was a scorching rocker with a fitting name (“Fuego”), a bombastic funk tune (“555”) and a mellow, atmospheric composition (“Wingsuit”). “Wombat” contained outlandish lyrics and saw the quartet accompanied by a dance troupe and a man in a Wombat Suit for a choreographed act. Lyrics within “Wombat” refer to actor Abe Vigoda of Barney Miller and The Godfather fame. After a quick switch out backstage, the man in the Wombat Suit was revealed to be Vigoda himself -who at 92-years-old seemed incredibly thrilled to be on stage. Vigoda later appeared in a Godfather parody vignette with the members of Phish that was displayed via screens on either side of the stage at the end of the second set.
In the opening and closing sets, Phish mainly stuck to originals. “Poor Heart” saw action for the first time in 2013, while both “Stash” and “Bathtub Gin” featured impressive peaks. The band dug in to impressively jammed-out takes on “Ghost” and “Carini” to open the third set. “Carini,” the improvisational highlight of the night, lasted nearly 20 minutes and saw the ensemble explore spacey, funky and blissful segments by the time it was through. A “Quinn The Eskimo” encore was the evening’s only cover on a night in which Phish showed that 30 years into their career, they continue to take chances and do what fans least expect.
Setlist…
[via Phish.net]
Here’s The Skinny from Phish’s Halloween show in Atlantic City…
- Venue Capacity / Attendence / Type: 14,770 (Sold Out) / Indoor Arena
- Previous Shows at Venue: 3 Shows – 10/29/2010, 10/30/2010 and 10/31/2010
- Number Of Songs / Length – First Set: 12 / 81 Minutes
- Number Of Songs / Length – Second Set: 12 / 82 Minutes
- Number Of Songs / Length – Third Set & Encore: 7 / 73 Minutes
- Total Number of Songs / Covers / Originals: 31 / 1 / 30
- Biggest Bustout: Poor Heart -58 Shows (LTP -6/30/2012)
- Tour Debuts: Poor Heart, Second Set
- Average Song Vintage: 2001
- Debuts: Wingsuit, Fuego, The Line, Monica, Waiting All Night, Wombat, Snow, Devotion To A Dream, 555, Winterqueen, Amidst The Peals Of Laughter, You Never Know
- Weather: 65°F and Fair at Showtime
- Average Song Gap: 7.84
- The Spread: Junta -1, Lawn Boy -2, Picture Of Nectar -2, Rift -2, Billy Breathes -1, The Story Of The Ghost -3, Farmhouse -3, Joy -1, Wingsuit -12, Misc. -3, Covers -1
- Longest LivePhish Track / Shortest LivePhish Track: Carini 19:17 / Poor Heart 2:16
- Audio: Live Phish
Phish From The Road Photos…
— Phish: From The Road (@Phish_FTR) November 1, 2013
— Phish: From The Road (@Phish_FTR) November 1, 2013
— Phish: From The Road (@Phish_FTR) November 1, 2013
Poster…
