Phish began a (literally) tasty MSG run, Velvet Underground covers included
Phish began their “Baker’s Dozen” run at Madison Square Garden over the weekend. They played the venue on Friday (7/21), Saturday (7/22), and Sunday (7/23), and they have ten shows left. Every show in the run is preceded by a distribution of donuts (courtesy of Federal Donuts) with flavors that set the tone for what music will be played later in the night. Night one’s flavor was coconut and the first set began with a cover of Junior Senior’s “Shake Your Coconuts” and the second set ended with an a capella singalong of Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut,” and they played their own “Reba,” complete with its “coconuts and chloroform” lyric. (They also covered Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” in the first set and Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” in the encore.)
Night two’s flavor was strawberry, and the show began with an a capella rendition of The Beatles’ “Strawbery Fields Forever,” which went right into “Halley’s Comet” (“How would you like to have your thick strawberry goo?”). The second set had a cover of Shuggie Otis’ classic (and frequently covered/sampled) “Strawberry Letter 23.” Zappa, The Stones, and Talking Heads were among the artists covered on Saturday as well.
Sunday’s flavor was red velvet, and the band commemorated this with a couple Velvet Underground covers, a band Phish are no strangers to covering. The show kicked off with “Sunday Morning” (a little double entendre there, given the day of the week) and ended with “Sweet Jane.” Via JamBase’s review:
Jon Fishman, decked out in cape and bishop’s hat, sang the Velvet Underground & Nico tune while peppering the crowd with incense, as Trey Anastasio handled the drums. The band returned to their normal instruments for “Axilla” and “Your Pet Cat.” A screamingly blissful “Back on the Train” preceded the first “How Many People Are You” since October. Next, they dusted off “Glide,” which had been missing in action since August 15, 2015, for a rendition that was clean by modern standards. The tour’s second “Theme from the Bottom” throbbed with purpose under red velvet, violet and white lights.
Night three also included “Wading in the Velvet Sea” and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie on Reggae Woman.” Setlists and some videos from the first three nights can be found below.
The next show in the run happens on on Tuesday (7/25), and this one promises to be jam-filled… raspberry jam, that is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TwEQkx-8aU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGHl3WqVq0E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJasDBullI4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gozUZz16vns&t=353s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPOsiO3opmo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsNcjHn3e7A
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW08BtxDPBm/?taken-at=433533072
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW56nm0g_NQ/?taken-at=433533072
SETLIST: Phish @ Madison Square Garden 7/21/17 (via)
Set 1:
Shake Your Coconuts (Junior Senior cover)
Martian Monster
Timber (Josh White cover)
555
Pigtail (Trey Anastasio song)
Halfway to the Moon
Reba
Moonage Daydream (David Bowie cover)
Walls of the Cave
Set 2:
Tweezer
Seven Below
Billy Breathes
Sparkle
Everything’s Right (Trey Anastasio Band cover)
Slave to the Traffic Light
Suzy Greenberg
Coconut (Harry Nilsson cover)
Encore:
The Mango Song
Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin cover)
SETLIST: Phish @ Madison Square Garden 7/22/17 (via)
Set 1:
Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles cover)
Halley’s Comet (Richard Wright cover)
The Moma Dance
Breath and Burning
Funky Bitch (Son Seals cover)
Mound
Foam
Roggae
The Squirming Coil
Set 2:
Down With Disease
Strawberry Letter 23 (Shuggie Otis cover)
Birds of a Feather
I Always Wanted It This Way
All of These Dreams
Split Open and Melt
Shine a Light (The Rolling Stones cover)
Encore:
Peaches en Regalia (Frank Zappa cover)
Cities (Talking Heads cover)
My Sweet One
SETLIST: Phish @ Madison Square Garden 7/23/17 (via)
Set 1:
Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground cover)
Axilla
Your Pet Cat
Back on the Train
How Many People Are You (Mike Gordon song)
Glide
Theme From the Bottom
It’s Ice
More
Set 2:
AC/DC Bag
Wolfman’s Brother
Twist
Waves
Miss You
Boogie On Reggae Woman (Stevie Wonder cover)
Wading in the Velvet Sea
Encore:
Sweet Jane (The Velvet Underground cover)