Sweet & Velvety Sunday: Night Three Of Phish Baker’s Dozen Residency – Recap, Setlist & The Skinny
By Ben Greenfield Jul 23, 2017 • 9:01 pm PDT
The third night of Phish‘s 13-show Baker’s Dozen residency at New York City’s Madison Square Garden came with a twist. Before the show, red velvet donuts were distributed to fans by Federal Donuts. But instead of debuting cover songs that mentioned the flavor, Phish honored an entire band, bookending the concert with Velvet Underground covers — while leaving the “red” half to lighting director Chris Kuroda. As the night progressed, they treated the crowd to a night full of improvisation that came in many flavors, ranging from blissful ambience to thrashing rock, to velvety red funk and beyond.
Phish paid homage to both halves of the night’s donut selection right off the bat, debuting Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning” under velvety-red lights that would reappear throughout the night. Jon Fishman, decked out in cape and bishop’s hat, sang the Velvet Underground & Nico tune while peppering the crowd with incense, as Trey Anastasio handled the drums. The band returned to their normal instruments for “Axilla” and “Your Pet Cat.” A screamingly blissful “Back on the Train” preceded the first “How Many People Are You” since October. Next, they dusted off “Glide,” which had been missing in action since August 15, 2015, for a rendition that was clean by modern standards. The tour’s second “Theme from the Bottom” throbbed with purpose under red velvet, violet and white lights.
“It’s Ice” returned to the stage for the first time since last October 24, and it came back with a vengeance. In place of its ordinary breakdown was a long and slithering funk jam, colored by Page McConnell’s generous use of synthesizers, making this one of the most notable — and longest — improvisations in the song’s more-than-25-year history. “More” closed the first set with a bang, as it was written to do, with lyrics including the word “red.”
After a quick set-opening “AC/DC Bag,” the band put their jamming hats back on. “Wolfman’s Brother” hit its usual peak, then hit its typical post-peak funk jam. From there, it took a several-minute turn into ethereal ambience, building slowly and beautifully before yielding the stage to “Twist.” The quartet took the Farmhouse staple through several themes before settling on a driving groove, with Page leading the way on synth. As Trey began layering loops of bent notes atop the others, the jam went into high gear, reaching a frenetic peak before returning to the song’s refrain.
The tour’s second “Waves” went deep into a dark, eerie space, evoking abduction by aliens — and perhaps not especially friendly ones. The band came back down to Earth for “Miss You.” After a take on Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman” which came with an extra helping of chunky funk, the band finally mentioned the second of the night’s keywords, closing the set with a predictable but well-placed “Wading in the Velvet Sea.”
The night’s velvetness was not done, though. The band returned to the stage for perhaps the most fan-requested Velvet Underground tune of all: “Sweet Jane.” The song, which was debuted on August 8, 1998, repeated in that Halloween’s cover set, and only resurrected once, on June 29, 2012, finally made its return. Showing no signs of rust, the song brought the night to a rocking conclusion under Kuroda’s crimson hues.
Phish will return to the stage at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night for night four of the Baker’s Dozen residency.
The Skinny
The Setlist |
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Set 1: Sunday Morning [1], Axilla, Your Pet Cat > Back on the Train, How Many People Are You, Glide, Theme From the Bottom > It's Ice > More Set 2: AC/DC Bag > Wolfman's Brother [2] > Twist > Waves > Miss You, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea Encore: Sweet Jane
This show was night three of Phish's Baker's Dozen run at Madison Square Garden and consisted of a red velvet donut theme. Red velvet donuts with cream cheese frosting were given to fans arriving at the venue and the show featured the Phish debut of Sunday Morning with Trey on drums and Fish on vocals. Fish came out on stage for Sunday Morning wearing a stole and mitre. He also lifted a censer with burning incense at one point and even sprinkled "holy water" on the crowd. The venue was draped in red lights for the "velvet" themed songs: Sunday Morning and Sweet Jane (both Velvet Underground covers) and Wading in the Velvet Sea. Trey teased Streets of Cairo in Back on the Train and Super Bad in It's Ice. Wolfman's Brother was unfinished. Sweet Jane was played for the first time since June 29, 2012 (193 shows). |
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The Venue |
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Madison Square Garden [See upcoming shows] |
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20,789 |
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41 shows |
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The Music |
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9 songs / 8:13 pm to 9:25 pm (72 minutes) |
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8 songs / 9:59 pm to 11:21 pm (82 minutes) |
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17 songs |
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2000 |
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24.56 [Gap chart] |
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Sunday Morning (Velvet Underground) |
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Sunday Morning, Back on the Train, How Many People Are You, It's Ice, AC/DC Bag, Twist, Miss You, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Sweet Jane |
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Sweet Jane LTP 06/29/2012 (352 Show Gap) |
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Twist 15:59 |
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Axilla 3:27 |
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A Picture of Nectar - 1, Rift - 1, Hoist - 1, Billy Breathes - 1, The Story of the Ghost - 1, Farmhouse - 2, Round Room - 1, Undermind - 0, Joy - 0, Fuego - 0, Big Boat - 2, Misc. - 4, Covers - 3 |
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The Rest |
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75° and Cloudy at showtime |
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KOA 1 |
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Capacity: 20,789 Donut Flavor: Red Velvet |
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