"Phish's Record-Breaking Jams: A New Era in Live Performance" Larry Mishkin discusses a 1990 performance by the Jerry Garcia Band, highlighting the importance of his album recorded during this period and recommending it for fans of Garcia. He then shift to discussing Phish, describing a lengthy and memorable jam session of the song "Simple" during a recent concert. He shares his personal experience and admiration for Phish's ability to maintain engaging improvisations in their performances.
"Phish's Record-Breaking Jams: A New Era in Live Performance"
Larry Mishkin discusses a 1990 performance by the Jerry Garcia Band, highlighting the importance of his album recorded during this period and recommending it for fans of Garcia. He then shift to discussing Phish, describing a lengthy and memorable jam session of the song "Simple" during a recent concert. He shares his personal experience and admiration for Phish's ability to maintain engaging improvisations in their performances.
The conversation then transitions to Aerosmith, detailing the band's history, influence, and their recent announcement to retire from touring due to Steven Tyler's vocal issues. Larry reflects on Aerosmith's legacy, comparing them to other iconic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, and notes the personal connection some of their friends have with the band.
Along with new positive cannabis studies, Larry briefly touches on the recent end of Dead & Company’s tour and the cancellation of Widespread Panic's remaining 2024 tour dates, expressing disappointment but understanding the circumstances.
Larry (00:33.895)
Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the Deadhead Cannabis show. This is Larry Michigan from Chicago, Michigan law and Boy, we've got an action -packed show today partly because I apologize missed out on last week in the midst of all of the fish goings and comings and in the last minute unexpected trip to Cleveland to support a good family friend in a time of need and Just ran out of time
doesn't happen very often, but it did. But we're making up for today and a lot more. We've got all sorts of stuff today. Of course, last week was the days between. There's been a ton of fish stuff going on, and we're basically covering it all. So let's dive right in. And Dan, if you can kick it off, because we cannot be the Deadhead Cannabis Show without remembering Jerry.
Larry (03:48.168)
Well, this is Jill, we all know that. It's from a sometime during the spring summer 1990 tour at the Warfield by the Jerry Garcia Band. It came out on Jerry Garcia, on the album Jerry Garcia Band. It's the band's second album on their first live album. It was recorded in the spring of summer of 1990 at the Warfield. It was released by Arista Records as a two disc CD on August 1991.
later released as a five disc LP. you don't have it and you're a friend of Jerry's and you like his stuff, you have to have it. All the pure Jerry's and all that stuff that's out there, they're all great and they're all, you know, just more and more examples and versions of great tunes and Jerry playing with a bunch of different people. But if you're just kind of like a newcomer to this, you want to get something for somebody that just is the Jerry Garcia band really like cranking, this is the album.
I would highly recommend it. It's got Jerry obviously on guitar and vocals and it also has his longtime associate John Kahn on bass. John Kahn quite a legend in his own right. Melvin Seals, a keyboard player. Melvin's still around and touring with the current version of the Jerry Garcia band lineup. Dave Kemper's on the drums and then Gloria Jones and Jacqui Lebranche on the vocals. Very distinctive voices who really added so much to this version of the Jerry Garcia band.
In this particular version, I think it's fair to say that you know Garcia's incendiary fretwork Equals the verve and practically any grateful dad recording that was you know our performance during that time many call this, you know one of the Pinnacle versions of deal ever played by Jerry with the debt or by the Jerry Garcia band It was released in January 20th 1972 as the first track on Garcia Jerry's first solo album
I would say it may be my favorite Garcia tune. It's a true rocker. When Jerry's in the mood like he is on this clip, he can blow out the doors with his jamming and growling voice. It was a staple for both the Jerry Garcia band and the various Jerry groups before that. And of course, The Dead was almost always a first set closer, a great way to keep everyone buzzing through the set break, very energetic and just...
Larry (06:05.051)
fun fun fun one of those tunes when you heard it knew it was the end of the set but you didn't care because it was such a great tune and you were so excited to hear it it was played a lot the dead played it over for almost four hundred thirty times jerry jerry garcia band the legion of mary etc etc who knows because it's hard to track down all the various set lists from all of those various different groups that he would and people he was playing with
The first time it was ever played by the Dead was February 19th, 1971 at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, always a home of wonderful Dead breakouts. And the last time it was played with the Dead was June 18th, 1995 at Giant Stadium. But we missed Jerry, and if I had been able to get it all together last week, there probably would have been a little more Jerry, but so much is going on with Fish in the interim that we're just going to have.
Excuse me a little bit of Jerry today, but it's great Jerry Because we want him to know no matter what else is going on in the musical world we will always think of him and remember him and how so much of all the rest of this is fair to say is just like the offspring of the dead and the the jam band genre that they and the Allman Brothers to be fair at that time, you know, we're really working out and
setting the stage that bands forever thereafter from Fish to Goose to Widespread to any of them and that's not to say that you know that they owe anything to the debt or anything like that right it was just a new way to play rock and roll music you know instead of a three minute 45 second song how about if you stretch it out for 30 minutes and you know so many of these bands have taken to that and so many of us who always like the studio songs and stuff but discovered that when they take these things and they just
really extend about how wonderful it is and boy i could have given myself a better introduction because now we're gonna switch over and start talking about fish for a little while there in the middle of their summer tour so much has been going on they've just been at the absolute top their game i was lucky enough to see five shows july twenty six twenty seventh and twenty eight at alpine valley we talked about the twenty fifth of the twenty six two weeks ago my then saw july thirtieth and thirty first in saint louis and
Larry (08:23.249)
Just a couple of days from now on Wednesday, I'm hopping in a car and heading out to Dover, Delaware for Monda Green at the Dover Motor Speedway or the Delaware Motor Speedway or whatever it is. then in between my shows and those shows, there's just been great stuff going on, wonderful guest performances, great tunes. And so what I'm going to try and do here is give you a quick little sampler of what's been going on with Fish, some of the stuff I saw, some of the stuff I didn't see.
but given the investment I've made in them this summer, would be doing everyone a disservice if I didn't dive into this. And it's always nice to reach out to the folks who listen to this podcast because they are interested in the dead and cannabis, but they also happen to be fish heads. So good for them and great for them. I'm one of them now. I love it. And so we're going to start off with, we talked about the July 27th, 2024 show. That was the Saturday night show up at Alpine Valley. And we talked about a number of different things.
about that show and we're gonna focus on the second set, we're gonna focus specifically on the song Simple and here's why. Stigma Oasis was the second set opener and it looked like it was gonna have the first type two jam of the night, right, type two jam being defined as a jam where you kinda forget, at least in my definition, the song that they're playing. Sometimes, according to the Phish version, you can remember the song that they're playing but they jam it out in a way where it doesn't sound anything at all.
like the song that they were playing it out of they just you know kind of take it off in an entirely different direction or whatever but to me i just i i we we never called them type two jams with the dad but we always laughed about a jam that was so long we forgot what song they were playing so when they say type two here that's just the way i reference it but trey wasted a little time wasted little time before throwing in the opening lick to simple and his bandmates quickly fell behind and launched into the mike gordon penned tune
Page hopped on his world sir electric piano as the band modulated to a minor key out of simple and vamped on War blues progression the four musicians locked in on a phrase early in the jam They had used as a platform to move back into major territory fish laid down a bombastic beat that provided a contrast to the Pretty melodies tray page and Mike traded off the drummer did not relent and the resulting improv had a feeling akin to the allman Brothers band mountain jam as simple past the 15 minute mark fish pushed towards
Larry (10:49.767)
pushed forward into more rocky, rock -heavy territory, with Fish still hitting the gas for another majestic movement, while Page slid from synth to B3, and Trey fired off one anthemic lick after another. A short peak dissolved into a more spacey excursion that still grooved thanks to Fishman's drumming. Fish eventually broke down the beat to a reggae -filled pattern, with Trey throwing in beautiful melodies and Page back on world tour to echo Anastasio's lines. But Fish wasn't done yet, and Anastasio had a few more.
