Phish isn’t only built on storytelling through music and jamming – there is some legitimate lyrical storytelling to behold…

One of the first tracks by the band to grab me by the brain back in the summer of 2001 is the first track on the band’s first studio album, Junta.  This iconic double-disc record features some major Phish staples, none of which I’ve happen to have written about yet on this blog.

Synopsis:

Fee puts some minimalist, island-inflected rhythm and silly lyrics to work to create a whacky story of our titular weasel who gets caught in a love triangle with a Buddhist lounge singer and the jealous chimpanzee who seeks her affection.  The Rocky Racoon-esque tale involves unbridled jealousy, a cruise ship bar fight, stone fruit to the face, and a surprise paper-cut to the nipple splash ending.  (Fee is one of three songs to feature this rare form of violence, with both Punch You in the Eye and The Sloth also alluding directly to paper-induced nipple slicing.  To see all three songs in one show would be the rarest white-whale setlist prize of all: the legendary “Triple Nipple”)

Fee rarely features much in the way of jamming, although there are several notable versions.  Usually the song will trail off into a mellow, trippy outro jam, often with siren sounds and harmonics – often dropping into Maze, as it did on 8/11/98 – I recommend listening to both songs in this exceptional pairing. 

Stats:

• Fee debuted on 8/9/87 at the legendary Nectar’s in Burlington, VT
• Fee has been played on average every 6.6 shows, although that number is skewed by fact that the song got a ton of play in the 80’s and early 90’s.
• Last performance was 27 shows ago on 8/5/18
• I’ve only caught the song once on 7/28/17 (the second-to-last time it was performed) at the famed donut-themed Baker’s Dozen run during which the closing lyrics were changed to ‘have a chocolate donut’ and catch your breath.  Also of nerdy note – I went into this pair of shows with a trio of songs that I was chasing and caught all 3: Fee, Meatstick and Weigh.  Also caught the fan-chosen Jam of the Year, Chalkdust Torture that evening — more on that next week!

Lyrics:

In the cool shade of the banana tree
On the rugged trail toward the balcony
A child of the twentieth century
A dried up Goliath and a weasel named Fee

Far away in another place
A fading beauty named Milly Grace
And a bamboo cane to help her keep the pace

Fee was a Buddhist prodigy
Long past the age of maturity
Someday he knew it would set him free
Like it did for Floyd the chimpanzee

Oh, Fee, you’re trying to live a life
That’s completely free.
You’re racing with the wind
You’re flirting with death
So have a cup of coffee
And catch your breath

Fee first met Milly in a bar in Peru
His heart was jumping like a kangaroo
Like a beast in a cage in an old Dutch zoo
It was hopping and thumping in wooden shoes

But Floyd was jealous and alone
He wanted Milly for his own
A desperate craving in his bones
“Their love”, he said, “I will not condone.”

Then one day on a ship to Quebec
Floyd found Fee and Milly on a lovers’ trek
He picked up a bottle and broke off the neck
It sliced through the air, and Fee hit the deck

Oh, Fee, you’re trying to live a life
That’s completely free
You want to stay with Milly
Until you’re dead
But you just got a bottle
Upside your head

Milly turned and began to scream at Floyd
said “You think you’re pretty mean”
And though she was as thin as a small string bean
She slammed him in the face with a nectarine

Floyd fell back over the edge of the ship
Till he hung from the rail by his fingertip
said, “Floyd I’ll make you lose your grip
With this tiny piece of paper I can make you slip”

So Milly took that paper and did the deed
Floyd hit the water with astonishing speed
And as the sharks circled and began to feed
Milly knew her weasel was finally free

Oh, Fee, you’re trying to live a life
That’s completely free
Floyd is dead; he’s nothing but a ripple
Cause Milly took that paper
And sliced him on the nipple

This week, we’ll look at another classic Phish tune with multiple distinct parts, a lyric section and a hell of jam – this one often takes a meandering path that eventually lands in a section that builds tension, keeping fans on the edge of catharsis, until a massive white-light “Feel-Good” peak.

