Phish in Hampton was a series of three consecutive Phish shows played in the Hampton Coliseum on March 6, 7, and 8th of 2009. These shows marked the first time the band had played together since their breakup in August 2004. It was estimated that just under 14,000 were in attendance at each of the three shows. Phish keyboardist, Page McConnell, commented on the excitement from the audience by saying, “The crowd was so loud I could not hear myself.” Also, drummer, Jon Fishman, said, "Our band had driven itself into a ditch. We had to establish credibility with people again."
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Background
Phish, founded in Burlington, VT by Trey Anastasio (guitar), Page McConnell (keyboard), Mike Gordon (bass guitar), and Jon Fishman (percussion), is a jam band known for its extensive jamming and musical fusion of different genres. Previous to the three shows played in Hampton, Phish hadn't performed live together since August 2004 at their concert festival Coventry located in Coventry, VT. Previous to the Coventry Festival, Phish had announced plans to break up. This proved to be temporary once Phish launched its reunion announcements in October 2008. It was said that the band decided to break up because they were "exhausted by touring and the strain of Anastasio's substance abuse." However, during the band's break, Trey's consistent problems with drugs and alcohol harmed him worse than he had expected. On December 16, 2006 Trey Anastasio was pulled over at 3:30 AM one night in Whitehall, NY for failing to keep right. He was found in possession of heroin and bottles of prescription painkillers bearing someone else's name and was sentenced to 14 months in the Washington County, New York drug court. After his time spent in drug court, Trey came out clean from drugs and alcohol. Then in 2008, the band decided to start organizing a series of reunion shows in Hampton.
March 6, 2009
- Fluffhead (hadn’t been played since 2000)
- Divided Sky
- Chalk Dust Torture
- Sample in a Jar
- Stash
- I Didn’t Know
- The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony
- Suzy Greenberg
- Farmhouse
- NICU
- Horn
- Rift
- Train Song
- Water in the Sky
- The Squirming Coil
- David Bowie
- Backwards Down the Number Line (first time played live)
- Tweezer
- Taste
- Possum
- Theme From the Bottom
- First Tube
- Harry Hood
- Waste
- You Enjoy Myself (started with musical fumble and was restarted)
- Grind
- Bouncing Around the Room
- Loving Cup
March 7, 2009
- Back on the Train
- Runaway Jim
- Brian and Robert
- Split Open and Melt
- Heavy Things
- Punch You in the Eye
- Gumbo
- Reba
- Mexican Cousin
- It’s Ice
- Halley’s Comet
- Beauty of a Broken Heart (first time played live)
- Guelah Papyrus
- Lawn Boy
- Run Like an Antelope
- Rock and Roll
- Limb by Limb
- Ghost
- Piper
- Birds of a Feather
- Wolfman’s Brother
- Prince Caspian
- Mike’s Song
- I Am Hydrogen
- Weekapaug Groove
- Character Zero
- A Day in the Life
March 8, 2009
- Sanity
- Wilson
- Foam
- Bathtub Gin
- Undermind
- AC/DC Bag
- My Friend, My Friend
- Scent of a Mule
- All of These Dreams
- Maze
- She Thinks I Still Care
- Army of One
- Tube
- Cars Trucks Buses
- Free
- Frankenstein
- Down with Disease
- Seven Below
- The Horse
- Silent in the Morning
- Twist
- 2001
- The Moma Dance
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Wading in the Velvet Sea
- Slave to the Traffic Light
- Happy Birthday to You (sung to Phish's drummer's dad, Leonard Fishman)
- Contact
- Bug
- Tweezer Reprise
Joy
Along with coordinating the three Hampton shows, Phish recorded its "comeback album", Joy, during April and May 2009, which showed all phans (Phish fans) that they were back for good. Although Joy was not released until September 2009, Phish introduced the song "Backwards Down the Number Line", Joy's first track, by opening the second set on March 6 with it. The album received moderate reviews. Billboard magazine ranked Joy as an 83/100. Also, Allmusic gave the band's newest album 3 out of 5 stars.