fretboard fireworks to unleash at the 35 -minute mark leading to a massive climax that drew a pop from the well -satiated crowd and a return to finish the longest and best Simple of all time. Simple was first written and recorded by Mike Gordon in a four -track medium in the doo -wop style and introduced to the band during the studio sessions for their album Hoist. This version reflected the country and bluesgrass writing style of many previous Gordon compositions. The song was left off of the album, the band showed hesitation in performing it live. Then on May 26th,
27th 1994 simple debuted in a very strange and raw fashion during the mic song at the Warfield in San Francisco in Contrast to the song we know today the debut version of simple was Mike's original lyrics sung by the band members over a jam that had emerged from Mike's Three weeks later simple was played for the second time in the historic June 17th 1994 gig Known as the same night that much of the country was watching the low -speed police chase of OJ Simpson's white Ford Bronco throughout LA
this version was significantly reworked and sounded much like the simple we are accustomed to hearing today this clip is at the end of the jam when they swing back into the songs we could all remember what they were playing and just be amazed it's the longest simple ever and the eighth longest song played by fish i'd never heard a forty minute jam by the dead
Larry (14:28.231)
So what I really love about this clip and when you have a 41 minute jam, it's impossible to go anywhere. I mean, you can just go in the middle and pluck out 90 seconds or two minutes worth of the jam. it's kind of hard to fully appreciate it. So I just decided that going right up to the end of the jam and as they transition again, clearly back into simple and the crowd just reacts and loves it. And everybody's know.
Checking their watches to see my god did they top 40 minutes 40 minutes? I guess you know being a kind of a a barrier for fish You know if you make it into the 40 minute club, you're huge Apparently this song became at that moment the eighth longest version of a song ever played by fish But in a little while you'll see that that even gets topped And it's just I mean, it's a fun song. It's a silly song and I've seen it
enough times that you know when they played I know there's gonna be a little bit of jamming at the end and whatever but like I said we talked about two weeks ago you know after a few minutes I was looking at my son I was that was there with my son Jonathan my older son Matthew and his crew and kept checking in with Matthew as like is it still simple is he still simple and all of sudden I realized I'm sitting in on you know one of these classic fish jams that you hear so much about and as a deadhead who never heard a 40 minute jam on one tune played by the dead
it was just fascinating to hear how they kept the jam alive and how they kept it fresh and how they kept it interesting would build up to a crescendo and then get the crowd roaring and then kind of bring it back down and then just when the crowd needed it again you know Trey would bring it all back up and just an absolutely amazing experience a lot of fun and something really great to see as I said it's a tune written by Mike Gordon it was released on Fish's Billy Breed's album in nineteen ninety -four
including this version the bands played it 202 times the first time they played it was May 27th 1994 at the Warfield in San Francisco this was the most recent version of it assuming they didn't play it last night up in Bethel New York at Woodstock where they just were this past weekend so most recently on July 27th 2024 again assuming they did not play it last night it has a current gap of 10 shows and that's the kind of cool thing about you know talking about fish when they're still alive
Larry (16:49.233)
talk about the day you say well the last time they ever played it we can't say that about fish because they're still playing so all you can do is measure the current gap and of course on fish .net in their one of their little pages off of their main website there they have all of this information so it's not like I'm any kind of a fish savant who knows all of this information I just make good use of my social media and pick the information that I think people are going to want to hear so sometimes I'm right
Sometimes I'm not staying in a musical theme here. We're gonna slip into our musical news for the day and very appropriately Dan's gonna transition us in with this
Larry (17:43.601)
F R
Larry (18:58.321)
everybody recognizes the song walk this way by the american rock band aro smith written by steve tyler and joe perry also was originally released as a second single from the album toys in the attic came out nineteen seventy five one of my all -time favorite albums and like one of the first albums that you know really ventured away from the more kind of rock and roll that i was listening to into a band at least for me sounded a little more gritty and you know
rockish whatever you want to call it. It peaked at number ten on the billboard hot 100 in early 1977 part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the seventies. particular version is a live clip from their performance at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise Florida on April 3rd 2004. In addition to being one of the songs that helped break Aerosmith into the mainstream in 1970s it also helped revitalize their career in the 1980s when it was covered by the hip -hop group Run DMC
in collaboration with Aerosmith on their 1986 album, Raising Hell. This cover was a touchstone for the new musical subgenre of rap rock or the melding of rock and hip hop. And I have to say, I'd heard of Run DMC and we were all familiar to one degree or another with the hip hop and the rap scene. But when this video came out, it blew me away. I just thought it was so cool because all of a sudden you recognize
how the beat and the tune of Walk This Way is written by Steve and Joe when they wrote it naturally fit into a rap pattern as well. And you see the way these two relatively different genres of music kind of interact almost seamlessly. Now, of course, Run DMC at the time was at the top of their game and was maybe one of the best out there, maybe one of the best ever. And Aerosmith was
you know, certainly in a little bit of a lull career -wise. And this we saw help pull them out of it. But it's just wonderful. And if you've never heard that mashup, should really just look for Aerosmith, Run DMC, Run DMC covering Walk This Way. And you'll be blown away. It's wonderful. Walk This Way became an international hit. After that, reaching number four on the Billboard charts and becoming the first hip hop single to reach the top five on the charts and won both.
Larry (21:16.455)
both of the groups a Soul Train Music Award for best rap single in 1987 Soul Train Music Awards. Both versions are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Now, this is very appropriate, this music, because here's our top story today. And it's a little sad, but not entirely sad, because nobody died. But Aerosmith is, in fact, retiring from performing on the road. Their farewell tour had made its to its third stop last September when Steven Tyler was waylaid with damaged vocal cords.
and a fractured larynx. mean, he's been blasting it out for years and years and years with a voice that's loud and soft and high -pitched and low -pitched and just all over the place. But now, after multiple postponements, the band says that a full recovery from his vocal injury simply is not possible. On their website, Aerosmith wrote, part, it was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith. Thanks to you, our blue army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades.
Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock and roll history. It been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour, and at moments grand and private, you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives. We always wanted to blow your mind when performing. As you know, Stephen's voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury.
We've seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear that a full recovery from his injury is just not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult but necessary decision as a band of brothers to retire from the touring stage. Now, Aerosmith was formed in Boston in 1970, and the group consisted of Steven Tyler on vocals, Joe Perry guitar, Tom Hamilton bass, Joey Kramer drums, and Brad Whitford on guitar.
Their style, is rooted in blues -based hard rock, has also incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. Aerosmith, sometimes referred to as the Bad Boys from Boston, and America's greatest rock and roll band, the primary songwriter team of Tyler and Perry, is sometimes referred to as the Toxic Twins. But really, in that respect, they're not unlike Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, a band that I would compare them to.