Synopsis:

Harry Hood’s origins date all the way back to 1985, when several band members lived near a Hood milk bottling plant.  At that time, the dairy’s ads featured a little dude named Harry Hood who lived in the refrigerator and encouraged people to drink the latest delicious milk product whenever the door was opened and the light came on.  This, of course, begs the question: Harry, where do you go when the lights go out?

Choosing a representative version of this personal and fan favorite was a daunting task.  (Fun Fact, despite the songs storied career in the Phish cannon, it has never appeared on a studio album)  There’s so much to look for in an ideal version.  There’s the slow, patient build and extended reggae intro of 11/22/97, the upbeat percussive 11/2/96, or the ripping peak of 7/15/98 – one of my favorite shows from the LivePhish series.  And then there’s the masterpiece of 2/28/03 – the second set capper to one of the band’s all-time great shows.  But for introducing new fans to standard versions of songs, it’s tough to top A Live One.

A Live One’s double disc of highlights from the band’s Fall ’94 tour acts as somewhat of a standard-bearer for live versions of staples like Stash, You Enjoy Myself, Gumbo Slave to the Traffic Light, Harry Hood and more.  The album was well-carried by fans throughout the CD era and cracked the Billboard Top 20 list in July of ’95.  Definitely worth listening through – and don’t sleep on the splendid ‘Montana’ vamp on disc 1.  We’ll likely revisit this album for a song or two at some point on this here little bloggerooski.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to catch several solid 3.0 Type II Hood jams, including 6/2/09, 7/29/17 and most notably 7/1/14, which was so good in fact that the band released the footage in HD as an official video.  I highly recommend devoting 18 minutes to watching and listening to see how the whole song really comes together with the lights and the drums and the many many keyboards…

Oh yeah, one more interesting thing to note.  Harry Hood versions since 8/6/96 feature the crowd yelling “Hood” back to the band in the beginning when they say “Harry! Harry!”  This began as a fan ‘prank’ on the band at their ’96 Red Rocks show.  Basically these fans circulated a list of audience responses to various potential songs.  If the band plays X, the whole crowd turns around and faces away from the stage.  Everyone raise your left hand during the chorus of Song Y.  Well… one of the gags was that if the band played Harry Hood, everyone would yell “HOOD” back at the band in the beginning.  And wouldn’t ya know it… the song got played and we now have yet another bit of audience participation to tie us all together.

Ok, let’s break it down…

The song starts with standard reggae drum roll and a bass-heavy one-drop groove with the band passing melodic duties from instrument to instrument — often with some trippy effects thrown in for psychedelic measure.  This version features a particularly lively and active intro section with an abrupt transition into the Harry! Harry! Vocal section.

As we ponder where, indeed, Harry goes, we drop into the composed section, which introduces several ideas in fugue-like composition.  These various parts and changes are all standard as the song builds to a hilt at the dark and aggressive ‘Mr. Miner’ section.  After showing our gratitude to Mr. Hood at 5:40 we’re off to a patient Type I start into the jam.  Kick drum and bassline match quick notes while the electric piano lays a textural groundwork for delicate guitar soloing with staccato notes.  The rhythm section is super smooth in the 7th minute with a hopping bassline, rim clicks and a wash of cymbals. 

Guitar and keys fall in lock-step in the 8th minute as the rhythm section pushes the dynamics into a sort of dizzying march territory.  Lots of straight 8th notes in the rhythm continue to drive the beat but the guitar remains sparse and we reach some nearly Type II improvisational territory rolling into minute 10.  By 10:30 the theme has returned and the full band locks in to what seems like a build to the peak, only to dissolve into a chaotic storm at 11:25 which breaks back down and follows the lead of the driving piano and thunder-roll drums into a wild space and back to Hood proper at 13:30.  Now it’s pure driving energy with Trey cutting through a wall of percussion to lead the band to the final refrain. 

