Phish Unleashes Outrageous ‘Tahoe Tweezer’ On This Date In 2013

Ten years ago, Phish-related then Twitter and now X feed @YEMblog asked fans which of the band’s jams belonged on the “Mount Rushmore Of Phish Jams.” While three all-time improvisational journeys from the ’90s made the cut, one “3.0” jam joined them on the final list. On this date in 2013, Phish threw down a monumental version of “Tweezer” in Stateline, Nevada that was quickly dubbed the “Tahoe Tweezer.”

Not only did the “Tahoe Tweezer” make it to The Mount Rushmore Of Phish Jams, but it received the most votes from fans. Phish explored a variety of interesting jam spaces throughout the +30-minute “Tweezer.” Each and every member of the band was at the top of their game on this true “Team Phish” masterpiece. The quartet got the fans involved by working a call-and-response segment into the “Tweezer” that led to members of the audience screaming “Woo!” during the pauses in the music.

The first movement of the “Tahoe Tweezer” sounded evil and around the 20-minute mark, Phish took a turn towards a more blissful jam space. Guitarist Trey Anastasio weaved together one beautiful riff after another, keyboardist Page McConnell supported Trey’s leads with powerful organ blasts while the rhythm section of drummer Jon Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon anchored the blissed-out second movement of the “Tahoe Tweezer.” The “Woo!” section emerged out of the pretty, major-key exploration and was followed by multiple crowd-pleasing climaxes. A second batch of “Woo!” came towards the end of the wild “Tweezer.”

Many of the longest jams in Phish history contain plenty of noodling and downtime as the foursome finds their musical footing. What is so special about the “Tahoe Tweezer” is that there is nary a wasted note. All these years later, it remains peak Phish and an incredible moment in the band’s history.

Watch pro-shot footage of the “Tahoe Tweezer” below:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

[Originally Published: July 31, 2017]