Phish Opens Final Set Of 2012 San Francisco Run With Standout Sequence
By Scott Bernstein Aug 19, 2017 • 9:22 am PDT
Five years ago today Phish completed a three-night stand at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco with a show best remembered for the awe-inspiring start to the second set. The foursome began the final set of the run with an improv-heavy run of “Crosseyed & Painless” > “Light” > “Sneakin’ Sall Through The Alley” > “Crosseyed & Painless” that still stands among the best sequences of the era.
The 32 minutes of “Crosseyed” > “Light” is a true Team Phish affair with impressive contributions from all four members of the band. It didn’t take Phish long to break from the normal structure of “Crosseyed.” Drummer Jon Fishman broke down the cover’s typical fast-paced beat to half-time, while bassist Mike Gordon powered a move to a blissful major-key. Keyboardist Page McConnell alternated between funky clavinet riffs and anthemic piano work as Trey connected with Mike on a melody that sounded similar to Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave.”
Phish took their time exploring the beautiful jam space they landed upon before Anastasio led them in a darker direction to complete the jaw-dropping “Crosseyed & Painless.” Around the 17-minute mark, Trey kicked into “Light” and fans soon had their second “Type II” jam of the set. The guitarist was extremely active throughout the start of the “Light” improv as he weaved together one inspired lead after another. Eventually, Fish broke down the beat once again and Trey focused on rhythm while Mike took the steering wheel. A funky jam developed with killer contributions from all four members of Phish.
The 30+ minute “Crosseyed” > “Light” is incredible, but don’t sleep on the cover of Allen Toussaint’s “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley” and end of “Crosseyed & Painless” that followed. “Sally” featured multiple crowd-pleasing peaks and the audience went wild when Phish returned to “Crosseyed.” It’s hard to argue with this comment:
https://twitter.com/chopaganda/status/898914136985292802Watch “Crosseyed & Painless” > “Light” from this date in 2012 thanks to LazyLightning55:
Here’s the “Sneakin’ Sally” > “Crosseyed” as captured by LazyLightning55:
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Set 1: Crowd Control, Party Time, Axilla, Reba, Free > Mound > Walk Away, NICU > Back on the Train, Gotta Jibboo > Roggae, David Bowie
Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > Light -> Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley -> Crosseyed and Painless > Theme From the Bottom > Rocky Top, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Meatstick, Bug, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Ride Captain Ride > Tweezer Reprise
Trey teased Nellie Kane in Crowd Control. Reba included a DEG tease. Bowie contained a Reba tease from Trey. Eleanor Rigby was teased prior to the start of the second set. Crosseyed contained a tease of The Cave. Light and Sneakin' Sally both included Crosseyed teases. Light also included a Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) tease. Mike teased China Cat Sunflower before Bug.
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