With her 2015 debut album Distillation Of A Dream: The Music Of Phish Reimagined For Solo Piano and inaugural fall tour, classically trained pianist Holly Bowling has already etched out quite the reputation for herself. Her solo reworking of some of Phish’s classics and the transcription of epic jams like the Tahoe “Tweezer,” and the Glen Falls “Twist” showcase a mastery and devotion to a band and a craft that few can rival.

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This past week Bowling concluded her tour with two nights at the Pittsburgh Winery (Nov. 11-12) and proceeded with a pair of wonderfully crafted shows, the finale being billed as a night of Phish AND Grateful Dead songs. Though Bowling had been sprinkling in a few Dead tunes into her sets during the tour including “Bird Song” and “Cassidy,” it all came to a head at the finale in Pittsburgh. 

Donning an “Only Music Can Save” t-shirt, Bowling strode to the bench with a quiet confidence and grin on her face to a warm, intimately seated crowd at the winery and wasted little time building her first selection of the night, a stunning “Piper” opener. Though there were no audible shouts, there was an unquestionable joy and palpable, yet unspoken energy in the room. You could instantly tell Phish’s music runs deeply through her veins. She then seamlessly transitioned into her transcription of the jam from Phish’s “Twist” performed at The Mann in Philadelphia this past August 2nd, her first “jam transcription” of the night.

When Bowling broke out her first Dead tune of the night, the aforementioned “Bird Song,” the silence in the room felt deafening in the best sense of the term, the complete audience locked in. Entranced. The light and breezy tune then turned into the somber, dramatic notes of “The Horse” and it’s natural, uplifting companion, “Silent In The Morning.” After the song’s sparkling outro, Bowling shifted to the Dead’s “Cassidy.” An exuberant performance, Bowling almost came out of her chair during the section that traditionally finds “Flight of the seabirds, scattered like lost words/Wheel to the storm and fly.” The energy was simply awesome.

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An excellent reprisal of “Silent In The Morning” followed and gave way to her second jam transcription of the night, the Dead’s “Eyes Of The World” from their June 18th, 1974 show at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY, describing it as one of her favorite Dead tunes to play. Certainly one of the most revered versions of the song ever as well as any of their songs, Bowling eloquently handled this monster, hitting all the incredible ebbs and flows the songs has to offer. No doubt one of the highlights of the night.

To close out the first set, Bowling kept along with two more songs from Phish’s 1993 album, Rift. A momentous “Horn” fed into “It’s Ice” before Bowling slyly segued into “Crazy Fingers.” Nimble on the ivories as at any point in the night, the song from 1975’s Blues For Allah kept Bowling on her toes with the various shifts in dynamics. And as no version of “It’s Ice” would be complete without the riveting keys-driven climax, Bowling obliged, reprising the structure and ending the set on a very high note.

After rubbing elbows with the crowd and enjoying some fine wine at the merch table during intermission, Bowling returned to a re-energized crowd and threw down one of her strongest sets on this tour. Beginning with the hard-hitting, reassuring chords of “Help On The Way,” Bowling then weaved her way through the serpent that is “Slipknot!” It was also as this point that a collection of excellently placed “Bird Song” teases began to appear, including during a version of “Wingsuit.” At one point it was difficult to even decipher where one song was coming and where one was going they were so brilliantly blended. It was a true amusement for the mind. 

Bowling then unleashed her first live “Dark Star” on the Pittsburgh crowd, giving proper weight and gravity to the selection, offering the many intricacies the song demands. A stirring version of the Dead’s “China Doll” evolved out of “Dark Star” in which she jokingly remarked after the song, “Kinda feel like I need a moment after that. Jerry…Jerry can really get to a person like that.” On this night, it was Bowling who was getting to the crowd like that.

Bowling began her final assault of the night with “Harry Hood,” but not before she would toss on a #96 jersey of former Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive end “Ziggy” Hood and prefacing the tune with a popular Pittsburgh anthem, “Here We Go.” In actuality, it sounded quite natural for an intro. After a beautifully classic “Hood” jam section left unfinished, Bowling came back to the tail end of “Slipknot!” and paid if all off by “rolling away the dew” with an energetic “Franklin’s Tower” and finally coming back to “Feeling Good About Hood.” How could you not after a set like that?

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With Phish’s “Waste” serving as the encore to her final night on tour, Bowling was met with a much deserved ovation. She’s tapped into something very pure and genuine about the spirit of Phish and on this night the Dead, too. Her creativity, hard work and devotion to a dream have lead her to the point she’s at right now and will only propel her further. One can only imagine what’s in store for the future! 

Listen to complete audio of the show below thanks to taper Steve Toney.

[All photos by Ben Petchel]