Fuck Your Face

Date: 4/29/1987

Location: Nectar's, Burlington VT

The debut of Fuck Your Face is shrouded in a bit of mystery. Played as the encore, there is supposedly a version that circulates with the rest of this show, but some doubt it was actually played that night. Officially it was, but I've not been able to track that recording.

Of course, more recently, Phish dusted this one off 23 years later, on 7/2/10 in Charlotte. I've decided not to include the audio for that as most of us have probably heard this or another later version by now, and probably does not accurately match what the Nectar's version was like. An early studio version is readily available on the White Tapes, though, so head that way if you're interested.

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Who Do? We Do!

Date: 4/24/1987

Location: Billings Lounge, UVT, Burlington VT

Yet another song that would eventually be integrated into Fluff's Travels, this early Who Do? We Do! is not exactly what I expected. Played at a torturously slow pace and full of dead air, it's mostly recognizable as a Phish song, but there were times when I had my doubts. Certainly the late 80's were a very experimental time for the band, and quite frankly, I think this experiment fails. More-so than other Fluff's Travels components, Who Do? We Do! doesn't really work on its own as a standalone song, but thankfully all that matters is that it turned out in the end.

This version is not the debut, but the version from 4/29/87, five days later

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Punch Me in the Eye

Date: 4/24/1987

Location: Billings Lounge, UVT

A variation on the well-known Punch You in the Eye? Think again.

Punch Me in the Eye, played only once, is a truly bizzare song, with numerous distinct parts. The first is a strange, sing-songy exercise (including some singing in the round, which I believe is the first instance of this common motif in a Phish piece.) This is followed by a short dirge-like vocal section. The largest portion of the song is actually a pretty cool composition that would not seem out of place right in the middle of Fluffhead next to Clod. The final installment is an unholy amalgam of bluegrass and doo-wop (with hints of Sparkle). Indeed, it's almost as though four different people brought together different snippets of something they were working on at the time and literally spliced some cassette tapes together.

I knew the early days of Phish had some pretty crazy stuff, but this one needs to be heard to be believed.

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Freeworld

Date: 3/6/1987

Location: Goddard Cafeteria, Goddard College, Plainfield VT

Little is known about this mysterious little tune.It has come to be known as Freeworld, even the title isn't even truly known. It was only played one time. The singer remains anonymous and, supposedly, the lyrics were made up on the spot.

My initial impression was that this is the bastard offspring of the at-the-time-yet-to-be-composed Cars, Trucks, Buses and Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues. It's actually kind of a wild ride. If it hadn't been so long since it's seen the light of day, I might hope for it on a setlist. But alas, I think we may never know more about this little guy. Perhaps we aren't meant to know some of life's great mysteries, like the origins of Stonehenge, or the Kennedy assassination, or how magnets work.

(Thanks to phish.net and Mark Toscano for the research help on this one!)

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Suzy Greenberg

Date: 3/13/1987

Location: Johnson State College, Johnson VT

The first debut of 1987, and also the first for the band in over 3 months since the debut of Bowie. Not surprisingly, Suzy hasn't changed much over the years, but thankfully the sound quality has improved.  I believe this version features the Dude of Life, who co-wrote, on vocals.

Warning! Poor Sound Quality

Warning! Dude of Life!

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David Bowie

Date: 10/31/1986

Location: Sculpture Room, Goddard College, Plainfield VT

The last debut of 1986, the original Bowie displays far less urgency than modern versions. There is a breakdown at about 1:45 that still remains in the song today, but in this version has a pronounced jazz feel to it, almost to the point of being unrecognizable. The jam is also markedly less hurried, providing a quite different overall feel. It picks up speed as it goes, ratcheting up the intensity. If you've been following past debut posts, you'll easily see that Trey's skill has grown considerably over the past year by this point.

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Clod

Date: 10-15-1986

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

Of course Clod is better known as an integral part of Fluffhead, but it began life as a standalone song. Even though it's essentially the same composition, the feel of the performance is totally different. At seemingly half the pace of any Fluffhead version I've ever heard, the debut takes plenty of time to work its way through the many intricate passages; the vocal sections are almost torturously slow.

Another strange aspect of this version is that the song doesn't really have a beginning. It just sort of picks up in the general vicinity of where the transition from "Who Do? We Do!" would normally leave off. The ending is much the same, as Page hits a little arpeggiated flourish and that's it! Needing a more stable foundation, it's no wonder it was incorporated into the larger opus. Frankly, I'm glad for this, as Clod is my favorite section of Fluffhead. It's hard to imagine the tune without it.

