Phish Welcomes John Popper & Noel Redding On This Date In 1993
By Scott Bernstein Feb 6, 2017 • 1:04 pm PST
On this date in 1993 Vermont jam quartet Phish completed a two-night stand at the Roseland Ballroom in 1993. The foursome were at the beginning of one of their longest tours and ended the February 6, 1993 performance in New York City with help from a pair of special guests.
Blues Traveler frontman John Popper was the first guest to emerge as he added to versions of “Buried Alive” and “Possum” at the end of the second set. Popper took the stage with Phish when the band came out for the encore. The quintet lit into a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” but quickly scrapped it after having issues with the intro. It turns out Phish was showing off their sense of humor as guitarist Trey Anastasio revealed Mike Gordon would be replaced on bass by Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Redding then contributed to a scorching “Fire” that also featured Popper. Mike moved over to keys for the cover.
Here’s audio of “Possum” and “Fire” as shared by Lawrence Blumenstein:
Set 1: Golgi Apparatus, Foam, Wilson [1], My Friend, My Friend [2], Maze, Horn, Divided Sky, Lawn Boy, The Wedge, Bouncing Around the Room > Run Like an Antelope
Set 2: Chalk Dust Torture, Mound, Stash, Sweet Adeline, All Things Reconsidered, Mike's Song [3] > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Lifeboy, Uncle Pen, Big Ball Jam, Hold Your Head Up > Lengthwise [4] > Buried Alive [5], Possum [6]
Encore: Fire [7]
Wilson included Simpsons and Random Note signals and the beginning of My Friend featured Trey on acoustic guitar. Trey teased Antelope before Chalk Dust Torture. Mike's Song was dedicated to Cilla Foster and included an extra verse. During Lengthwise, Fish refused to tell The Prison Joke and sang a verse about burning your finger from holding a lighter up too long. Buried Alive, Possum, and Fire featured John Popper on harmonica; Fire also featured Noel Redding on bass, with Mike moving over to keyboards. Fire's lyrics were changed to "move over, Rover, and let Popper take over."
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