Stats:
Harry Hood debuted on 10/30/85 at Hunt’s in Burlington, VT
Hood is steady staple, showing up every 4.8 shows.
The longest gap the band has ever taken without playing Harry Hood was 41 shows in 1998.
Harry Hood was last played 3 shows ago on 12/31/18
I’ve seen the song performed 4 times.

Lyrics:
Harry! Harry! 
Where do you go when the lights go out?
Harry! Harry! 
Where do you go when the lights go out?
Harry! Harry! 
Where do you go when the lights go out?
Harry! Harry! 
Where do you go?

Thank You, Mr. Miner
Thank You, Mr. Miner
Thank You, Mr. Miner

Thank You, Mr. Miner
Thank You, Mr. Miner
Thank You, Mr. Hood

You can feel good (I feel good) about Hood!
You can feel good (I feel good) about Hood!
You can feel good (I feel good) about Hood!
You can feel good (I feel good) about Hood!

[I feel GOOD!]

For the next two weeks, I think it would be fun to listen to some old Phish songs that follow a fairly classic structure of Lyric Section, Composed Section, Jam…

The first of these is a wild and silly romp that incorporates some classic compositional elements and then launches into a soaring guitar solo.  Allow myself to introduce yourself to… Reba

Synopsis:

If I had to pick a favorite Phish song, I’d probably pick Reba.  It’s just so quintessentially Phishy, what with its bizarre and clever lyrics, wildly intricate composition and wide open white jamming space.  The song is an exercise in musical storytelling as well as an experiment in riding the line between control and chaos.

Our titular Reba mixes up a crazy concoction of worms, mud, wax, feet and other wacky ingredients in the bathtub of her motel room.  Confident that she’s created the best… whatever this is… in the whole country, Reba takes a gulp and is launched on a journey that brings her close to, or perhaps even past death in a convulsive fit that ends in a swelling, soaring trip through her own existence, memory, or otherwise heavenly what-have-you.

This particular version of my favorite song comes to you from my favorite show – 11/27/98 – released by the band as Live Phish 06.  This was, I believe, the first Phish CD I ever purchased and I played it extensively for years in my car, my dorm room, and even bopping around Amsterdam (AKA: Worrrmmmmmtown) on my Sony Anti-Skip Discman.

Beautiful Reba’s abound including Lowell Memorial Auditorium ’95 – considered by many to the best version ever.  For a taste of ‘3.0’ try the underrated version from Night 1 of the 2017 Baker’s Dozen run, who’s pretty solo brought up the emotions as I folded laundry at home listening to the taper stream. 

Have at it:  Reba

This version delivers our Lyrical until 2:14.  The post-lyric Composed Section of the song begins at 2:15.  After taking ‘a taste of her creation’ Reba is launched into a violent, lurching pattern of chasms and hallucinations expressed through a series of rapid fugues beginning at 2:20. 

Rooted in classical composition, a fugue is short melodic phrase that is repeated by multiple instruments in various keys.  Many early Phish compositions utilize this bit of musical technique.  The main Fugue theme starts at 3:09, which still plays off a series of descending notes.

A build around 4:15 leads to a climax and drop at 4:43.  We’re still very much in composed material – meaning that that this is a series of notes and sections that are played the same way every time the song is performed.  The pace here is rather quick comparted to what you hear nowadays, but still a bit slower than what you may hear from ’93 or ’94.

We’re still ripping through fugues through the 5th minute when we build to a stop and breakdown into a jam that starts at 6:05.  The band has now completed the composed section and moved into Type I jam territory, which denotes an improvisational section that is played to a similar chord progression, theme, or general idea each time the song is performed.  (Type II jamming, on the other hand, is completely improvised — a new and unique creation that is not normally part of a given song). 

Trey Anastasio’s guitar solo starts with patient interplay off the bass, with broken drum beats and ethereal electronic piano serving as a starry night background for the launch of a Reba rocket…  Thematically speaking, one might interpret this section as Reba’s death, soul-afloat into the starry beyond. 

