Phish Oak Mountain Atlanta and Charlotte 2012

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This past weekend we set off for a little road trip to see some Phish shows.  First stop was Pelham Alabama at Oak Mountain Amphitheater.  We stayed in one of the hotels just behind the amphitheater making the evening very easy.  One of the funnier pregame sightings was the swaying bridge between hotel row and the parking lot.  Fans were rocking the wooden bridge back and forth making it very difficult to navigate.  See the bottom of this post for a youtube video we made of the swaying bridge.  The last time I had been to Oak Mountain was the last time Phish played there in 1999, 13 years prior.  That September night in 1999 was really special, but who knew it would be 13 years before their return?  The show was solid start to finish with a nod to the early years, no songs were played that debuted after the last show they played there…an average debut of 1992.  Sand was probably the highlight of the show for me, but there was plenty of nostalgia throughout.  Some that stuck out for me were Cities, DWD, the Wedge, a huge Boogie on >2001 and a rocking Good Times Bad Times to end the night.

 Friday, 08/24/2012
Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, Pelham, AL

Set 1: Possum, Cities > Sample in a Jar, Timber (Jerry) > Back on the Train, Lawn Boy, Down with Disease, Gumbo, Ginseng Sullivan > The Wedge, Julius > Cavern,While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Set 2: Rock and Roll^[1] -> The Lizards, Halley’s Comet > Sand > Twist^[2] > Birds of a Feather, Boogie On Reggae Woman > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Waste >Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: Good Times Bad Times

[1] Live and Let Die teases from Trey.
[2] Oye Como Va jam.

On Saturday we headed back to Atlanta for Phish’s return to Lakewood Amphitheater.  For the past few years they have been playing Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta.  For this show we had lawn seats which in my book should come at a serious discount.  Neither the sound or lights were up to par out there, so I was a little down on the show from the get-go.  They opened with Cars Trucks and Buses and that set the stage for the night.  There were several highlights but for me Golden Age stole the show.  On paper the show looks pretty solid, it was just filled with a lot of songs that I would prefer to hear on the couch as opposed to the lawn.

 Saturday, 08/25/2012
Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA

Set 1: Cars Trucks Buses, Wolfman’s Brother, Runaway Jim, Ya Mar, Alaska, My Soul > Wilson > Maze, Roses Are Free > Backwards Down the Number Line >Character Zero

Set 2: Kill Devil Falls > Golden Age > Free > Light > Wading in the Velvet Sea >Chalk Dust Torture^[1] > What’s the Use? > Joy > Run Like an Antelope

Encore: A Day in the Life

[1] Unfinished.

Performers: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon

Notes: Chalk Dust was unfinished.

Finally on Sunday we got up and headed out for Charlotte North Carolina.  Martha and I love going back to Charlotte, and apparently so does Phish.  They have been killing it there and did not disappoint in 2012.  We were back under the shed for this show in section 208 on Page’s side.  Opening with AC/DC Bag the stage was set for a big night, an old school one too.  I could not have scripted this show any better with some of my favorites like Moma Dance, Bathtub Gin, Fluffhead, Tube, Bowie, Crosseyed and Painless, and the biggest Mike’s-Weekapaug sandwich you’ve ever seen stuffed with Tweezer and Harry Hood amongst others in the middle.  What a fantastic way to end the 3 night southern run.  Again an old school show where the average song debuted in 1990.  It may very well be another year before they return to the South, but we will be here when they do.

 Sunday, 08/26/2012
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Set 1: AC/DC Bag^[1] > The Moma Dance > Heavy Things, Ocelot, Funky Bitch >Bathtub Gin > Fluffhead > Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues,Tube, My Sweet One, David Bowie

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Mike’s Song^[2] > Bouncing Around the Room, Axilla > Tweezer > Harry Hood > The Horse> Silent in the Morning > Weekapaug Groove, Suzy Greenberg^[2]

Encore: Big Black Furry Creature from Mars > Tweezer Reprise

[1] Machine Gun teases from Trey and Fish.
[2] Crosseyed tease from Trey.

Performers: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon

Notes: Machine Gun (Jimi Hendrix) was teased by Trey and Fish before and during AC/DC Bag. During Alumni, Fish stated he didn’t have a degree and later said he did. After Alumni, Trey said that Fish did have a degree, adding that they met in 1983 at UVM and that Fish held a very interesting record: the lowest grade point average ever recorded at UVM. Fish added “for a non-fraternity student” and both Trey and Fish joked about Fish’s GPA (giving low numbers). Trey added that they were both saved by Page at Goddard and that Page earned $100 for recruiting them to Goddard. Trey introduced Tube and My Sweet One as Fishman songs, asking the crowd to count the number of times “you” appeared in the song. There was a delay in starting My Sweet One until Page said they have a lot of interesting stories (about Fishman), prompting Fishman to immediately start the song. Mike’s and Suzy contained a Crosseyed teases from Trey. BBFCFM included Trey singing into his microphone that he raised above his head, playing his guitar behind his head and running around the stage and Mike playing his bass on his knees.

Setlists provided by Phish.net