He was the perfect manager for us right up until the end, and it was a great run. But we just couldn’t go on with a management company that we had to shoulder the financial burden for. It was way too much pressure by the end. I know on a personal level it was keeping me up at night. And Page was clearly not psyched about the situation, either.
But again, that is not a personal statement about any of the wonderful people who worked in that office. As you know, it was very much a family affair. They put on all those wonderful festivals. But it was—again, I use the word
naïve—
we were a little bit naïve putting together what was our vision as eighteen- or twenty-year-olds: “Oh, we’ll just hire all our friends and everything will go perfectly forever and we’ll make tons and tons of money every month and cover all the overhead, never take a break and never slow down.”
And that’s not the way it went.
ME: Have you noticed any changes in the jamming? Has it taken on any different characteristics or new directions since the re union?
ANASTASIO: The first thing I noticed at Hampton, and especially as the tour went on, was a little bit more of an emotional weight based on life coming into the picture. Anybody our age, once you’ve had divorces and deaths and arrests. . . . It’s funny, because it makes me appreciate young bands even more. I can’t stop listening to this record
Oracular Spectacular
by the band MGMT, because it’s so full of this attitude of, “I’m twenty-one and the world’s my oyster.” It’s part of rock and roll. But I like music by people who have lived a little. Hopefully you don’t have to live
too
much! [
laughs
] In any case, I hear an element of humility, an extra added element of humility, in our music now.
APPENDIX 1
Phish’s Live Performances, By Year and By Locale
Phish’s 2009 reunion stand and summer tour added 31 more shows, making for a total of 1,466 Phish concerts through August 2009.
Here’s a breakdown of European shows, by country:
Austria (1)—1997 (1)
|
Belgium (3)—1992 (1), 1996 (1), 1997 (1)
|
Czech Republic (3)—1997 (1), 1998 (2)
|
Denmark (7)—1992 (1), 1997 (2), 1998 (4)
|
England (5)—1992 (1), 1996 (1), 1997 (3)
|
France (11)—1992 (1), 1996 (5), 1997 (5)
|
Germany (18)—1992 (4), 1996 (5), 1997 (9)
|
Ireland (2)—1997 (2)
|
Italy (11)—1996 (5), 1997 (6)
|
Netherlands (4)—1996 (1), 1997 (3)
|
Spain (4)—1997 (1), 1998 (3)
|
APPENDIX 2
The Missing Set Lists
The following set lists can be regarded as an addendum to
The Phish Companion
, whose set lists were complete through the April 2004 run in Las Vegas. Just as they were going to press with the second edition, Phish made its breakup announcement. These fifteen set lists did not make it into the
Companion
, so here they are, for the sake of completeness.
Summer Tour 2004
06/17/04 KeySpan Park, Brooklyn, NY
Set I
Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Dinner and a Movie, The Curtain (With), Sample in a Jar, The Moma Dance>Free, Nothing, Maze, Frankenstein
Set II
46 Days>Possum, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony>Suzy Greenberg, Axilla, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Birds of a Feather, Kung, Mike’s Song>I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug Groove
Encore
The Divided Sky
06/18/04 KeySpan Park, Brooklyn, NY
Set I
AC/DC Bag, Camel Walk, Crowd Control, Stash, Cars Trucks Buses, Carini, My Sweet One, Character Zero, Tweezer
Set II
Wilson, Down With Disease, 99 Problems, Big Pimpin’, Chalk Dust Torture, Harry Hood>Taste
Encore
Bug, Tweezer Reprise
06/19/04 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set I
Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU>Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman’s Brother, Walls of the Cave>David Bowie
Set II
Song I Heard The Ocean Sing, Piper>Gotta Jibboo>Limb By Limb, Cavern
Encore
Wading in the Velvet Sea
06/20/04 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set I
Rift, Julius, Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey, Waves, Gumbo, Water in the Sky, Horn, Poor Heart, Drowned
Set II
Seven Below>Ghost>Twist, You Enjoy Myself
Encore
Good Times Bad Times
06/21/04 Ed Sullivan Theatre,
New York, Late Show With David
Letterman
(Note: the group performed atop the
Late Show
marquee overlooking Broadway. Soundcheck included a rough version of what is believed to be Phish’s first take on “Quantegy,” sans lyrics.)