Larry (23:34.661)
you know, if we're going to call them the great American rock and roll band and, you know, the Rolling Stones from Great Bitten are, my opinion, the greatest rock and roll band of all time, but certainly Aerosmith can be involved in the conversation. And it's just worth throwing out there before I forget that this is one of good buddy A -Well's all -time favorite childhood bands right along with Jay Giles, both being Boston Products where the young A -Well was growing up and being influenced by the music around him.
but always loved Aerosmith, caught him just a few years ago at Fenway Park with his son Max, don't know if Jake was there with him or not as well, maybe so. The perfect father and son combination coming back to see the dad's favorite band from way, back in the day. I never saw Aerosmith, but I did love him, but I couldn't quite make the same claim as AWELL. Aerosmith is the best -selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.
including over 85 million records in the United States with 25 gold, 18 platinum, and 12 multi -platinum albums. hold the record for the most total certifications by an American group and are tied for the most multi -platinum albums by an American group. They have achieved 20, 21 top 40 hits on the US Hot 100, nine number one mainstream rock hits, four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, and 10 MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
and were ranked number 57 and 30 respectively on Rolling Stones and VH1's list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2013, Tyler and Perry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2020, the band received the Musicares Person of the Year award. So a sad day because a legendary, iconic rock band, one that stretched way back into my junior high school days and was always part of the soundtrack of my rock and roll life.
Maybe not again on the level of a well, but certainly out there Good friend Levy from Minnesota who is jones and to get on the podcast and maybe we'll get him here all day was a big love in the elevator fan and Dude looks like a lady, but you know we all had our tunes that they cranked out and loved him a lot So the good news here of course is they're not retiring because somebody died and while it's sad that Steven Tyler has has has damaged his voice it looks irrevocably and
Larry (25:54.095)
and
next on music news dead and company will this past weekend closed out their thirty show ten week where it is here in las vegas on amazing run great shows great cat crowds and i think the most amazing concert venue i've ever seen and what else do you need if nothing else he got the boys back together for more fantastic music after what it sounded like a retirement at the end of last year what's next i do not know they may even not know
I do know that Bob Weir is coming to Chicago later this year with Wolf Brothers to play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which promises to be a rather unique evening. But other than that, I think we're going to have to wait and see. Certainly, John Mayer has his own music and his own touring schedule that he keeps up with. Bobby does play with Wolf Brothers. And we'll see. Is a combo with Phil Lesh in the offing?
I have no idea, that be lovely though? Phil's really getting up there in age. Maybe if the boys wanted to play with him one last time, that would be a wonderful thing to see. But at any rate, it's hard to believe that this entire run of Dead Shows has already come and gone. It just seems like yesterday, June 1, that I was out there with good buddy Mark and AWOL and Andy and Eric and Mikey and just the whole gang. Everybody was out there, Phil and Tammy, and we just had such a wonderful time.
notwithstanding the hundred plus degrees temperatures outside. We just hung out inside and enjoyed life and had a great time seeing the remnants of our most favorite band ever in a venue that just blew us all away. Wonderful to have the opportunity to do it. If you missed Dead and Co, that's okay. Go there and see the Eagles or go see whatever band is gonna play there because no matter who it is, you're still gonna be amazed and just captivated by how wonderful.
Larry (28:10.631)
this venue is and the things that can be done with it right now and who knows where we'll be in five years and the technology they'll have then. So good luck to Dead & Co. Hopefully there will be some future shows by them or some other conglomeration of former Grateful Dead players who are still with us, but we'll see and whenever we know about it we will certainly be happy to pass the news. Moving on in music and again
music that's on the sad side but not devastating side unless you had tickets widespread panic has canceled remaining 2024 tour dates. This includes its cancellation of its October 25th through 27th series at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee which goes right over my birthday and I had thought about that and home state Halloween series at Savannah George's and market arena on November 1 and 2 following the band's prior cancellations of Residencies plan for Las Vegas Boston
Asheville, North Carolina. Today's update clears the band's touring schedule through the end of 2024, though no explicit explanation has been shared regarding the removal of these two final series. The band's first change of plans came in tandem with the news that its beloved guitarist Jimmy Herring has been diagnosed with stage one tonsil cancer and would need to withdraw from upcoming live engagements to begin treatment. Per the group, Herring's prognosis is strong and the artist is expected to make a full recovery.
quote, that part we're happy to report, close quote. They go on to say the upcoming concert schedules for Milwaukee and Savannah have been canceled. The group posted to social media and websites widespread panic regrets having to cancel these performances. But once they give everyone enough time to adjust their plans as needed, ticket holders will receive full refunds and issued automatically and are not required to take any action to secure their reimbursement. Widespread Panic's latest announcement has spurred an outpouring of support for Herring.
and the group from fans online. Fans can share words of encouragement to the group by commenting on its announcement post for updates on the band and its plans as well as more information on the recently released studio project Snake Oil King. You should check out widespreadpanic .com. Now personally, I think Jimmy Herring is just an absolutely amazing guitar player. I first heard him in 2002 at the Terrapin Family Reunion in Alpine Valley. He was the new Jerry for these shows.
Larry (30:28.251)
He absolutely blew us away. We were staying at the same resort as the musicians in Lake Geneva. And later that night after the first show, we were on our way back to our little bungalow and we saw Jimmy standing outside his. We went up to say hello. He could not have been nicer. We told him how great he was and he said he appreciated it because he was very nervous about stepping in to play Jerry's stuff. He then went on to tour with the dad, maybe call him the first John Mayer, and amazed all of us at the shows that we saw.
Too bad for the dead and deadheads. He then moved on to widespread where he is fit right in Become a quiet leader of that band and really the music world is all the better for it Of course, he's also very famous for being part of the Phil Lesh quartet that is, you know my favorite conglomeration with John Molo on drums and Warren Haynes and Rob Barackow and Phil and I saw them a couple years ago at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester with good buddy Mikey and
group of my brothers and friends and everybody and Jimmy Herring is just absolutely amazing. We obviously hope that he does get better as quickly as modern day medicine will allow. We hope that he still has the ability to get up there and play. I guess the good news, the silver lining for all of us music fans who love Jimmy is he's never been much of a singer. He shows up and plays his guitar. So hopefully
any impact it might have on his tonsils or his vocal cords or anything like that will not be a factor that would greatly hold him back but of course personal health comes first and we can't even begin to think about seeing Jimmy again till we know that he's at a place where his doctors and he and his family and his bandmates and everyone feel makes it appropriate time for him to come back out and play but when he does there's gonna be a lot of people waiting to see him including me and a lot of my friends who are all just
big big Jimmy Herring fans I can't say that I'm as much of a widespread fan as others who I associate with but doesn't mean I don't love them and I do enjoy seeing them on those occasions when I get out there to do it so best of luck to Jimmy. More music news, more fish music news. Monda Green starts this weekend Thursday August 15th through the 18th at the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware located at the Dover Motor Speedway.