Clod lasted on its own for about a year and a half before it was assimilated in early 1988, although it did make an encore appearance late in 1989. So, never say never for Phish busting on Clod on its own, I guess.

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Sanity

Date: 10/15/1986

Hunt's, Burlington VT

As much as there is a "typical" version of Sanity, this debut comes pretty close to that. It's a bit raw, but with a little imagination it's not hard to picture this particular performance coming out of a mid-90's show. Of all the debuts so far, this one has probably changed the least.

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Roll Like a Cantaloupe

Date: 10/15/1986

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

The second debut in a row for which it's debatable whether it constitutes an "original" Phish tune, Roll Like a Cantaloupe is just a play on Run Like an Antelope. Where the "Set the gearshift..." lyric would normally be, Trey instead injects a short narrative of strolling through the produce department and bowling the titular melon down the aisle. And that's it. Ultimately it's nothing more than an inside joke that survived surprisingly long - it was actually played four times between 1986 and 1991. It's doubtful we'll ever see its return, but who knows? The band has been willing to bust out some of their "novelty" songs recently (e.g. Fuck Your Face), so while it's not likely, I don't think it would be out of the question to hear a sweet 'Loupe in the future

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Shaggy Dog

Date: 10/15/1986

Hunt's, Burlington VT

Ok, ok, I know. Shaggy Dog is really just a Phishified version of a Lightnin' Hopkins tune. However, depending on who you're talking to, some still consider it a Phish original, even if it's just one lyric changed. I decided to include it mostly because I like the idea of a scruffy mutt walkin' around, seein' his friends. Also I included Fire Up the Ganja, which was barely even performed by Phish, so I pretty much have to include this, right? Either way, it's a fun little blues tune, nothing more.

The version below is in fact the debut, but if you ever listen to the Ian's Farm version you can hear Trey's dog Marley, among others, barking in the background

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Lushington

Date: 10/15/1986

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

Lushington is a bit of an odd duck. Musically, the vocal sections kind of resemble another long archived tune, Prep School Hippie. Lyrically, it's mostly a juvenile string of references to bodily fluids. It's fun, but not the sort that ages well.

On the other hand, Lushington contains some classic Phish composition that we all know and love. Right smack in the middle of the tune is "The Chase". That's right, the same ditty that directly follows Fluff's Travels in Fluffhead.

Ultimately, Lushington was played ion its own only 8 times - and only half of those times contained lyrics - before they repurposed the main composed section for Fluffhead. I think that was the right decision. Not that I have anything against toilet humor; any song referencing dingleberries is fine by me, but I couldn't imagine Fluff any other way.

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The first set at PNC is a case study in awkward flow. Last night the band had trouble homing in on just exactly what they were trying to say, oscillating wildly between a spitfire Chalkdust Torture and mellow Roggae, a raucous Punch You in the Eye and the groovy Moma Dance. It goes on. This set definitely had trouble establishing an identity.

This is not to say it's a terrible set, by any means. The Chalkdust is quite energetic, and the Roggae contains some truly beautiful melodic Trey work. For the most part, the rest of the set is pretty standard stuff. The Divided Sky, however, is notable for its disastrous solo. Until this point in the show, the band has been pretty sharp, minus Trey being off key in the Moma intro. When Trey arrived at the Divided Sky solo section, though, he completely fell off the rails. Not only did he completely botch the first time through the solo - indeed, he basically just sat out while he tried to find his place - he also butchered the SECOND time through. Yikes!  A complete abortion if there ever was one. Fortunately, he joked to the crowd "I mean to do that," and played the rest of the song virtually flawlessly. It's almost worth seeking this Divided Sky out just to hear how bad the solo section is. Hopefully we won't see any more like that for the rest of the summer.

Set two improves somewhat on the relatively unadventurous first set. After Midnight is stretched out nicely with a regrettably brief type II jam before finding its way into Possum. Some nice tension in the jam here, but I would have liked to hear more from the set opener. The Drowned that follows heads right back into the jamz, though, with a brilliantly conceived hazy, atmospheric exploration that leads seamlessly into Maze. I would have preferred that they keep going with the jam, but at least the transition was not forced. 

The final notable performance of the evening was the You Enjoy Myself. The song itself was especially crisp, while the scene-stealer in the jam was Page. Following a raging organ solo, he switches back to the piano where if you listen closely you'll hear some excellent comping underneath a hot Trey solo. Really, it's a great group effort on this YEM.

So, even with a lack of cohesion at times in the setlist, this still turned out to be a pretty solid show. Definitely Drowned is the winner here, but there are some other nice performances too. I'll certainly be looking forward to the followup tonight.