Set I
Scents and Subtle Sounds, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Wilson, Chalk Dust Torture, Tweezer, Tweezer Reprise
06/23/04 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN
Set I
Llama, Bouncing Around the Room, Bathtub Gin, Ya Mar, Pebbles and Marbles, Army of One, Split Open and Melt
Set II
Halley’s Comet>Crosseyed and Painless, Slave to the Traffic Light, Nothing>46 Days>Scents and Subtle Sounds>Brian and Robert, Limb By Limb, Cavern
Encore
Waste
06/24/04 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN
Set I
Loving Cup, Cities, Back on the Train, Vultures, My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own, Down With Disease>Rock and Roll
Set II
Tube, Run Like an Antelope, The Wedge, Timber (Jerry), Prince Caspian>Simple, Walls of the Cave
Encore
The Squirming Coil
06/25/04 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI
Set I
Julius, Roses Are Free 1>AC/DC Bag, Glide, Anything But Me, David Bowie, Wolfman’s Brother, Golgi Apparatus
Set II
Seven Below>Buffalo Bill>Lawn Boy>Mike’s Song>I Am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove, You Enjoy Myself>Also Sprach Zarathustra> You Enjoy Myself
Encore
Sample in a Jar
06/26/04 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI
Set I
Access Me, Scents and Subtle Sounds, Stash, The Moma Dance, The Divided Sky, Wilson, Funky Bitch, Character Zero
Set II
Boogie On Reggae Woman>Ghost>Free, Friday>Piper >Harry Hood
Encore
Possum
08/09/04 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Set I
Chalk Dust Torture, Bathtub Gin>Runaway Jim, Walls of the Cave, Loving Cup
Set II
All of These Dreams, Limb By Limb, Lifeboy, Crowd Control, Seven Below>Stash>NICU, Bug, Contact, Character Zero
Encore
David Bowie
08/10/04 Tweeter Center Boston, Mansfield, MA
Set I
AC/DC Bag, Heavy Things, Punch You in the Eye, Wolfman’s Brother, Theme from the Bottom, Birds of a Feather
Set II
Mike’s Song>I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug Groove, Song I Heard The Ocean Sing>Piper, Makisupa Policeman, Dog Faced Boy, Friday, Harry Hood
Encore
Possum
08/11/04 Tweeter Center Boston, Mansfield, MA
Set I
The Divided Sky, Suzy Greenberg>Down With Disease>Prince Caspian>Scent of a Mule>ears of a Clown>Scent of a Mule, Mexican Cousin
Set II
Run Like An Antelope>Also Sprach Zarathustra, Golgi Apparatus, Waves, Tweezer>Hold Your Head Up>Terrapin, Hold Your Head Up, Timber (Jerry), Sample in a Jar
Encore
Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer Reprise
08/12/04 Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden, NJ
Set I
Wilson, You Enjoy Myself>Ghost>Maze>Catapult>Maze, The Moma Dance, Horn, Pebbles and Marbles
Set II
Piper, Sneaking Sally Through the Alley, Cavern, Limb By Limb, Julius, Rock and Roll, Scents and Subtle Sounds
Encore
Lawn Boy, Frankenstein
08/14/04 Newport State Airport, Coventry, VT
Set I
Walls of the Cave>Runaway Jim>Gotta Jibboo, You Enjoy Myself, Sample in a Jar, Axilla, Poor Heart, Run Like An Antelope, Fire
Set II
AC/DC Bag>46 Days, Halley’s Comet>Ya Mar, David Bowie, Character Zero Set III Twist>The Wedge, Stash>Free, Guyute, Drowned>Jam, Friday
Encore
Harry Hood
08/15/04 Newport State Airport, Coventry, VT Coventry
Set I
Mike’s Song>I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug Groove, Anything But Me, Reba, Carini, Chalk Dust Torture>Possum, Wolfman’s Brother>Jam, Taste
Set II
