Phish has opened its archives to pull out a remarkable show from 11/30/96 in Sacramento, CA. Full audio from the band’s concert at the Arco Arena is now streaming on the band’s LivePhish service.
Recorded at the former home of the NBA‘s Sacramento Kings—a venue immortalized by the Cake song of the same name—this recording finds Phish amid its famed 1996 fall tour. While the pugnacious up-and-coming band certainly needed no outside help during this period of intensely inspired playing, Phish still took in assistance from banjo player John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum (Giant Country Horns) throughout the show. The evening also hosts some prime tomfoolery by drummer Jon Fishman, who channeled the spirit of James Brown throughout the show by hollering out various lyrics during songs.
Phish lit the fuse from the very beginning with a “Runaway Jim” that ran straight into an energized “Punch You In The Eye” which heard the first of Fishman’s James Brown antics, yelling “Get up off of that thing,” throughout the intro and ensuing jam. With the gift of hindsight, it’s easy to draw a line from Fishman’s class disruptions at this Sacramento show to the sample pad (or “troll button”) he has employed in the band’s 4.0 era.
Quick rips through the instrumental “All Things Reconsidered” and singalong entryway “Bouncing Around The Room” brought on a “Stash” that filled every moment of its modest 11:30-minute runtime with the ferociously intense, laser-focused playing that defined Phish in the mid-’90s.
It was during the following “Fluffhead”, however, that Phish made clear that this wasn’t going to be just any ordinary show. Technical precision defined the composed sections while Page McConnell‘s Moog stylings added some new flavor to the fan-favorite, with the foursome powering through the closing “Arrival” section to finish strong as a team for this jam chart-worthy rendition on Phish.net. The show wasn’t even halfway over and there were still four more jam-charting songs to go (“It’s Ice”, “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, “Funky Bitch”, and “Possum”).
And don’t forget about the guests. McEuen is the first to join the band, coming out for an acoustic romp through “The Old Home Place” before Trey Anastasio plugged in for “Uncle Pen”. The band waved farewell to McEuen, though not for long, to then finish out the set with a rocking pairing of “Prince Caspian” > “Chalk Dust Torture”.
Returning to the stage, Phish took Sacramento a little further south by way of ZZ Top‘s “La Grange”, signaling the party had resumed. The following “It’s Ice” broke through the surface with a calamitous racket as the band members embraced their inner noise rock, rescued by Trey’s crystalline execution of “Glide”. A rare “Brother” made only its fourth appearance of the year, followed by a “Contact” breather which bled into the “2001” where the proverbial rubber met the road.
What this show lacks in any monumental jams of gargantuan length it more than makes up for in tight, focused playing that epitomizes Phish’s pre-1997 “Cow Funk” tenacity. This “Also Sprach Zarathustra” has all that and more in a concise eight-minute runtime, with Fishman getting down with his bad self by way of more James Brown impressions and Trey encouraging him with “Super Bad” riffs.
The intergalactic voyage of “2001” led the band to “Timber (Jerry the Mule)” and summoned saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum to the stage, where he would remain for much of the remainder of the show. Apfelbaum became familiar to Phish fans across the country the year prior with the seismic release of A Live One, Phish’s first proper live album. In the years since he’s recorded with everyone from Jon Batiste to Lee “Scratch” Perry.
After dominating “Timber”, Apfelbaum found a natural, cohesive place for his horn “Taste” and ultimately cemented his place in the mix on Son Seals‘ “Funky Bitch”. The Phish of 1996 was a band of limitless possibilities, which includes jamming out an a cappella “Amazing Grace” to close the set. For the encore, it was all hands on deck as Apfelbaum and McEuen (now donning a lap slide guitar) joined in to close the show with a raucous “Possom”.
Listen to the 11/30/96 Phish show from Sacramento on LivePhish or via taper audio below.
Phish – Arco Arena – Sacramento, CA – 11/30/96 – Full Audio
[Video: fromtheaquarium]
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Arco Arena | Sacramento, CA | 11/30/96
Soundcheck: Dog Log > Melissa, The New Teller (incomplete), Trey percussion jam, The Old Home Place, work on Uncle Pen, Uncle Pen, Taste
SET 1: Runaway Jim > Punch You in the Eye[1], All Things Reconsidered, Bouncing Around the Room, Stash, Fluffhead, The Old Home Place[2], Uncle Pen[2], Prince Caspian > Chalk Dust Torture
SET 2: La Grange, It’s Ice > Glide, Brother[3], Contact > Also Sprach Zarathustra[1] > Timber (Jerry the Mule)[4] > Taste[5], Funky Bitch[4], Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace Jam[6]
ENCORE: Possum[6]
[1] James Brown antics from Fish.
[2] John McEuen on banjo.
[3] Lyrics included reference to Steve McConnell.
[4] Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone.
[5] Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone, slowed down intro
[6] Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone and John McEuen on lap slide guitar.
The Old Home Place and Uncle Pen featured John McEuen on banjo. Timber through Funky Bitch featured Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone. Taste included an intro jam that was basically a slowed-down version of the song. The Amazing Grace Jam and Possum featured Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone and McEuen on lap slide guitar. Punch You in the Eye and 2001 featured Get Up Offa That Thing quotes and James Brown antics from Fish. 2001 also contained Super Bad teases from Trey. The lyrics to Brother included a reference to Steve McConnell.