The jam builds as Page makes his way to grand piano for a more lush background and Trey steps up his tone and sustains longer notes in the 11th minute.  As we build through the jam, we approach one of my absolute favorite groups of notes in all of Phish at 11:54.  The 4 notes that Trey delivers as he slides from one phrase to the next at this precise moment capture, for me, the  creativity, and musical mastery that this man possesses.  The solo precedes with some rapid-fire notes that drive ever higher and more intricate in the 12th minute with an amazing run around 13:10, in what is a truly beautiful and powerful solo.  The high trill guitar signals the peak and Fish’s run through the toms at 14:03 bring us home to the stop, the whistle ending and the final chorus tag. 

This whole show is absolutely incredible Phish – with thrilling solos, wonderful song transitions and a palpable attitude of general goofballitude.  It’s a great listen to follow-up your NYE ’95 play…

Stats:

Reba debuted on 10/1/89 at The Front in Phish’s ‘Hometown’ of Burlington Vermont
Reba has appeared once every 4 shows since first rearing her smelly head, although she appears a little less frequently nowadays
Last performance was 16 shows ago on 10/26/18 in Illinois.
I’ve only caught the song once in ’09 and it wasn’t particularly notable, so I’m currently chasing this one with all my heart.

Reba has appeared once every 4 shows since first rearing her smelly head, although she appears a little less frequently nowadays

Last performance was 16 shows ago on 10/26/18 in Illinois.

I’ve only caught the song once in ’09 and it wasn’t particularly notable, so I’m currently chasing this one with all my heart.

Lyrics:

Reba sink a boulder in the water
Reba tie a cable to a tree
Reba stuck in a game of lipstick perfume flypaper
Reba press a razor to a slide cross a needle with a prune

Knee deep in the motel tub
Reba dangle ladle form her lip
dip
sip
Reba babble to the nag with the lipstick perfume
mutter to a farmer in a truck

Take a peek at the cheetah, Reba
cheetah on the prowl in a cage
sink a boulder in the water
tie a cable to a tree

Mutter “nature” to the nag
with the lipstick perfume
Reba flush a fleshfarm leftover
thunder in a circle
down the pipes

Bag it
Tag it
Sell it to the butcher in the store

Reba put a stopper in the bottom of the tub
picked up a jar unscrewed the top
and watched it drop into the water

A little scoop of plaster mix
some coffee grounds and mud
and then she stirred it with the ladle
that her Grandmother had bought her
threw in a pot of melted wax
a forefoot and a hoof
apple core, worms galore
and a can of some corrosive

coconuts and chloroform
some wicker and some cork
Toxic waste, some purple paste
she hoped was not explosive

Reba dip a ladle for a taste of her creation
and she knew that what she make
would be the finest in the nation

Our first two songs were essentially vehicles for communicating a sense of place and movement through the music.  Volume 3 is more rooted in exploring a state of mind.

I give you:  Free.

Synopsis:

One of the most beautiful elements of the Phish concert experience is the collective energy of the crowd.  For most of those in attendance, these are events that people look forward to all year.  Tour is a place where people see good friends that they haven’t seen in months and let their freaky fandom flags fly in the face of the rest of life.  The concert is a place to blissfully enjoy your absolute favorite music on what is likely one of the few nights each year that your self is invited to be truly and unabashedly… Free.

And that sentiment doesn’t apply only to the fans, by any means.  The whole aesthetic of this band is one of freedom from the conventions of song structure, music distribution models, fan expectations and all of the other rules that typically apply to rock and roll.  So it’s no wonder that this sing-along and its subsequent jam will often leave fans with arms waving aloft in an emotional embrace of sound, light and energy.  Free can be pure summer night fun and often makes an early appearance in a show to set a tone of openness, exploration and community.

This anthem to the sheer feeling of freedom has been interpreted in several ways.  Many of the songs on Billy Breaths where written by Tom Marshall and Trey Anastasio on a scuba diving trip, which explains a lot of imagery of floating, swimming, weightlessness, etc.  Another popular interpretation is that the song tells the story of a man who contemplates throwing his wife off of a boat.  Clearly the correct interpretation is… both.  All art is about everything and nothing.