Down With Disease, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Glide, Split Open and Melt>Ghost Set III Fast Enough For You, Seven Below, Simple, Piper>Bruno>Dickie Scotland, Wilson, Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore
The Curtain (With)
Reunion Shows, Spring 2009
03/06/09 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Set I
Fluffhead, The Divided Sky, Chalk Dust Torture, Sample in a Jar, Stash, I Didn’t Know, Oh Kee Pah Ceremony>Suzy Greenberg, Farmhouse, NICU, Horn, Rift, Train Song, Water in the Sky, Squirming Coil, David Bowie
Set II
Backwards Down the Number Line, Tweezer>Taste, Possum, Theme from the Bottom, First Tube, Harry Hood, Waste, You Enjoy Myself
Encore
Grind, Bouncing Around the Room, Loving Cup
03/07/09 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Set I
Back On the Train, Runaway Jim, Brian & Robert, Split Open and Melt, Heavy Things, Punch You in the Eye, Gumbo, Reba, Mexican Cousin, It’s
Ice, Halley’s Comet, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Guelah Papyrus, Lawn Boy, Run Like an Antelope
Set II
Rock & Roll>Limb by Limb, Ghost>Piper>Birds of a Feather, Wolfman’s Brother, Prince Caspian, Mike’s Song>I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero
Encore
A Day in the Life
03/08/09 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Set I
Sanity, Wilson, Foam, Bathtub Gin, Undermind, AC/DC Bag, My Friend, My Friend, Scent of a Mule, All of These Dreams, Maze, She Thinks I Still Care, Army of One, Tube, Cars Trucks Buses, Free, Frankenstein
Set II
Down With Disease>Seven Below, The Horse>Silent in the Morning, Twist>2001, The Moma Dance, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore
Happy Birthday, Contact, Bug, Tweezer Reprise
Summer Tour 2009
05/31/09 Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Set I
Star Spangled Banner, Sample in a Jar, The Moma Dance, Chalk Dust Torture, Ocelot, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Poor Heart, Limb by Limb, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Down with Disease, Destiny Unbound, Character Zero
Set II
Tweezer>Light, Bathtub Gin, David Bowie, Time Turns Elastic, Free, (The Ballad of) Curtis Loew, You Enjoy Myself
Encore
Cavern, Good Times Bad Times, Tweezer Reprise
06/02/09 Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY
Set I
Runaway Jim, Foam, Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, Timber (Jerry), Cities, Driver, Reba, Possum, Farmhouse, If I Could
Set II
Mike’s Song>Simple>Wolfman’s Brother>Weekapaug Groove, When the Circus Comes, Kill Devil Falls, Harry Hood, Loving Cup
Encore
Suzy Greenberg
06/04/09 Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY
Set I
Grind, The Divided Sky, Ocelot, The Squirming Coil, Punch You in the Eye, Dirt, NICU, Ghost, Run Like an Antelope
Set II
Water in the Sky, Birds of a Feather, Drowned, Meatstick, Time Turns Elastic, Waste, You Enjoy Myself
Encore
Rock and Roll
06/05/09 Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY
Set I
Wilson, Buried Alive, Kill Devil Falls, AC/DC Bag>I Didn’t Know, My Friend My Friend, Ya Mar, Theme from the Bottom, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Split Open and Melt
Set II
Down With Disease>Twist>Piper>Backwards Down the Number Line, Free, Twenty Years Later>2001>Slave to the Traffic Light
Encore
A Day in the Life
06/06/09 Comcast Center (formerly Great Woods), Mansfield, MA
Set I
Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan, Nothing, Back on the Train, Golgi Apparatus, Sparkle, Gotta Jibboo, Lawn Boy, Let Me Lie, Taste, Makisupa Policeman, Prince Caspian