A lot of things have ended up on stage with Phish over the years…thousands of glow sticks, banners, light sabers, and all sorts of tokens of esteem… but this one takes the cake.

On December 5th, 2009, the band had gotten off to a blistering start at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA, opening with “AC/DC Bag” and going into “Chalk Dust Torture” to keep the energy grooving. Little did they know, they were about to see a lot more of their fans. Well, at least more of one fan.

Somewhere between arriving and the start of the fifth song of the first set, one of the thousands of fans in attendance lost the eternal battle we have faced since childhood, the urge to strip down and run around like a lunatic. Exhilarated after freeing himself from society’s dictates of fashion, the fan decided to show how little shame he had in his game and hop up on stage to shake what his parents gave him.

He sprinted onto the stage like a greased otter, while alert security agents ran to intercept this rude nude missile. While doing a fandango across the stage as the band was getting ready to kick into “Ya Mar”, he led the guards and stagehands on a merry chase. Far from being dangerous, the stage crasher took the opportunity to hug and kiss Trey Anastasio before taking flight. As he was removed, Anastasio urged the crowd to give “Naked Guy” a round of applause. Then, Mike changed the lyrics to “he was a naked pa” to top it all off. Later in the evening, Anastasio couldn’t resist changing yet more lyrics for the second set closer, a perfectly appropriate “Run Like An Antelope.”

Check out a compilation of clips from the shenanigans below.

Phish – Naked Guy Compilation – Charlottesville, VA – 12/5/09
[Video: Sol Stan]

Setlist: Phish | John Paul Jones Arena | Fredericksburg, VA | 12/5/09

SET 1: AC/DC Bag > Chalk Dust Torture, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Divided Sky, Ya Mar[1], Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, The Old Home Place > Cavern > Funky Bitch, David Bowie, The Wedge, Bold As Love

SET 2: Tweezer -> Light > Piper -> Free, Sweet Virginia, Harry Hood > Suzy Greenberg > Golgi Apparatus, Run Like an Antelope[1]

ENCORE: Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise

[1] Alternate lyrics referencing a naked stage crasher.
At the start of Ya Mar, a naked guy jumped onstage and ran around for a bit before being rounded up by security, prompting Trey to observe that “Naked Guy’s” antics “took a lot of balls.” During Ya Mar, Mike changed the lyrics to “he was a naked pa.” Trey sang the verses to Light out of order. The sound for Mike’s bass dropped out during Golgi leading Trey to label it the “trio version.” During the ensuing Antelope, Mike took a bass solo to make up for the bass everyone missed in Golgi. Antelope also contained several lyric changes referencing the naked stage crasher.

[Originally published on 12/5/18]