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Wilson

Date: 10/12/1986

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

The debut Wilson is full of raw energy. There are a few notable differences from a modern version. This particular recording does not lead in with the standard "Wilson" chant; instead it just sort of fades in. While this can probably just be attributed to the tapes, the other difference can't, because instead of the second chanting section, there's actually a short jam! It caught me quite off guard even though I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Golgi Apparatus

Date: 10-12-1986

Location: Haybarn Theatre, Plainfield VT

One of Phish's most popular, or at least most played songs over the years, Golgi Apparatus was the opener at this show at Goddard College. This debut version showed a bit of a funky side of Phish, with a slower tempo and a bit of bounce. It's not half bad, and I would love to see the band revisit this. I doubt many hardcore fans get excited for Golgi anymore, but perhaps a reimagined version would change that.

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Halley's Comet

Date: 5/17/1986

Location: Goddard College, Plainfield VT

Written and, for serveral years, sung by friend of the band Richard Wright, Halley's started out fairly straightforward but eventually took on a life of its own as a jam vehicle. Check out the song history on Phish.net for more.

The debut version does not circulate, but the version below is from about five months later. In a rare move, I think this version is actually stretched out more than it is today (Yes, that's a dig on how the band has been treating the old girl lately...she's all dressed up and they're taking her out to dine at White Castle). You'll notice a falsetto vocal somewhere in there, and the outro jam is preparing a segue into "Possum".

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AC/DC Bag

Date: 4/1/1986

Location: Hunts, Burlington VT

The first debut of a core Gamehenge song, and the second Gamehenge related debut of the day, AC/DC Bag sounds more or less like it does today. Some of the vocals have changed slightly, and there's a brief instrumental intro that doesn't exist anymore, although this could have been part of the previous tune as well.

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Icculus

Date: 4-1-1986

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

One of Phish's early novelty songs that actually sorta survived, likely due to its Gamehenge related theme, the performance is, of course, several minutes of exposition leading up to the anticlimactic musical portion. The debut isn't quite as over the top as later versions would become, but it's not bad for the first try.

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You Enjoy Myself

Date: 2-3-1986

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

Well, this is the big one. Sure there have been some major tunes debuted before this - Hood, Antelope, Slave - but YEM is the king of their composed works. A huge milestone in Phish history, it paves the way for some of their other major compositional works - Bowie, The Curtain, The Divided Sky, bits of Gamehenge and parts of Fluffhead would all make appearances within the next few years.

Listening to this version, you'll notice some stark differences from today's YEM. Most notably, the opening arpeggio section sounds completely different, and Trey doesn't solo during the Peak section. But other parts have survived virtually intact, except for the arrangement with two guitars. It's hard to imagine Phish without YEM; looking back, this was a pretty big achievement for them at the time.

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Possum

Date: 10-30-1985

Location: Hunt's, Burlington VT

One of the biggest lasting contributions from original Phish guitarist Jeff Holdsworth, Possum has remained one of the most popular songs in the Phish rotation since it's debut. It's picked up in tempo a bit since its debut, and has of course been a vehicle for many a ripping Trey solo, but for the most part has stayed true to its original imagining.

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The announcement of late summer tour dates today, which ends with a 3-night UIC Pavilion run in Chicago reminded me of this show featuring a monster AC/DC Bag and some other gems.

I always love myself a good Set I Mike's Song, and this is no exception. The Mike's Song itself has a sweet, mellow outro jam that ties in well with Driver and Brian and Robert (performed on acoustic guitar by Trey). The Mike's Groove sandwich also includes a soaring Limb by Limb and a relatively rare Fikus before the set closing Weekapaug Groove.

On paper, this set might not excite a lot of people. Lots of slower, quieter songs in there. It's certainly not a thrill ride all the way through, but it definitely delivers the goods in its own way. All of the vocals are handled with aplomb, and the solos are focused and tight. The flow is damn near perfect, and that goes a long way in my book. I haven't listened to this set in a long time, maybe 6 years, but I'm sure glad I was reminded of it today.

Despite the excellent first set, the real meat of this show is the AC/DC Bag that kicks off the second set. Weighing in at just over 21 minutes, this monster starts off funky before morphing into a beautiful extended atmospheric exploration. Building out of the resulting haze is Ghost, which gradually builds in intensity before landing in Reba, and closing out the 4-song set with Farmhouse.  A bit of an odd choice as a closer, it's the only real headscratcher of the performance.

This was a great, complete show.  Certainly the epic Bag is the highlight, but it's all good from start to finish. If they can somehow manage to replicate the quality of this show in '11, there will be much to rejoice about in Chicagoland.

Download the Show

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