The team at LivePhish has announced the next archival release will be Phish‘s December 2nd, 1999 concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. The full concert is available to stream beginning this Friday (11/13) at midnight ET.
This latest announcement follows last month’s release of 6/14/95 at Mud Island Amphitheatre which features the famous 50-minute “Tweezer”. Other recent archival releases have been culled from the now-staggered Dinner and a Movie series, including 7/8/94—the last Gamehendge show to date—as well as 7/21/97 featuring a sit-in from Dave Matthews Band‘s LeRoi Moore.
Though audience-quality tapes of Phish on 12/2/99 have existed in circulation, this will be the first time soundboard audio will be available to the masses. The month of December 1999 saw the band in fine form as they geared up for the millennium party down at Big Cypress, and December 2nd was certainly no exception.
Things got off to a hot start with the reliable set opener “Runaway Jim”. Next came “Farmhouse”, and, while it has become reviled by many fans, this particular version is of note because it features a slightly different arrangement. Despite the normal tradition, it might be a good idea to choose another bathroom break song during this show. Following the recently-debuted “Heavy Things”, the first set went through a grab-bag of fan favorites including “Roggae”, a mid-set “Run Like An Antelope”, “Wading In The Velvet Sea”, “Poor Heart” into “Sample In A Jar” into “Free”, and closing out with Page McConnell‘s walk-off solo in “The Squirming Coil”.
Not to brush off the first set, but set two is where the meat of this show comes in and is what cements its status as an essential live release. Opening with “Boogie On Reggae Woman”, the grooves kept coming in another recent debut, “Gotta Jibboo”. Next is when things get historic with “Bathtub Gin” which earned itself a place on the jam charts before morphing into “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, which also sits on the charts.
But the real payoff comes in the “You Enjoy Myself” which is even highlighted on the charts and noted for the “glam rock jam” that developed in the middle before the band ultimately takes it into a silent jam. Phish still had one more trick up their sleeves, however, as they rode “YEM” into a seasonal “The Little Drummer Boy”, which ended with Jon Fishman alone onstage to close the show. Upon returning to the stage, Phish delivered a quick-hit cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Bold As Love” to cap off the evening.
Tune into SiriusXM‘s Phish Radio on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET or Wednesday at 4 p.m. to hear archivist Kevin Shapiro spin select tracks from the 12/2/99 performance. The full concert will be available on LivePhish on Friday at midnight.
Setlist: Phish | The Palace of Auburn Hills | Auburn Hills, MI | 12/2/99
Set One: Runaway Jim, Farmhouse[1], Heavy Things, Roggae, Run Like an Antelope, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Poor Heart > Sample in a Jar > Free, The Squirming Coil
Set Two: Boogie On Reggae Woman, Gotta Jibboo, Bathtub Gin -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > You Enjoy Myself[2] -> The Little Drummer Boy[3]
Encore: Bold As Love
[1] Slightly different arrangement, with an additional chorus at the end.
[2] Silent jam.
[3] Ended with Fish alone onstage.
Farmhouse featured a slightly different arrangement, with an additional chorus at the end. Antelope contained Roggae teases from Trey. Gin included 2001 teases before segueing into 2001 proper. YEM included a silent jam. Little Drummer Boy emerged from the YEM vocal jam and ended with Fish alone onstage.