Video | Phish With Hartswick & Cressman – Suzy Greenberg

On Friday night, Phish played their first of three Labor Day Weekend shows at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO. The band had either a treat or a trick in store for fans, depending on how you look at it, as part of the first set, when they opened the show with a run of songs in which the first letter of each spelled out “LUSHINGTON,” an original the Vermonters hadn’t performed since 1987. In typical Phish fashion, the quartet didn’t actually play “Lushington,” but did have a surprise for attendees.

After completing the troll by performing “Ha Ha Ha” following the songs that spelled out “LUSHINGTON,” Phish welcomed Trey Anastasio Band trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick and trombonist Natalie Cressman to add horns to “Suzy Greenberg.” The song has been a regular spotlight song for guest horn player(s) since Dave “The Truth” Grippo added saxophone to “Suzy” at The Front in Burlington on December 2, 1990. “Suzy Greenberg” was subsequently performed with the Giant Country Horns on each and every show they joined Phish for during the summer of 1991.

Prior to Dick’s, the last horn-assisted “Suzy” took place at Festival 8 in 2009 with the help of Sharon Jones and Saundra Williams on backup vocals, Dave Guy on trumpet, David Smith on trombone and Tony Jarvis on saxophone. Friday’s “Suzy Greenberg” marked Cressman’s first appearance on stage with Phish and the first for Hartswick since she assisted on a cover of Jay-Z’s “Girls Girls Girls” on April 15, 2004.

Videographer LazyLightning55 captured Friday’s performance of “Suzy Greenberg” for our viewing pleasure. Check it out: