''Colorado '88'' is a 3-
CD live album from the rock band
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
, recorded over several nights in summer 1988. Despite having only traveled outside
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
occasionally, in the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
college and club circuit, Phish embarked on a tour in the west. The band played seven shows in ten days to tiny crowds in small bars and restaurants in the ski towns of
Telluride and
Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
. ''Colorado '88'' collects, in chronological order, the best of those shows, providing a vivid glimpse into the days before the three and four-night stands at amphitheaters and arenas that would distinguish Phish in the years to come.
Mastered from the original analog cassette tapes, ''Colorado '88'' contains recordings of songs that had not previously been widely traded or heard with such clarity. Several of the tracks in the collection had never before appeared on an official Phish release.
In 2018, new tapes of these shows were found, all of which were in full.
History
When Phish arrived in Colorado, they made the most of the opportunity, managing to improvise bookings for seven shows over the course of ten days - six of which were in the small mountain town of Telluride.
According to
Mike Gordon
Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...
in ''
The Phish Book'': "My fiance Cilla Foster was responsible for our first tour. In 1988 she was waitressing in Telluride for a guy named Warren Stickney. I didn't know her very well at the time, but one day she called and said Stickney wanted us to come play in his bar. We'd never played further away from home than New Hampshire at the time, but Stickney promised to book a monthlong tour across the country. It took another six months to get him on the phone again, but I finally spoke with him about a week before we were supposed to hit the road. He said something like, 'I don't know if I can get you any other gigs, but you can play my place and I'll pay you a thousand bucks.' I couldn't get him on the phone after that, so the six of us - including
Paul Languedoc
Paul Languedoc is an American audio engineer and luthier who is most closely associated with the rock band Phish.
Professional career
He was the soundman for rock group Phish prior to the band's breakup in 2004. As the band's chief sound engin ...
and Tim Rogers, who was doing lights - decided to go for it anyway.
"We finished playing a Nectar's gig at 2am, took a vote, and decided to head west then and there. Our friends Ninja Custodian subbed for us the next night at Nectar's, and we took off across the country with turkey ham, cheese, and apple butter. It was the middle of summer, and we were traveling in a windowless truck with only a foam mattress on the floor. We didn't even stop at a rest area for forty hours, so the truck got pretty disgusting."
Track listing
Disc one
#"The Curtain With"
(Anastasio
Anastasio is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name
* Anastasio Alfaro (1865–1951), Costa Rican zoologist, geologist and explorer
* Anastasio Aquino (1792–1833), Salvadoran indigenous ...
, Daubert
In United States federal law, the ''Daubert'' standard is a rule of evidence regarding the admissibility of expert witness testimony. A party may raise a ''Daubert'' motion, a special motion ''in limine'' raised before or during trial, to exclude ...
) - 17:34
#"The Sloth"
(Anastasio) - 3:08
#"Icculus"
(Anastasio, Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
) - 4:48
#"Colonel Forbin's Ascent"
(Anastasio) - 5:43
#"Fly Famous Mockingbird"
(Anastasio) - 9:14
#"I Didn't Know"
(Wright) - 5:38
#"
Maiden Voyage"
(Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshire
* ...
) - 9:29
#"Timber"
(White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
) - 11:23
#"
Harpua
"Harpua" is a Phish song that was a staple of their live concerts, but has now become a rarity and has ''only'' been performed live. Its first appearance on an album was on
''Live Phish Volume 2'', a 2001 release featuring a concert from 1994. Th ...
"
(Anastasio, Fishman) - 12:27
Disc two
#"Fluffhead"
(Anastasio, Pollak Pollak is an Austrian surname, and is a variant of ''Polak'' usually of Jewish Ashkenazic origin, it originates as an ethnic surname for Jews between Austria, Poland and Germany. Notable people with the surname include:
Athletes
* Burglinde Poll ...
) - 14:54
#"Run Like an Antelope"
(Anastasio, Marshall, Pollak) - 10:58
#"Sneakin' Sally Thru the Alley"
( Toussaint) - 6:47
#"Light Up or Leave Me Alone"
( Capaldi) - 7:27
#"The Lizards"
(Anastasio) - 10:21
#"I Know a Little"
( Gaines) - 2:59
#"The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday"
(Anastasio) - 3:18
#"Avenu Malcanu"
(Traditional) - 3:08
#"The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday"
(Anastasio) - 1:35
#"Flat Fee"
(Anastasio) - 2:22
#"McGrupp and the Watchful Horsemasters"
(Anastasio, Marshall) - 9:32
#"Alumni Blues"
(Anastasio) - 4:32
#"Letter To Jimmy Page"
(Anastasio) - 1:00
#"Alumni Blues"
(Anastasio) - :44
Disc three
#"Camel Walk"
(Holdsworth
Holdsworth was a bicycle manufacturer in London, England. It was created by William Frank Holdsworth, known as "Sandy", and the brand is now owned by Planet X Limited based in Rotherham, Yorkshire.
History
Sandy Holdsworth took over Ashlo ...
) - 5:39
#"Wilson"
(Anastasio, Marshall, Woolf) - 5:47
#"No Dogs Allowed"
(Anastasio) - 13:50
#"
Mike's Song
"Mike's Song" is a song by the rock band Phish. Originally written in 1985, and debuting that year on March 16, bass player Mike Gordon's song has been played a total of 488 times (appearing in 28.26% of all of Phish live shows), the third most pla ...
"
(Gordon
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
) - 4:55
#"I Am Hydrogen"
(Anastasio, Daubert, Marshall) - 2:06
#"Weekapaug Groove"
(Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) - 4:20
#"
You Enjoy Myself
"You Enjoy Myself", commonly abbreviated to "YEM", is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio, first played live on February 3, 1986. It is the band's most frequently performed song, having been played at about 33% of their first 1,800 shows.
His ...
"
(Anastasio) - 17:31
#"Cities"
(Byrne '
Byrne (also O'Byrne) is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Ó Broin'' or ''Ó Beirn''.
There are two Irish surnames which have Byrne as their English spelling; the most common comes from Ó Broin, which refers to the Leinster-b ...
) - 4:44
#"Dave's Energy Guide"
(Abrahams, Anastasio) - 1:25
#"Cities"
(Byrne) - :41
#"AC/DC Bag"
(Anastasio) - 10:06
#"Corinna"
(Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
, Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
) - 4:33
#"Thank You" - 3:37
Bonus tracks
LivePhish.com download
#"Sanity"
(Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell, Pollak) - 7:41
#"Dog Log"
(Anastasio) - 4:30
#"Big Black Furry Creature From Mars"
(Gordon) - 3:52
#"Slave to the Traffic Light"
(Abrahams, Anastasio, Pollak) - 10:27
#"Harry Hood"
(Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, Long, McConnell) - 13:39
LivePhish.com pre-order (MP3 only)
#"Tela"
(Anastasio) - 11:43
#"Possum"
(Holdsworth) - 6:17
Personnel
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
*
Trey Anastasio
Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...
- lead vocals, guitars, drums
*
Page McConnell
Page Samuel McConnell (born May 17, 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American multi-instrumentalist most noted for his work as the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band Phish.
In addition to having been a member of Phish since 1985, ...
- keyboards, vocals
*
Mike Gordon
Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...
- bass guitar, vocals
*
Jon Fishman
Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer known for his work with the band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983, and which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo cr ...
- drums, vocals
References
{{Authority control
Jammy Award winners
LivePhish.com Downloads
Phish live albums
2006 live albums