Larry (32:52.293)
I'll be out there with my son Matthew and our camping crew, which will include Danielle, Jacob, David, and Seth. I'm looking forward to camping with those guys in the full Mondi section, where we'll be doing a little glamping and having fun. Other crew members and extended friends who will be there include Max, good buddy Kevin, who I talk about all the time, because he and I have driven to a number of shows together. And other than the fact that he and I may disagree on whether LeBron or Mike,
and jared the two best players of all time or the best player of all time kevin and certainly the man to go to shows with it he's the guy who always pulls down the mvp parking or vip parking in all that other good stuff but he'll be there as well as some others of their extended crew who i've never met but and certainly looking forward to it this will be my first fish festival ever and i will be featuring on next week's podcast which she will either be taped maybe next sunday
will be before the final show, but if Dan can work it out technically, maybe I'll even do it Monday morning once we hit the road to start driving back to Chicago. It's about a 12 -hour drive each way, not a drive that I haven't made before, where we would drive from Ann Arbor out to Hampton, Virginia, regularly to see the debt out there, or make the drive from Chicago after I had graduated, and that was always a regular drive. Good buddy Harold and I drove from Ann Arbor out to Philly a number of times, and that's more or less the same way.
We'd go to DC to see Dan and to see Deadshows there and for no doubt, good buddy, you bet, weekends. So I'm definitely looking forward to this. It's going to be very, very exciting. And look for reports from me on next week's show. And of course, follow along so you know what they're playing or if you're going to stream it. I've been told that you don't want to miss a festival, so I'm not missing. One more really quickly. We're going to give a shout out to Emmett Reyes and his wife Donna.
and it stands little brother in fraternity back in college days now florida residents eminent dot are on their way to red rocks for the first time or actually i guess they were in red rocks last night for the first time ever to see the best of all worlds tour featuring sammy hagar the original red rocker and michael anthony from van halen in the band jason bottom john bottom sort of john bottom of lead zeppelin thing he's on drums joe satriani on guitar
Larry (35:17.319)
There's going be Sammy Hager tunes, Van Halen tunes, and more. Their special guest opening the show is Loverboy. Man, hearing Loverboy, that takes me back to the late 70s, early 80s, MTV music videos. Off the top of my head, I can't even think of their songs that we used to hear. But if I heard them, I'd know them and start singing right along. So this is kind of fun. And people are going to go and do it. And although I don't have all the details on this yet, maybe we'll talk about it next week.
Dan himself last week out in Beaver Creek on Thursday caught a big hairball festival which is tribute to all the big hair bands of the 80s. We'll get a list of everyone who played for that. Dan loves that kind of stuff and who can blame him? It really is fun music to hear. And you know, it's always a little sentimental because it's a genre that dates back to when we were all high school, college, maybe graduating from college and heading out into the world and that was the soundtrack of our lives at that time.
all good and Now we're go and we're gonna make our way back to fish And you know coming off as simple and a 41 minutes eighth longest Jam ever I went down to st. Louis for two nights on July 30th and July 31st On the 30th. I was there with good buddy mark cool cousin Brent cool cousin Brent's buddy my brother Stephen and we went there and
We're all talking about everything that done Alpine Valley and how could they top that? And they come out in the second set and the second song they play is Tweezer and they just blow the house down. Let's go ahead and listen to it.
Larry (38:44.071)
Awesome if there's a single fish song that can be said to evolve with an exemplify fish's sound and artistry over the decades It's tweezer tweezers from each consecutive era have yielded very different styles of improvisation and in fact even tour to tour Tweezer can change rather profoundly after several decades the songs funky intro continues to serve as a launching pad for some of fish's most experimental playing
Weaver has been jammed in excess of 50 minutes back on June 14th 1995 in Memphis has been woven like a fine shirt if you listen to them from Dallas on May 7th 1994 or December 1st 1994 from Salem and has yielded some fiery hose inducing jams November 30th 1995 in Dayton December 2nd 1995 in New Haven September 3rd 2011 at Dix
and 73113 in Tahoe, 817, 2015 at the Blossom Music Center. Making its debut as Tweezer So Cold in March 1990, Tweezer allegedly grew out of a soundcheck jam that occurred before the December 31st, 1989 New Year's show. It was toyed with a little bit before the Bowie on February 25th, 1990 in Baltimore, before being finalized during the March 3rd, 1990 Wetland Soundcheck.
my comments in the fish book that not only did he invent the tweezer baseline but also that the freezer of the songs lyrics is the state of vermont apparently he was kidding upon hearing mike's baseline tre came up with the guitar part the guitar part of the song instantly note this show fits lot fish launch the second set with i never needed you like this before stand out of trees will only trip solo material and a pretty slick set opener than the opening screens of tweezer rolled through the arena and as
This time of the year warrants fish delivered a historic rendition timing in at 41 minutes 10 seconds The st. Louis 24th tweezer was the fifth longest tweezer of all time It follows 1995's mud island and finger legs version the fall 94 bozeman behemoth in the 23 spring edition at the greek theater in berkeley coming in just ahead of the first tauho tweezer and just a day shy of the 11 year anniversary of that famed outing as part of fish dot net
Larry (40:59.943)
The St. Louis 24 tweezer nabbed the eighth spot as the longest jam in history from the recent masterpiece that was simple at Alpine Valley. Imagine seeing two of them in just a few days. The exploration got underway with some classic tweezer funk, warbling with wad -out synths from Page. Next, a swirly affair took on hairy hood -like qualities with Gordon bubbling on the bass. John Fishman switched up the vibe again with some Latin rhythms working the cymbals. And Tom Trey then went mad on some
Ottawa descents filtered through effects and loops, Page moved on to the Moog one and his worlds for electric piano, John Fishman continued his Latin -esque jam with a sleek beat on the hi -hat and the snare. A demented lurch then devolved into Moog textures and a vibey jam with something sinister lurking underneath, which soon roared out of Trey's howling blasts before heading back underground, building the tensions once again as Trey switched to a stacked effect amid crunchy space Moog before the band went bonkers.
full -blown descent into madness with Trey pulling some otherworldly sounds from his guitar only to whip out Triumph and Coda, Page kicking things up a notch when he switched to piano, Fish then proceeded to blow the roof off Che Fitz Arena, Anastasio absolutely scorching before boisterously dropping back in to Tweezer as we heard at the end there because again it's just for me it's a way to kind of catch the jam and then you know boom they bring it back into the place where you started
And it's just amazing. And I let the clip run for a minute or two after the song. And I hope you heard the extended standing ovation that they got. something that I, the only thing I could say that I ever saw that was close to it were the standing ovations after the dead's breakout of St. Stephen in 83 at Madison Square Garden, and after their 86 breakout of Box of Rain at Hampton. That was a set closer, though. So everybody just stood and.
gave them ovation that felt like it went on forever. But here, this is after the second song of the set. after a moment, they of looked embarrassed up there, I think. They kept trying to kind of move forward with the next song. the band would not be denied giving them their props for just a second amazing long jam experience and felt very lucky to have gotten to see both of them, which again is why I explained to people who question why I was going to shows, that's why you go on tour.
Larry (43:25.159)
That's what you have to do. I learned that with the dead. It spills over the fish. That's why I'm going to Mondagreen this coming week because I don't want to miss what they're going to do. Tweezer was written by all four of them, Trey, John, Mike, and Paige. It's on Fish's third studio album, Picture of Nectar. was released on February 8, 1992. The band's played it 419 times. It was first played on March 28, 1990 at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
was most recently played just the other night, August 9th, 2024, at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York. It now has a current gap of two shows, assuming they did not play it last night. The next night at Chaffetz Arena was another amazing night. They played a Mr. Completely for 22 minutes. It just went on and on and on. It was great. But in the second set, they played this.
