After Coventry, Phish broke up for four and half years before returning in 2009. That year it played a festival at the immaculately groomed Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif. (also the home of Coachella), but to many fans that felt a world away from the group’s Northeastern roots. So the mere fact of its return to the East Coast with a drama-free festival that was well planned and smoothly operated (and for which the weather cooperated superbly) felt like a much-needed victory.
In late 2009, Phish played “Crimes of the Mind” for the first time without you. When did you find out they were planning to play that song?
I found out when I checked out the set-list on YEMblog that evening. I thought it was fabulous that they played it and with Trey singing lead, it blew me out of the water! Fantastic really!
BLVR: Your set lists are analyzed by fans and published in books. What is your thinking about the art of the set list?
TA: In the mid-’90s I was incredibly obsessed with it. I’d always be thinking about key changes between songs. So you’d put one song in D, and then the next one in E, and then rise up to it. Then there was an attempt to make everyone onstage sing. Much of the songwriting was written to the set list, not the album. We’d say, “We need a set-closer. We need a big whopping set-closer.” Or we’d need a song for Page to sing. Or we’d write a song for a piano solo. But then later in the ’90s it became more organic, spur-of-the-moment. We’d just let it rip. The problem is, there are so many songs now.
Are you a poker-loving Phish fan heading to the Tahoe shows in August? Check out the Phamily Poker Classic which will take place at Harvey’s, the casino where the shows are taking place, to face off against other fans with cash and prizes on the line. The entry fee is $120, and at least half of that amount will go directly into the prize pool, with the remainder to be donated to The Mockingbird Foundation after accounting for tournament expenses.
David Bowie, A Day In The Life, Bathtub Gin, Lizards, You Enjoy Myself > Rotation Jam > Sixteen Candles > You Enjoy Myself, Harpua > Champagne Supernova > Harpua, Rocky Top