This version, recorded in a Brooklyn baseball stadium in the summer of ’04 features a tight lyrical section that drops into a jam that starts off with a funky, heavy bass-line that really sets the tone for what’s to come.  The build breaks down around 6:30 to feature some gnarly guitar tone with a thin spread of synth butter on top for extra flavor.  Page then switches to the grand piano to lay a backbone for a smooth guitar solo that is both driven and accented by a wet, funky bass-line that leads the way back to the anthem’s chorus of “FREEEEEEEEEE!”

In true communal fashion, I ‘crowdsourced’ this version from fellow fan ScottDrum on this Phish.net Forum Thread.

Stats:

Free debuted right in Massachusetts, at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on 5/16/95.

Since then Free has been in very regular rotation, appearing once every 4.8 shows.

Free was last played on the beaches of Riviera Maya, Mexico 2 shows ago, on 2/21/19.

I’ve seen the song performed 5 times.

Lyrics:

I’m floating in the blimp a lot

I feel the feeling I forgot

of swimming weightless in the womb

or bouncing gently ’round the room

In a minute I’ll be free

and you’ll be splashing in the sea

I feel no curiosity

I see the path ahead of me

in a minute I’ll be free

and you’ll be splashing in the sea

we’ll hear a tiny cry

as the ship goes sliding by

This week I shall stoke your fear and paranoia with: Maze

Synopsis:

It’s a common misconception that Phish is all happy and silly all the time.  While the average show offers plenty of moments of singalong fun and blissful jamming, the band has a tendency to get dark, brooding and even downright scary.  Songs like Carini, My Friend My Friend, and I Saw It Again can get pretty freakin’ freaky.

Maze is an interesting counterpoint to Runaway Jim.  I chose Maze for its tendency to also evoke a feeling, mood and even environment through the music itself.  Whereas Runaway Jim offers a playful puppy galloping through the countryside, Maze places you in the middle of a confusing and overwhelming labyrinth, with an unforgiving audience laughing at your every mistaken turn.  The Maze can be truly terrifying, especially when you consider the paranoia-inducing substances that are often influencing the crowd’s collective conscious on any given night.

I like that both of these songs don’t leave too much to unpack as far as what the song’s really about.  Maze is about… well… a Maze.  It was originally released on the concept album Rift, which tells the story of a man who is dreaming about the rift in his relationship with his girlfriend.  The album’s easy to find and great listen as far as studio Phish is concerned.

 Here’s my live pick:  Maze

This track, from the band’s ’97 European tour, features fiery guitar trading lead duties with some relentless organ soloing.  AS the jam starts and the organ solo builds, the guitar offers some trippy psychedelic textures that slide through the stopping drum beats.  The combination of fast drums, driving bass and syrupy guitar creates the overwhelming and disconcerting feeling of being truly lost in one’s own psychology.  As the organ builds intensity around 6:50 and eventually peaks at 7:30, you think you might finally get a bit of reprieve, but Trey picks right up where Page leaves off and starts, yet again up the hill of disorientation, past the Cavern of Shame and on to the Hall of Dismay.

Trey’s initial guitar lines are reminiscent of bugs crawling on the skin, or perhaps rats lurking around the corners of this godforsaken entanglement.  Trey really shows his speed chops in the 10th minute and then starts into one of his signature winding coils around the 11:15 mark that just keeps ratcheting up the tension with pounding grand piano chords and stomping back beat until the track’s big release and break at 12:15. 

Play this one loud if you know what’s good for ya and don’t miss the song’s signature ending.  Perhaps you did get out… or simply froze in fear as that haunting, taunting chorus chants… “You’ll never get out of this maze!  You’ll never get out of this maze! You’ll never get out get out of this maze out of this maze get out of this maze of this maze…”

Stats:

• Maze has been played 313 times – approximately once every 3.9 shows since its debut on 3/6/92 in Portsmouth, NH
• Last played on 12/28/18 (6 shows ago)
• Andy’s seen the song performed 3 times across 2 different shows oddly enough, as they technically played the song and then segued back into at my first show on 8/12/04.  As far as stats go, it’s a technicality to be sure, but for stat-watchers like myself, it’s significant because the segue was in and out of the song Catapult, which is a rarity that hasn’t been played in over 200 shows and has only appeared twice since that show in ’04.