As you'll hear in a minute and maybe some of you already know why this is a special tune for me and one that made all of my running around to see them very worthwhile because I caught it
Larry (46:03.399)
Like many of the songs in the Live Fish repertoire, Ruby Wave started out in one of Trey Anastasio's side projects. Some Trey songs have been a leap into the Fish catalog after being performed by Trey first, like Sand and First Tube, which took the circuitous route from 8 -foot fluorescent tube to tab and then to fish the very following year from the initial debut. Likewise, Ruby Wave had another pit stop with Ghosts the Forest after its debut with the Trey Anastasio band.
However, this time it was not such a quick jump to Fish as the song debuted 11 years earlier on October 19th, 2008 at the higher ground in Burlington, Vermont. Sandwiched between Windora Bug and Moishe, late in the second set, if I'm pronouncing that right, Fish fans, sorry if not. Ruby Wave sounded like the quintessential Anastasia song destined for the Fish treatment. Syrupy lyrics with seemingly obvious launching point for a jam vehicle. That launch pad would have to wait for ignition for over a decade.
as Trey and Fish had much on their minds and this one either consciously or unconsciously slipped through the cracks. You see, Fish had just announced their long rumored and awaited reunion a couple of weeks earlier in the beginning of the month. The band had a slew of new material they were working on that debuted throughout 2009 and Ruby Waves would just have to wait its turn. Perhaps Trey never thought the song was finished as he ponders over the end of the song in a scene in the 2019 documentary Between Me and My Mind, which is largely devoted to chronically the making of
the Ghost of the Forest album. After 11 years since its debut with Tab, Ruby Wave saw the Light of Day Again as the only non -original song to be performed by Trey's Ghost of the Forest project and likewise on the self -titled album. On the statistics setlist, Ruby Wave's was performed in all nine shows and placed deep into the setlist between Stumble into Flight and Shadows Thrown by Fire and made its Ghost debut at the Portland Main Show on April 4, 2019.
Not many fans like he recognized Ruby Waves at the Ghost of the Forest show, given its one and done nature from Tab and from an unremarkable show that did not really circulate much on tape. Nevertheless, it was certainly one of the Ghost songs many fans felt like it was destined for Fish. Sure enough, the fans hoping for Ruby Waves Fish debut did not need to wait very long. At the fifth show of the 2019 Summer Tour, the song popped up in the middle of the first set. While certainly not used as a jam vehicle, it showed glimpses of what would come
Larry (48:22.247)
with some playful licks as Trey and a meandering, breezy and open -ended feel after the main chorus and before returning to the song proper in the compact sub -10 -minute rendition. In a sign of good things to come, the song immediately jumped to the second set for its next performance at Merriweather Post on June 23, 2019. This version flashed more brilliance than the debut and included a small dollop of extended jamming, taking on several more minutes and showcasing some of
full band improv likewise the next two versions were also smack dab in the heart of the second set in an area of the setlist typically known for extended jams the version at a mohegan sun on july 10th 2019 up in connecticut while not notable in length enjoyed the band fully returning to the song after a pretty slick segue out of piper thus the table was set nicely for the summer tour concluding performance at alpine it had made its debut 11 years prior with tab run around the block in the studio
and nine sets of Ghosts the Forest made its JV team debut in the first set earlier in the summer, got promoted to varsity for three shows in the second set, and was now primed to not only be on varsity, but also the star of the team. While the first two weekend shows at Alpine were nothing out of the ordinary, the band in 2019 for the band, the ultimate show of the summer was already becoming a standout of the tour. The first set on 7 -14 -2019, several bust outs, The Landlady,
first since July 10th 2016 or 122 shows. Olivia's Pool first since November 17th 1997 or 692 shows. The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday and Alvinu Malkanu last played prior to that on August 12th 2015 147 shows and Strange Design which had last been played on July 8th 2016 or 124 shows. It was also highlighted by some extremely rare performance of good times bad times
in the first set, the very rare Spock's brain. Yet all of that might easily be forgotten after the Ruby waves obliterated any notion that summer 2019 wouldn't have an all -time memorable jam. The 38 -minute behemoth at Alpine was quite literally one for the record books. It crashed easily into the top 10 longest songs fishes ever performed, seventh longest, and even eclipsed the instant legendary Tahoe tweezer from 2013.
Larry (50:41.447)
Not only was it the longest jam since the B band reunited in 2009, it was also the longest song in nearly 16 years, dating back to the 46 days from the Itch Festival. However, without exhilarating and thrilling music, length does not much matter. Thankfully, the Ruby Waves had a plethora of components fans often looked for in tour -defining, year -defining, and era -defining jams. The multiple sections of the Ruby Waves jam that weaved and modulated
through at least a dozen different key changes, including parts that were expertly driven by each band member. Almost hypnotically, the tempo and direction turned on dimes was a primary example of how well this band listens to each other and responds accordingly. How is it possible that a band can so effortlessly switch from dark, spacey synth, psychedelic jams to blissful hose jamming to ferocious peaks to calm, subtle, patient and intricate playing, and then swirl it all around and go to similarly deep places but in an entirely different context?
and through a different path literally every time the james team start calming down it was taken to new and unexpected places without skipping a beat with nary a wasted note this version was the first time the version that i just played for you here from st louis was the first time i heard it live it was very special meaning for me since my beautiful and great lovely granddaughter ruby is the word is allegedly named after the song
This was no surprise since her dad was at that Alpine 2019 show along with his Girlfriend and now wife and mother of Ruby Elena my other two sons Jonathan was his fiance Bella and Daniel It was the highlight of this version from st. Louis was the highlight of my summer Tour to date will always be a showstopper for me. The actual Ruby is doing very well It has developed a strong interest in the Grateful Dead Please be sure to notice the show art on our web page for today's episode
Again, this is a trade tune from his album Ghost in the Forest. It's been played by Fish 31 times. The first was on June 18th, 2019 at the Budweiser stage, Toronto, Ontario. Most recently, August 6th, 2024 at the Van Anne de la Rina in Grand Rapids up in Michigan and a current gap of three shows, assuming again they did not play it last night. We are now gonna switch over to some marijuana news because I've got some great marijuana news.
Larry (53:03.407)
And Dan has a great marijuana lead in tune for us, don't you,
Larry (53:34.151)
Amsterdam is a song by American rock band Van Halen keeping in touch with that theme as we talked about some of their members getting back together to Play a little bit. This is from their stent 10th studio album balanced from 1995 It was released as a single to mainstream rock radio and peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard album rock tracks chart in mid 1995 According to a 1995 interview on Dutch radio
The is based upon Sammy Hager's tourist impression of Amsterdam, such as the freedom he felt in the city. According to Ian Chris's book, Everybody Wants Some, the Van Halen Saga, Eddie and Alex Van Halen didn't like the lyrics, feeling the song did their birthplace a disservice due to its explicit reference to cannabis used with lines such as roll in Amsterdam, clearly refers to roll a joint and to its little context. Sammy, however, wouldn't budge as it was about his tourist impression
over the memories of the Van Halen family homeland about this Eddie Van Halen said to Guitar World, I wasn't sober before and I wasn't even listening to the lyrics it's not like I suddenly wanted Sammy to be my puppet or anything but once in a while I would take issue with a specific lyric or line for example I always hated the words wham bam Amsterdam from Balanced because they were all about smoking pot they were just stupid lyrics should plant some sort of thief for sought or at least be a little more met at least be a little more metamorphical
well you know that's kind of interesting view from Eddie Van Halen and I'll certainly live with it because he was a guy who recovered and know and became sober and you know I take no offense to that even though I do like to listen to their music stone as I do with lot of rock and roll music but certainly this is a very interesting one and it's always great music and fun to listen to a little Van Halen
whenever we get the opportunity and and really appreciate that eddie van halen was one of the great guitar guitar players of all time sammy hagar just a well -known rocker from his day and still today we saw him like i think i mentioned it back in the mid nineteen seventies you know like with him and rick derringer and a whole bunch of bands all playing you know these these mega marathon shows that was always fun
Larry (55:51.891)
And his song Red, which we all listened to when we were first getting into rock and roll music and really digging it. But we have some marijuana news today. And this is going to be a fun day for us on marijuana news, because all of our friends out there who are always telling us all the bad, terrible things about it and how we don't know what we're talking about.
