Phish Plays Ethereal Piano-Driven ‘Harry Hood’ At Great Woods On This Date In 1995
The show was broadcast on Boston radio station WBCN.
By Scott Bernstein Jul 1, 2024 • 6:06 am PDT
There’s no denying that guitarist Trey Anastasio is the frontman of Phish. When Trey is “on,” the band is “on” in 99% of situations. Anastasio usually handles the soloing on most Phish jam vehicles, so it was a surprise that keyboardist Page McConnell had a turn in the spotlight to start a stellar “Harry Hood” jam on this date in 1995 at Great Woods in Mansfield, Massachusetts — the same venue where the band will kick off their summer tour later this month.
Ever wonder what “Hood” would sound like if Page fronted the jam instead of Trey? The version from the penultimate stop of Phish’s 1995 Summer Tour gives a taste of McConnell in the driver’s seat. Page immediately takes the reins once the band finished the composed section of “Harry Hood” at the Boston area amphitheater. McConnell lays out one beautiful, ethereal string of notes after another on the grand piano for two majestic moments of Phish unlike any other in the quartet’s 41-year history. Each riff is so striking it wouldn’t be a surprise if the keyboardist had prepped for his time to shine in advance of the show. The sequence stands out in a way akin to Chuck Leavell’s “Jessica” solo.
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Trey Anastasio plays gorgeous arpeggios while Page solos. He then takes the baton in the perfect pass-off and brings “Hood” to an out-of-this-world conclusion. At first, Anastasio continues his focus on rhythmic work but eventually goes into shred mode. The guitarist hit upon a delicate and soaring pattern he uses as a base to build “Harry Hood” to multiple peaks. Page even throws in a chord progression that sounds straight out of “Jessica” into the mix while Trey is putting his heart and soul into a dynamic solo. The best part was the show aired on Boston radio station WBCN, so tapes circulated quickly amongst fans letting them hear the outrageous “Hood” and the rest of the concert.
Stream the audio of “Harry Hood” that aired on WBCN below:
Watch pro-shot video of “Bouncing Around The Room” from ABC’s In Concert:
Listen to whole show as broadcast on WBCN via a playlist compiled by ThePhishFromTT:
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Setlist (via Phish.net)
Set 1: Ya Mar, Llama, If I Could [1] > All Things Reconsidered, It's Ice [2] > Prince Caspian > Split Open and Melt, Bouncing Around the Room > Chalk Dust Torture
Set 2: Wilson > Maze, Theme From the Bottom, Uncle Pen, Stash [3] > Strange Design, Acoustic Army, Harry Hood, Suzy Greenberg
Encore: Funky Bitch
If I Could included the variation with a preceding Trey guitar solo. The jam in It’s Ice featured Fish on vacuum. Stash was unfinished. Suzy included Sunshine of Your Love and Smoke on the Water teases. Funky Bitch was dedicated to the tour-heads as an always requested but never played song. Portions of this show were used in Mike Gordon’s 1997 short film Goodwood; the entire gig was simulcast live on Boston’s WBCN 104.1 FM.
[Originally Published: July 1, 2020]
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