Watch Pink Talking Fish Blend Taylor Swift Hit Into ‘Tweezer’ At Soundcheck Studios

PTF transformed to PTayF on Friday night when Pink Talking Fish mashed up the Phish classic “Tweezer” with the Taylor Swift smash “Cruel Summer.” The medley took place early in the Phish/Talking Heads/Pink Floyd tribute act’s second set at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke, Massachusetts.

Soundcheck Studios is close to a hometown show for the Boston-based Pink Talking Fish. Keyboardist Richard James and his band Neighbor pulled off a six-show fifth anniversary residency at the venue earlier this year. PTF’s lineup on Saturday featured Richard James, bassist Eric Gould, guitarist Cal Kehoe and drummer Zack Burwick.

Pink Talking Fish lit into “Tweezer” after launching the second set on Friday with Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” The quartet made its way through the composed section and then varied between dark soundscapes and more blissful terrain. Elements of “Cruel Summer” entered the mix a few minutes before Cal Kehoe started singing the song. PTF threw “Tweezer” teases in between verses for good measure and closed the jam vehicle properly after finishing the Taylor Swift cover debut.

Taylor Swift initially released “Cruel Summer” on her 2019 studio album, Lover. While the pop star didn’t initially put out the song as a single, its inclusion in Eras Tour setlist gave “Cruel Summer” a new life. Republic Records finally put out the tune co-written by Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent (Annie Clark) as a single last June and it quickly climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Watch official video of the “Tweezer”/”Cruel Summer” medley captured by Davis Thurston below:

Pink Talking Fish stuck to their usual mix of Phish, Talking Heads and Pink Floyd for the majority of the Friday night show at Soundcheck Studios. Exceptions besides “Cruel Summer” came with a cover of the Beastie Boys-via-Jimmy Smith “Root Down” towards the end of the first set and a take on Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” performed solo by Cal Kehoe to begin the encore. The band closed out the night with “Tweezer Reprise.”

After a few weeks off, PTF continues their summer tour with a free show in Avon, Colorado on June 19. Check out a complete list of dates and ticketing info by scrolling below.

Setlist

Set One: Camel Walk > Have A Cigar > Cities > And She Was, David Bowie > Dogs > David Bowie, Root Down, Cavern

Set Two: Psycho Killer > Tweezer > Cruel Summer* > Tweezer, One Of These Days, The Great Curve > Roggae, Happiest Days Of Our Lives > Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 > Another Brick In The Wall Part 3 > Life During Wartime, You Enjoy Myself**, Comfortably Numb

Encore: Can’t Find My Way Home***, Tweezer Reprise

• * – First Time Played – Taylor Swift
• ** – w/ Davis Thurston and Jack Nathanson on vocal jam
• *** – Cal solo