There's no reason to take it off of schedule one, even though schedule one says that the substance has no recognized medical value. Well, guess what? It has a lot of medical value. And here's some even new studies that go along with all the other studies. And this one, thank you to Marijuana Moment for this marijuana content today. Headline, medical marijuana is a promising treatment for Tourette syndrome. Some scientific review concludes.
New scientific review examining the potential therapeutic effects of cannabis -based medicine on Tourette's syndrome finds that medical marijuana shows promising and potentially effective outcomes in mitigating the severity of ticks and pre -monetary urges. Authors of the literature review published last month in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology evaluated nine studies involving 401 patients with Tourette's syndrome. While authors noted that further research involving larger samples, fixed doses, and
Unified drug components are needed to accurately estimate their effectiveness. They said that the studies indicated that cannabis -based medicine could be a promising therapy for people with Tourette's syndrome. The present study suggests favorable and potential effective results with CBM in reducing the severity of ticks and pre -monitory urges, they wrote, adding that the findings may be especially useful in light of the fact that patients with Tourette's syndrome have few available treatment options.
Despite the use of various agents to reduce the frequency and severity of Tourette's syndrome -related ticks and improve patients' quality of life, there is a lack of high -quality evidence supporting their efficacy, the study says. Only three agents, Hello Peridol, Pimozide, and our P. Brazol, not my area, Star Idini,
Larry (58:07.639)
have been approved by the food drug administration for tick control nevertheless due to the absence of universal treatment in many agents including cannabis based medicine have been suggested of the three studies involving meta -analysis one one revealed a significant reduction in total scores another revealed a significant decrease in scores and a third revealed no significant difference in score reduction with the use of cannabis based medicine authors say they believe the research represents the first systemic review
and meta -analysis evaluating the effectiveness of CBM among patients with Tourette's user scale. So story number one, Tourette's syndrome, something that we hear about, something that always gets a few chuckles from time to time because of the way it's played out with somebody who can't help but yell out either an inappropriate word or a word that's really in line with anything that's being talked about at the moment.
And just something that people who have it obviously would prefer to be able to control this tick and this kind of lack of control for a moment in public. so it's a very large field in which many groups have worked for a long, long time to come up with something that might help. And lo and behold, look at medical marijuana as a promising treatment for this very syndrome. And yes, more tests and more studies are needed.
But screw these guys who get on and tell us that marijuana needs to stay on schedule one because it has no no known medical value And just you know, don't know what they're talking about Don't believe me. Let's go to our next study marijuana users have better outcomes following heart attacks near new study finds pointing to a cannabis Paradox findings of a newly published study show what authors describe as a cannabis paradox
Despite concerns that marijuana use may be associated with some heart problems, adults admitted to the hospital after suffering heart attacks actually seemed to fare better if they were cannabis consumers. The findings of our study reveal a paradox, researchers wrote. Among patients aged 18 to 80 years admitted to a hospital with acute myocardial infarction between 2001 and 2020 in the United States, cannabis use was associated with lower risks of complications, such as cardiogenic shock.
Larry (01:00:29.467)
acute isochemic stroke, cardiac arrest, and percutaneous coronary intervention use, as well as lower in -hospital mortality, despite correcting for several confounding factors. This highlights how cannabis remains a poorly understood substance, they added, despite a relentless rise in consumption and social acceptance. The report published in the Journal Archives of Medical Science, Ateriosclerotic Disease,
are ulterior sclerotic disease examined data from the nation nationwide inpatient sample, a database of hospital discharge records across the United States that authors said represents more than 95 % of the US population. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between cannabis use and an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease, the study noted.
However, there is a lack of studies about the influence of cannabis consumption on the outcome. And now they're saying it for the first study appears to have an in -depth assessment of the association between cannabis use and in -hospital outcomes involving a sample representative of the US population over the last two decades. The most startling study of finding of our study is that cannabis use is associated with reduced in -hospital mortality post -AMI, they wrote.
notable marijuana users showed lower odds of all cause in hospital mortality when admitted for AMI. and this just goes on and on. But again, we talked about a study a few weeks ago that talked about a risk of cannabis use with potential cardiac disease, and it's out there and it's something that we all have to acknowledge, but it was brand new and there wasn't a lot of talk about it. And now what we find is that if you, in fact, you have used cannabis and you do suffer a cardiac
incident. If you've been a cannabis smoker, the chances are you're going to recover quicker with fewer problems, with reduced hospital times, reduced times being on medicine, and it is a cannabis paradox. But you know what? Maybe we're going to find out that it's not so responsible for cannabis disease, excuse me, for cardiac disease. And it does certainly have a wonderful positive influence we're seeing here.
Larry (01:02:53.061)
So again, for you guys who all tell us no known medical use, stop it. Quit talking about it. And listen to the people in your state, the overwhelming majority of them in just about every state in this country have indicated that they want legal marijuana. And we don't need the politicians or the do -gooders who say, marijuana is bad to influence us. And by God.
We've talked about this issue so many times. Here is another study from Marijuana Moment Publishing. They didn't do the study. They're publishing it. And the headline reads from August 2, 2024, teen marijuana use is lower now than before states started legalizing it for adults. Federal report shows. Wow. OK. Microphone drop. We can get up and walk away.
And just look at everyone who has ever sat there in any one of these meetings about whether or not they're going to allow marijuana in their community and said, we don't want our kids smoking marijuana. Well, the answer is simple. Either they already are, or this is not going to get them to start. Past year, marijuana use held roughly steady nationally between 2022 and 2023, according to a new federal report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, STAM HSA.
Cannabis consumption among minors meanwhile defined as people 12 to 20 years of age has fallen slightly according to the new data. And despite methodological changes in recent years that make comparisons difficult over time, youth use appears to have fallen significantly in the past decade as dozens of states have legalized marijuana for adult or medical use. Notably, the percentage of young people age 12 to 17 who've ever tried marijuana dropped 18 % from 2014
when the first legal recreational cannabis sales in the US launched to 2023. Past year and past month rates among young people also declined during that time period. Among adults of all ages, marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug, says the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which the government published on Tuesday. This is already a couple of weeks ago, because we didn't have a chance to present this last week.
Larry (01:05:15.783)
More than one in five Americans, 21 .8 % reported having used cannabis within the past 12 months. That's compared to 22 % in 2022. The rate is roughly the same as for Americans reporting binge drinking within the past month, 21 .7%. Among underage respondents, those aged 20 to 20, 12 to 20, 18 .4 % reported using marijuana at least once within the past year in 2023, down from 19 .2 % the year before.