Lyrics:

The overhead view is of me in a maze

And you see what I’m hunting a few steps away

And I take a wrong turn and I’m on the wrong path

And the people all watching enjoy a good laugh

Embarrassed with failure, I try to reverse

The course that my tread had already traversed

So doing the trauma engulfing my dream

Invaded through what was an unguarded seam

The torrent of helplessness swept me away

To the cavern of shame and the hall of dismay

Inside me a voice was repeating this phrase:

“You’ve lost it, you’ll never get out of this maze”

You’ll never get out of this maze

Welcome to The Lure – your personally-curated weekly Phish jam recommendation newsletter –  designed for new fans to get acquainted with the band’s music leading up to the 2019 summer tour.

My goal here is to get you listening to some Phish staples that we’ll hopefully hear in July.  One song per week that should be easy to find and easy to enjoy.

—

This week I submit for your aural pleasure, Runaway Jim. 

Synopsis:

This is classic Phish: fun, silly, upbeat and using the music and jamming as a storytelling device.  The driving 4-on-the-floor bass drum and theloping high hats make me think of a dog on the run and the song features some clever song writing with a lyrical style rooted in old-time Bluegrass storytelling.

Runway Jim chronicles the adventure of the titular canine as he absconds with his owner’s clothes, car and rent money for a 5-year-long journey to who-knows-where.  I like to listen to the jam and imagine what kind of things Jim might be poking his nose into.  The jam often starts with Jim upbeat and excited, galloping tail-all-a-wag through the countryside.  What happens next is up to the gods… is ol’ Jim sick? Injured? shacked up in an alley with some stray cats?  Hopeful? Hopeless? Starving? living a glorious life chasing rabbits around a farm? Regardless, the jam is (almost) always capped off with Jim’s triumphant return back to his home and owner!

This particular version that I’m recommending for you contains an atypical funk breakdown that starts around 7:20 and gets super abstract around 8:30 before building back up with some energetic piano and tribal-sounding drums and then breaking down once again around the 10-minute mark.  Around 11:00 it sounds like the guitar might have been put down and Trey joins in on an auxiliary percussion rig while the keyboardist plays some futuristic synth lines.  The full band then returns to the theme around 13:45 to take em home with an energetic finish.  This version comes straight from 12/31/95 – considered by many to be the best Phish show in history.  (Currently ranked 5th on Phish.net with a 4.639 out of 5 stars).

Here’s the track:  https://open.spotify.com/track/3GseD6jFfB3sX42wV6T58j

This alternate version is arguably more interesting, but 35 minutes seemed a little aggressive for the 1^st edition of this newsletter. However, if you find yourself compelled, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable listen while working, cleaning, commuting, or… naturally, Running!  https://open.spotify.com/track/3mMI4utz3S6y4T1hPx4xlj

Stats:

• Runaway Jim has been played 383 times – approximately once every 4.8 shows
• Debuted on 3/28/90 at the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity House Party, Denison University in Granville, OH
• Last played on 10/20/18 (17 shows ago)
• Andy’s seen the song performed only 1 time as the show opener on 6/2/09

Lyrics:

I had a dog. His name was Jim
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)
Took all of my old clothes with him
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)

chorus:

Whoa-ooooooooooooooo oh Runaway Jim
Whoa-ooooooooooooooo oh Runaway Jim

He was twelve years old when his trip began
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)
Hauling down the highway in my old sedan
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)

chorus

Now I wish someone’d tell me where old Jim went
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)
‘Cause he took all the money that I saved for rent
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)

chorus

By the time he came home he was seventeen
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)
That’s a hundred nineteen to you and me
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)

chorus

Now I’m gonna go up to the mountain
(Runaway, runaway, runaway)
Singing for Jim who’s swimming in the fountain
(Runaway, runaway, runaway) 

chorus