Phish: Live Phish 3/6/09, 3/7/09, and 3/8/09

Live at Hampton - 2009/03/06

When Phish announced their return to the stage with a three night stand (March 6-7-9) at the Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, online ticket services crashed when thousands of fans logged in trying to score tickets. When the dust had settled and some major brouhaha about scalpers and other riff-raff ensued before finally settling on the first and foremost topic: what would they play?

The band picked Fluffhead from their debut album Junta and crammed so many favorites (The Divided Sky, Stash, The Squirming Coil, David Bowie) into the first set that it was bursting at the seams. There were bum notes, flubs and missed cues, but the vibe was good - Phish were glad to be back and the audience lapped it up. And they kept doing it together for the next two nights.

The tapers came out in force to share the music and the band themselves offered free SBD MP3s for a limited time after each of the shows. The official remastered LivePhish CDs are a an honest warts-and-all document of what happened at Hampton. They used soundboard audio mixed with audience mics gives the listener a spot on the edge of the stage. Close to the band, but still part of the crowd. The great jams are rare - Down with Disease (03/08) and the extended Velvet Underground cover Rock and Roll segueing into Limb by Limb (03/07) are worth mentioning. You Enjoy Myself (03/06) has a false start and never really takes off. They debuted a new song during each one of the show. Trey Anastasio contributed Backwards Down the Number Line (03/06), Beauty Of A Broken Heart (03/07) was selected from Page McConnell's self-titled solo album, and Mike Gordon goes country again with his cover of She Thinks I Still Care (03/08).

Chairman of the boards Page McConnel is the best player throughout, drummer Jon Fishman comes close, while bass player Mike Gordon and guitarist Trey Anastasio need a little homework to keep up.

03/06 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

DISC ONE

1. Fluffhead
2. The Divided Sky
3. Chalk Dust Torture
4. Sample in a Jar
5. Stash
6. I Didn't Know
7. The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony
8. Suzy Greenberg
9. Farmhouse

DISC TWO

1. NICU
2. Horn
3. Rift
4. Train Song
5. Water in the Sky
6. The Squirming Coil
7. David Bowie
8. Backwards Down the Number Line
9. Tweezer
10. Taste
11. Possum

DISC THREE

1. Theme from the Bottom
2. First Tube
3. Harry Hood
4. Waste
5. You Enjoy Myself
6. Grind
7. Bouncing Around the Room
8. Loving Cup

03/07 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

DISC ONE

1. Back on the Train
2. Runaway Jim
3. Brian and Robert
4. Split Open and Melt
5. Heavy Things
6. Punch You in the Eye
7. Gumbo
8. Reba
9. Mexican Cousin
10. It's Ice

DISC TWO

1. Halley's Comet
2. Beauty Of A Broken Heart
3. Guelah Papyrus
4. Lawn Boy
5. Run Like an Antelope
6. Rock and Roll
7. Limb By Limb
8. Ghost
9. Piper
10. Birds of a Feather

DISC THREE

1. Wolfman's Brother
2. Prince Caspian
3. Mike's Song
4. I Am Hydrogen
5. Weekapaug Groove
6. Character Zero
7. A Day in the Life

03/08 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

DISC ONE

1. Sanity
2. Wilson
3. Foam
4. Bathtub Gin
5. Undermind
6. AC/DC Bag
7. My Friend, My Friend
8. Scent of a Mule
9. All of These Dreams

DISC TWO

1. Maze
2. She Thinks I Still Care
3. Army of One
4. Tube
5. Cars Trucks Buses
6. Free
7. Frankenstein
8. Down with Disease
9. Seven Below

DISC THREE

1. The Horse
2. Silent In The Morning
3. Twist
4. 2001
5. Moma Dance
6. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
7. Wading in the Velvet Sea
8. Slave to the Traffic Light
9. Happy Birthday Leonard
10. Contact
11. Bug
12. Tweezer Reprise

Their Summer Tour kicks off at Fenway, Boston 05/31.

Buy the Hampton CDs at Phish Dry Goods.