At-LED-tic City Night 2

So thats my view from the front row saturday night. This was the closest I've ever been at a Phish concert and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had this spot on this particular night. Saturday night for me was the highlight of the weekend. Saturday night was the trick and the treat of the entire halloween run. It all started with this- Chalk Dust Torture -> Whole Lotta Love^[1] > Chalk Dust Torture . hearing Trey riff Whole Lotta Love coming out of chalkdust was like the melding of some of my favorite old school and new school rock and roll.
At some point in our lives , as music lovers, we all discover Zeppelin. And after a while , although you still appreciate Led Zeppelin, you sorta move beyond it . Maybe its because classic rock radio over plays Zeppelin or maybe you've discovered other stuff and the newness of those classic Jimmy Page riffs ain't so new anymore. For me, it was when I had heard all the Zeppelin I could possibly ever hear. They aren't coming out with any new material so after a while , you've heard it,. you've heard it all twice and God knows you've heard Stairway to Heaven at least a thousand times growing up.

Zepplin still rocked, but i was searching out new things. And in 8th grade I bought my first issue of High Times . Frequently a band named Phish made the "Pot 100" . And that was my introduction to THIS band. My first show was at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster. I don't recall it being anything special ,just another "jam" band on the same touring circuit as alot of other "jam" bands i was into at the time. They were certainly no Grateful Dead, my favorite band at that time, and the show didn't stand out to me as anything remarkable. When i listen to a bootleg recording of that show and compare that small club gig to the huge arena shows I've seen I wish i recalled more about it. That was 1990 and at the time, it was just another show , but having seen how the band has grown simply amazes me. I wish i could see the band in a venue that size again but its highly unlikely.
Fast -Forward to 10/30/10 I was front row this night. And the power of pure rock-n-roll supercedes anything! All at once those 2 worlds collided. Chalkdust torture is grooving along and then........ WHAM- that riff......that riff I've heard a hundred times. That riff that is the recognizable embodiment of ROCK-N-ROLL....... that riff that had Jimmy Page exercising the demons from that Les Paul and Robert Plant proclaiming his carnal intentions. But this time,. it isn't Page and Plant, its Trey and Mike,John and Page, paying homage to the that same riff they'd grown up on just like I had. Ripping it apart like jackals on a carcass ..... and just that quickly its back into Chalkdust....... one verse and it was over,. slamming back into Chalkdust and coming to a halt.
Then its Ha, Ha, Ha- sorta like they thought it was funny to get everybody worked up on the Zeppelin , one of the potential possibilities for the Halloween costume tommorrow night. Then it was Walk Away, that old Joe Walsh and the James Gang fav that once again celebrates a huge rock-n-roll riff. The first set continued to work its way thru some more standard Phish wrapping up with Page alone with his piano on stage ending a beautiful Squirming Coil. The minimalist elegance of Pages piano quieted the crowd as his last notes reverberated thru Boardwalk Hall.

A quick bathroom break and a mad grab for waters quickly find me back at the rail, Rob diligiantly holding down our spot. Rob decides hes gonna escape the floor and make his way around the upper levels in search of perfect auditory and visual balance. I'm left alone at the rail to wonder just what is about to happen next.

The second set starts of with a Tube > Possum^[4] > Tweezer^[2] ->.. and then the madness starts ......theres that fuckin' riff again...... are they really gonna trick us with an unheard of treat and do a Halloween show the night before Halloween instead of actually on Halloween. Rumors had been floating that they had soundchecked Zeppelin II earlier in the evening. Much like myself, most people thought of that as a forshadowing of the next night and assumed that the Halloween costume was in fact Led Zeppelin II. So by now we're 3 songs into the second set and Trey is once again riffing Whole Lotta Love ........ but wait, whats that coming........ Holy shit....... its Heartbreaker... Tweezer with a Whole Lotta Love tease > Heartbreaker > Thank You> Tweezer> Stairway to Heaven......... I can't believe what I'm hearing ....and not only am I loving it, its like "all thats old is new again". I'm hearing it for the first time once again. Pure Rock-N-Roll! They didn't do an entire Zeppelin album but their selection of Zeppelin material was so choice! they make there way thru a few more common Phish tunes and end the second set on Backward Down the Number Line > Good Times , Bad Times. One last Zeppelin treat to end the set, and to also lay rest to any idea that tomorrow nights costume will be Led Zeppelin. A Sleeping Monkey encore calms things down a bit but ,going out like a lion rather than a lamb, its a Tweezer reprise!..... Full Force , High Energy Screaming Rock-n- Roll........
I walk out of the show ,dazed and confused, make my way to our agreed upon nightly meeting spot at Nathans Hot Dogs and confirm with Rob over food and drink that I am indeed still alive, I'm not in heaven, and that he just saw the same show I did!
2 shows down, 1 to go......... and the remaining question of just how do they plan on topping that tomorrow night.

I'm not gonna be a cheap date so if ya wanna hear the Zeppelin you're gonna have to download the Zip files of the entire show to hear it in the context of how it was actually experienced that night. But i think you'll enjoy the few singles I've selected as a representation of that nights show.

Friends and Family, Ladies and Gentleman-I give you......
PHISH
October 30th Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City

Cavern - This is a favorite of mine from the first actual Phish album I owned, Picture of Nectar. Its one that I've seen a few times live but i never get tired of it. Its lyrics painting a an incredible picture in my mind and as the second song of the night the grand statement of "The time is near, the mission's clear, its later than you think" was prophetic for an incredible night. The band had a mission.... but " in summing up the moral seems a little bit obscure....."

Walk Away - Ah yes,. that old James Gang classic about avoided conflict, restrained disgust, and shifts in sentiment. its a rock and roll classic, ..... hence why it receives the label of Classic rock. There isn't anything I can say about this song that somebody hasn't already said.

Good Time, Bad Times - So I lied,.... I am a cheap date,. I'm the sorta guy who will give it up on the first date,... possibly before you've even taken me out for dinner and drinks. Im gonna give up a little bit of the Zeppelin just to whet your appetite...... and if somebody ever tells you that rock-n-roll is dead, punch them in the nose and give them a copy of this show!

If you enjoyed those, the setlist for the entire night can be found here and the downloads for the entire show are below.

Saturday, October 30th Disc 1 - entire first disc and 1 song from second disc

Saturday October 30th Disc 2 - Contains remainder of second disc and entire third disc