Fish/Netherlands 2018

Phish is currently on tour for the 30th anniversary of their masterpiece “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS.” The latest and best live album is now available. Phish recently released the EP “A PARLEY WITH ANGELS” and has a solo album “WELTSCHMERZ” scheduled for next year. His live activities have become more active, and just when I thought he was finally making a full-fledged return to the scene, he suddenly announced his retirement. In an interview, he was shocked when he said, “It’s definitely not the case,” but “I will step away from stage life after this December’s UK tour,” and “I think the next ‘WELTSCHMERZ’ will be my last album.” . First of all, let’s take a look at his recent status in the tour schedule. ●December 6th-12th, 2017: UK (12 performances) ●May 7th, 2018: Poland performance・July 1st-August 10th: European festival (5 performances)《September 21st : EP “A PARLEY WITH ANGELS” released》・September 22nd – November 16th: Europe (40 performances) ←★Here★・December 2nd – 13th: UK (9 performances) ●August 2019 17th: Germany performance The above is the schedule since the start of the 30th anniversary tour of “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS”. It has been announced that she will be performing in Germany next summer, and her retirement in 2018 has been avoided for the time being. However, the tour accompanying the new work has not yet been announced, and the situation is unpredictable. Although 2017 was the 30th anniversary of “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS”, there were only 12 performances in the UK, but this year it started in earnest. Between the summer festival and the release of the EP, the band’s only full-fledged tour is currently underway in Europe. This work is a live album of the 26th performance, “October 28, 2018 Utrecht performance”. This work is a truly wonderful special audience recording. Although it is not a sound board-like sound, there is almost no sense of distance in the singing voice that jumps to the hand, and the closeness of singing right in front of your eyes is wonderful. Although it breathes in an atmosphere, it doesn’t hide the details, and the subtle percussion and synth notes are clear. It is a beautiful sound with a neat rumble that is typical of audience recording with modern digital equipment. What is drawn with that quality is a show that can be said to be an expanded version of “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS.” Since the “30th anniversary” and “all songs” were announced in advance, it was expected that the album would be completely reproduced, but that was not the case. It is true that all the songs from the original album will be played, but the content is a rendition of the original album. The order of the songs was boldly changed, and “Going Under”, which was a bonus track on the CD version, and “Tux On”, the B-side of the single “Sugar Mice”, were also inserted. In addition, the newly released “A PARLEY WITH ANGELS” numbers “Man With A Stick”, “Little Man What Now”, “The Waverly Steps” and the new song “The C Song” are also interwoven. You may be thinking, “Isn’t this a complete reproduction?”, but in reality, this work is more than that. Although four new solo songs will certainly be played, 12 of the 16 songs to be performed are related to “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS”, and if the opening is “Slain the Mhath”, the closing of the encore is also “Incommunicado”. It is definitely the story of “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS” that completely dominates the entire show, and although it is completely different from the original, it expands in the natural flow of a concert. It is a two-hour expanded version of “THE CLUTCHING AT STRAWS SHOW” that uses new songs as spice. Even the standard “Kayleigh”, “Lavender”, “The Company Play”, and “Vigil” are suppressed, and the latest Phish sticks through only “CLUTCHING AT STRAWS” + new songs. Normally, if you’re thinking of retiring, you’d choose a culmination show, and if it’s an album anniversary, you’d choose a complete reenactment. However, Phish expands on the original story and puts on a challenging show. This work is a two-disc set that allows you to experience such “now” with wonderful sound. Not only am I looking forward to the upcoming “WELTSCHMERZ”, but I’m sure there’s still more to come! A masterpiece of a live album that makes you think. Live at Tivoli, Utrecht, Netherlands 28th October 2018 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(57:09) 1. Slainthe Mhath 2. Man With A Stick 3. Hotel Hobbies 4. Warm Wet Circles 5. That Time of the Night (The Short Straw ) 6. MC 7. Little Man What Now 8. Torch Song 9. White Russian 10. Just For The Record Disc 2(65:05) 1. MC 2. The C Song 3. MC 4. Going Under 5. Sugar Mice 6. MC 7. The Waverly Steps 8. The Last Straw 9. Tux On 10. Incommunicado Fish – Lead Vocals Robin Boult – guitars Steve Vantsis – Bass Foss Paterson – Keyboards Gavin Griffiths – Drums