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Phish perform the "Star Spangled Banner", accapella, at Fenway Park
The jam community has been held together by one primary adhesive: the fan base's willingness and compliance to follow their favorite band to any city, in any venue, amongst any type of weather. Phish, the veritable sons of jam-rock, exemplify the notion to its most absolute. The acquisition of a ticket to any date of the band's voraciously anticipated 2009 summer tour - regardless of the recipients' current location - is immediately followed by an amount of travel and lodging research matched only by a personal assistant to a corporate executive. It's a situation where fans find themselves at their creative peaks and most diligent mindset.
All of the above lent aid to a trip back east to see Phish's fourth show of 2009, and first official stop of their summer tour, at Boston's legendary Fenway Park. Since 2003, when the Boston Red Sox came under new ownership, Fenway has hosted some of the biggest names in music; including the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Dave Matthews Band. When the announcement came that Phish was adding Fenway to their summer plans - two months after they had released complete tour date information - May 31, 2009 became the most important date in the jam world.
It was on this overcast, drizzly Sunday afternoon that Phish and its fans took over Boston. By 2pm Lansdowne Street - the road running parallel to Fenway Park's left field and infamous Green Monster - was saturated with all walks of life, costumes, index fingers pointing skyward (looking for tickets) and a sea of smiles; giving the area no rest, as Dave Matthews had just played Fenway the previous two nights. A 6:30pm start time mixed with Boston's notorious puritan approach to event compliance had the stadium buzzing well before the scheduled first notes.
Sure enough, a few minutes past 6:30pm marked the audible, familiar voice of Fenway Park's PA announcer Carl Beane - "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Fenway Park". He proceeded to list the traditional "nine rules of Fenway", chuckling heavily as he explained "...and, in the nine spot, absolutely no smoking within the stadium". Beane wrapped up his MC responsibilities by asking everyone to "please rise, and remove your caps" as a quartet from Burlington, Vermont would perform our national anthem. Decked out in Red Sox jerseys, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell sauntered out to the pitcher's mound, in the light rain, and ran through an accapella version of the "Star Spangled Banner", to a deafening roar of approval.
Taking no more than five minutes to get on stage, Phish continued the next chapter in their storied career with a show-opening "Sample in a Jar", complete with the sun bursting out of the clouds as if on cue. It would continue to shine until descending behind the Green Monster close to the first set's completion. "Sample" was followed by a thick, funky "Moma Dance", a perfect soundtrack to the clearing mist and lifting humidity. By now, most everyone had found their seats, in time for a speedy, well-played "Chalkdust Turture" and the debut of "Ocelot", one of three new songs Phish would introduce throughout the night, and easily the most palatable. A catchy chorus with ample room left for improvisation lend promise to a track that will surely be played during much of the tour. Five songs later, the band and crowd finally seemed cohesive and comfortable in the park's surroundings, bringing about the first serious jam of the night in "Down With Disease". A surprising "Destiny Unbound" and crowd-favorite "Character Zero" closed out the hour and a half set, literally on time with the decent of darkness over Fenway Park.
Phish has always been a second set band. First sets can be playful and lean, while second sets can be dark, deep and full of heavy improvisation. The first riff of "Tweezer" confirmed for everyone a similar theme will continue in 2009. Finding funky bass lines and roaring, distorted guitar work, the band was exploring sounds within set two's first four minutes. After the debut of another new song, "Light", two more jam-heavy numbers appeared in the form of "Bathtub Gin" and "David Bowie", prompting people to look around with "we got all three of these songs tonight?!" expressions. The band dipped into a forgotten archive with the first "Ballad of Curtis Leow" since 1993, and finished Fenway off with the trampoline-jumping, extended composition of "You Enjoy Myself".
If Sunday's Fenway Park performance indicates anything, it's that Phish is back to have fun - something lacking during their 2002-2004 return. The show had pockets of music stellar enough to impress a seasoned fan, and moments of missed opportunities reminding us this is just the beginning of a new adventure. Coinciding will be the fan-base's new adventures; back on the road, traveling across the country to witness Phish's newfound energy and zeal. It's what makes each experience so unique. It's what makes a Phish show, a Phish show.
Download every show from Phish's 2009 tour, for free, here
Phish - Boston, MA - 5.31.2009
Set I: Star Spangled Banner*, Sample in a Jar, Moma Dance, Chalkdust Turture, 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 Leow, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Cavern, Good Times Bad Times, Tweezer Reprise
*Accapella, **First time played
Phish - "Down With Disease" jam - Fenway Park, Boston, MA - 5.31.2009
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