The 2 Songs Phish Drummer Jon Fishman Wrote About The Same Relationship

Phish sets can typically be easily identified as the first or second set based on the setlist, including what songs were selected, how many songs were in the set and how long the jams generally were. But there are certainly no hard and fast rules and there are definitely exceptions, and that is one of the many things that make every single Phish show unique.

One such show is June 24, 2000, at the Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta. Three nights into that year’s summer tour, the first set had more of the feel of a second set, with the opening four-song stanza of “The Moma Dance,” “Runaway Jim,” “Bouncing Around The Room” and “Tweezer” occupying nearly a full hour of music. The second set seemed to more closely resemble what is expected in the band’s first sets, especially when “My Sweet One” appeared in the three-slot.

Throughout the early 1990s, when the band’s song catalog was smaller and the sets had not yet quite taken on such a set identity, it was perfectly normal for “My Sweet One” to appear in a second set. But by the mid-1990s, when the song became increasingly rare, it would always pop up earlier on in the shows.

That was until this second set, and maybe it was because of how rare the song had become (though the band had just played it a week earlier in Japan), but this version of “My Sweet One” was anything but normal. As the second verse began to wrap up, Trey Anastasio could take no more as he abandoned the lyrics to instead sing, “We’re all playing in different keys.” With things fully off the rails, Trey called for a drum solo from drummer Jon Fishman, followed by one from bassist Mike Gordon and finally keyboardist Page McConnell.

When the tune came to its merciful end, there was an extended amount of dead air from the stage. Trey ultimately stepped to the mic to break that silence, stating:

“Thank you for your patience. That last song we just butchered was one of the few but legendary songs written by our drummer Jon Fishman. And to just let you in on a very secret private thing, we’re all friends here, we can talk about this. ‘My Sweet One’ and ‘Dog Faced Boy’ are written about the same person. Both by Jon Fishman. One was written at the beginning of the relationship. And one at the end. Can you guess which?”

Anastasio then mentioned that since banter at their concerts is so rare, for another special treat, Gordon would then also provide some banter. Mike was only able to muster a brief demonstration of his “Fight Bell” before quickly concluding the “Mike Banter” portion of the set, and things got back on track with a mid-set version of “Run Like An Antelope.”

Watch video of the full Phish show from June 24, 2000 via the JamBase Live Video Archive below:

Setlist (via Phish.net)