As for monthly use, 11 .3 % of minors surveyed said they consumed marijuana within the past month. By comparison, 14 .6 % of underage respondents said they used alcohol within the past month. Across all the respondents, the use of illicit, the use rate of any illicit drug, which includes marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, as well as the misuse of prescription drugs, according to the report, was 24 .9%, or one in four Americans. That's the same proportion in 2022.
The percent of people who said they used illicit drugs other than marijuana in the past 12 months also held steady from 2022 and 2023 at 18 .4 % regarding alcohol. Nearly 47 .5 % of all respondents said they drank within the past month compared to 48 .7 % in 2022 and 47 .4 % in 2021. Bringe drinking defined as having several drinks in one day stayed flat at 21 .7%.
The same as in 2022 and 2021, as they did as did heavy alcohol use defined as binge drinking on at least five days within the past month. So what we're seeing here is that teens aren't smoking marijuana more. Over time, over a considerable amount of time, teen marijuana use is now lower. This corresponds very nicely with when adult use first made its appearance.
in Colorado and Washington in 2014. And there's now almost 30 states that have adult use marijuana. And so all of the data from those states has been included now in the studies. And what are we seeing, contrary to every alarmist, fear -mongering prohibitionist out there? More teenagers are not smoking marijuana. Less are smoking marijuana.
Larry (01:07:38.701)
Why? Well, we've talked about this. It doesn't really matter why when the statistics are what they are. But my popular belief is that it's not such a rebellious activity when your folks are smoking marijuana. And when your mom comes in in front of your friends and you and says, honey, can you tell me the name of that type of marijuana that you got for me the other day? I liked it so much, and my best friend can't fall asleep, and she wants to take it, too.
But you're going to have to tell us what it is and how all of you kids use it. You're not cool anymore. You use it just like your parents do. It takes away that kind of cache of being counterculture and everything that really baked into it in the late 60s and early 70s and all the things that set Richard Nixon's brain on fire in 1970 when he first had Congress come up with the Controlled Substance Act and proudly placed marijuana as a schedule one
controlled substance even though back then everybody knew that there was medicinal use for it that was recognized in a number of places certainly in Israel with Rafael Mishulam and other places where people who had not gotten all hysterical about marijuana but had actually taken the time to conduct studies on it and test it in much smaller groups because it was illegal and you couldn't do it with so many people but people knew that marijuana had medical use and did not belong
on schedule one or schedule two or excuse me schedule three it doesn't belong on any schedule at all anymore than alcohol does any of the opioids that you know well they do they are they do fall in schedule two opiate so that's a bad example but alcohol doesn't fall in schedule and tobacco doesn't fall schedule and caffeine doesn't fall in the schedule and there's no reason for marijuana to start on schedule once again we see another study
that conclusively establishes for us that all of this fear mingling about teenagers starting to smoke marijuana just has no factual basis at all, period. It doesn't have it. So Ted Cruz and these people from Illinois and whatever this woman's name was from Illinois, I don't even want to remember her name. Cheryl Miller or whoever she was who came in and said, marijuana is bad. It's just bad. And we don't want our kids smoking it. It's bad, just bad. You don't know what you're talking about.
Larry (01:09:58.129)
before you open your mouth, before you try to legislate on this issue, please do us all a favor and go to the internet and type in marijuana studies, marijuana abuse for medicine, anything. It's really simple. If you don't know how to do it, I promise you your staff knows how to do it. And you can find these articles and you can read them yourselves. Then if you still want to get up there and sound like an idiot and say that it has no recognized medical use,
you can do so but only if you honestly also point out these articles and explain to everyone why you don't believe these articles and why you think that somehow you know better than all of this and even though people consistently in every state vote in favor of legalizing marijuana you consistently tell us republican leaders that we don't know what we're talking about that if we really do what we were talking about nobody would want it that is dangerous that it's worse than alcohol that's gonna cause schizophrenia that all of this stuff
We call it reefer madness. Get ahold of yourselves. Do a little bit of research. And please start talking the truth if you want to be taken seriously as legislators. Because when you talk this nonsense, we all know you're just blowing it up your ass. And that just isn't going to work. So three stories today, folks. If you're ever at a party and people are saying to you, well, I don't know. I think marijuana is dangerous, there's three stories for you to jump on right away and just point out to them. And yes, they're not going to believe you. Tell them to listen to my podcast or tell them,
to go find the stories online go to marijuana moment and there they are it's not difficult people need to be better educated people need to understand people really have to have a grip before they go around and starts spewing off about what they think they know about marijuana because most of them don't know jack so done with the marijuana we're going back to fish and this summer tour and for this time we're gonna play one from other than and del arena grand rapids michigan
on August 6, 2024 shows that I was not unfortunately was not at even though it broke my rule of under 200 miles to see a band that I love but having seen so many and knowing that I was going to see the Fish Festival I thought it prudent maybe both in my personal and professional life to actually be around for a few days so I missed the show at Van Andel but they love Grand Rapids and they did not disappoint especially with this possum and please be sure to notice
Larry (01:12:24.857)
of presence of one billy strings in this version of the song
Larry (01:14:39.835)
will fans of james occult and you had reason to rejoice this past tuesday night grand rapids michigan is fish was joined on stage by the one and only billy strings the young man who has taken over the jam band and country band and string band is just a bluegrass a he he does it all and this was exciting for me cuz i really like seeing him play electric and kind of straight stretch it out
So he joined the all on stage for a handful of fan favorites with the band. Prior to Fish's gig at the Van Anndale Arena, rumors were bound that Strings, a native of nearby Muir, could potentially join the quartet on stage. Towards the end of the second set, Tranestasio revealed that a little local musician would be sitting in with Fish, kicking off the epic collaboration. Strings and Fish first played the moment dance, followed by a rendition of their staple, Possum, that featured Billy on lead vocals.
even leading the you can play lead guitar as they went off the vocals into the beginning of the the second set closed out with the bands everything's right with billy still jamming stasio and string and stasio and strings and reemerge for the encore with acoustic guitars in hand with the band delivering the off covered hot rise blues act blues grass track nelly cain again with strings on vocals or addition of del mccurry bands beauty of my dreams and more guitar theatrics follow
before the concert concluded with a full band plus strings electric take on the rocker Karini. The next night Billy came back out and played with them again on What's Going Through Your Mind, Wolf Man's Brother, Death Don't Hurt Very Long, Evolve, Mountains in the Mist, Blaze On, at the end of the second set and then the encore of Ginseng Sullivan, Old Home Place and the legendary rock tune Frankenstein. Strings then put out a statement on social media saying,
Sitting with fish for the last two nights was nothing short of a surreal experience like something out of one of my wildest dreams a couple of days ago I remember they were playing Van Andel and hit up Trey for tickets I love that right when you're a rock legend you can hit up Trey for tickets and he did and of course Trey replied and said he should We should blow it up and I just about shit my pants I was just trying to come see the show and I had no idea I'd be in it for the next two nights. I'm thinking okay Maybe I'll have to learn a song or something and I ended up playing a bunch of the seconds
Larry (01:16:59.099)
That nine -core both nights, which means I had ample time to go swimming with the band It was just magic as a fan to be on that stage with those fellers and just hear it to feel all so close and then just to be able to interact with it to poke it a little bit and tickle it and pet it and then have to react and then have it and Then to have it react. I know it's sacred in the band is airtight after playing together for all these years I did not want to get in the way too much. I was already feeling like I shouldn't be up there fucking up their show They're so good
They don't need me up there winking all over the joint, but they asked me to do so, of course I'm gonna try it. The crowd's energy was one pulsating organism, speaking us into existence, defining and deciding the notes we all play as one collective heartbeat. The camaraderie and seamless interplay between the band and the crowd was never so evident. To see it all from that perspective, it was just so concentrated. I can't speak enough about the kindness of the band as well.
I only really know Trey and I didn't know the other guys wanting me there too or what but when I got there for soundcheck it was like walking on a stage to jam with old friends they were all so welcoming and nice the nerves instantly melted and we just let the music carry us off into the evening it all settled into place and we had an absolute blast thank you Trey, Paige, Mike and John for inviting me into your space it's something I will never forget as long as I live high praise coming from one of the already legendary classic rock guitarists of our time who's younger than most of us and
again and you can go into youtube and check out this this chairman you know i love seeing billy with an electric guitar and just cut loose on it you know that may not be his his perfected style of guitar but he played well enough for me and it was just thorough thoroughly enjoyable now possum is is one of these tunes by fish has quite a back story so here's here's the load on just a few points or less it was originally penned by jeff holds worth one of fishes original band members
Possum made its debut back in 1985. It's been around a long time Interestingly, it's a song about roadkill. So we know that Lyrically, it's not exactly Shakespearean. It's more straightforward than a well -marked highway. But hey, sometimes simplicity rocks musically It's a no -nonsense rocker kid to Leonard Skinner swamp music over the years possum has evolved like a pokémon growing longer and more jam -tastic Early versions were under five minutes, but now they stretch their legs or should I say pause to twice that length?
Larry (01:19:18.457)
It has a gamehenge connection. is that? Well, gamehenge is Fish's mythical land, a place where Colonel Foreman, Tila, and the evil Wilson resides. Think of it as their rock and roll Narnia. The man who stepped into yesterday's concept album, Trey, wrote as his senior thesis at Goddard College. It's like if Tolkien and rock and roll had a jam session, which is pretty true. In this album, the epic tale of gamehenge unfolds across nine parts with spoken narration in between.
Colonel Forbman takes center stage and there's even a jewel named Tila and Wilson the not so friendly dude now Here's the twist the final track on the album is none other than possum, but wait, it wasn't trace creation It was Jeff Holdsworth's company's contribution Jeff left fish in 1986 But his legacy lives on in this funky roadkill anthem since Jeff left the band Mike sings the song But it's this grand rapid show Mike deferred and let Billy string sing for everybody to really make such a unique evening
Fish has long been one of my favorite possum has long been one of my favorite fish tunes I just saw it in Alpine back on July 28th as the first set closer and Not unlike the song deal we were talking about earlier When you hear it you have a pretty good idea that the set is coming to a close But it doesn't make a difference because you're just so damn happy to hear them play the song that it's great and they love it They've played it 569 times. It was first played September 27th 1985 at Slade Hall
in burlington vermont there there is their home base where they're all all kind of met up originally it was most recently played on august six twenty twenty four advantage all arena in grand rapids assuming they did not play at last night's that gives a current gap for shows so just great stuff with fish it's been an absolutely wonderful summer tour great reviews everywhere they've gone the music has been superlative and outstanding
and I for one am very very excited to get out there for Mondagreen and See what they're gonna do see how they're gonna perform. What songs are they gonna play? What special goodies do they have up their sleeve? Will there be any guests who might join them but going knowing if it's just the four of them and if they just play for You know standard fish tunes, but play them the way they've been playing them lately I'll be just as thrilled and very very happy looking forward to getting to spend four or five days in an all fish community
Larry (01:21:38.855)
and really catch the vibes from that. And I think it's gonna be absolutely outstanding, very excited and honored quite frankly that my son and his crew invited me to join them and go along. And hopefully there'll be a lot for all of us to really get into, to talk about all sorts of GM music from the dead, through fish, through goose, and everything in between. And just really, really looking forward to it. But we cannot sign off.
without going back to Jerry one last time. you know, August 1st through August 9th, so ending just a couple of days ago are what they call the days between taking the name from one of Jerry's ballads that came to life right at the end of his playing days. And now looking back on it and listening to it rather than kind of shutting it down because it sounded like kind of an old sick Jerry. And at the time, some of us had a hard time really getting into it.
you know now to hear Jerry go back and sing it you know with 20 or 30 years of of of knowledge under our belts and what was to come of him and and and how beautiful the song could be and and so it's appropriate name for this period between August 1 the date of his birth and August 9th the date of his death he died 29 years ago this past Friday the band played a band the dad played as a band for 30 years crazy to think it's been that long my kids are all grown up love going to hear live music but I will never be able to introduce them
to a live Jerry Garcia. Yes, his albums are out there and we've listened to them, but we all know it's not the same thing as being in the same room and hearing him literally change your life. He's a special man to deadheads everywhere. He's a special man to jam musicians and just other musicians everywhere. His influence on the rock and roll scene, on the jam band scene, on the country music scene, he played band show with bands like Olden in the Way.
his stuff with david grisman dog music that they they pulled together it's it's just it's extraordinary and that there could be in ramsom if there's not there will be soon entire classes just on jerry garcia music and all the things that he did from us steel guitar and slide guitar and and every kind of guitar acoustic guitar cranking out a ripple or whatever else he was doing and what he meant to so many of us and not
Larry (01:24:05.063)
you know, and this OJerry was a god kind of thing, but that he was the leader of this group and so many of us kind of read about his lifestyle and what he did and what he stood for and that resonated with us even if we didn't know it did until we learned about him and we learned about that and hearing his music, you know, instantly there was a side of my brain, a part of my brain that had been not, didn't even know that it was missing it and from the first time I heard the Grateful Dead play with good buddy Mikey back in 1982, live I knew
That they were gonna take some part of my life after I heard him play later that year in September at Syracuse again with good muddy muddy Mikey I knew I was on the bus forever and Still am now seen my kids and their friends get on the bus and other people who get off the bus get back on the bus and all of that but the one thing that binds us all is Jerry and his guitar playing and his singing and The image that he portrayed
and all of that and and will never let that go and just thrilled that he left so much beautiful music behind for us to listen to and when I was kind of thinking of what to play here you know days between kind of seemed like the automatic go -to but for no reason other than I just really like this song and I thought it's just such a beautiful song and it captures really the spirit of Jerry so well
And so we're gonna leave you with what a wonderful world from an October 31st 1992 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, but just to clarify The confusion that all of a sudden I was having as I was googling this This is not the Sam Cooke song don't know much about history don't know much about biology But I do know that I love you and if you love me too, what a wonderful world this would be
so the song occasionally referred to as what a wonderful world is sung by american singer and songwriter sam cook was released on october fourteenth nineteen sixty by keen records and in fact has been covered by jerry garcia but the what a wonderful world i was looking for is a song sung by bob teal written under the pen name george douglas and george david weiss it was first recorded by louis armstrong and released in nineteen sixty seven as a single with cabaret on the b -side in april nineteen sixty eight
Larry (01:26:21.671)
It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, disliked the song and refused to promote it. After it was heard in the film Good Morning Vietnam, it was issued as a single in 1988 and rose to number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Armstrong's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The Jerry Garcia Band debuted their take on this song.
at their fall tour 1991 opener at Landover Maryland's Capitol Center a few weeks before their debut in Madison Square Garden. the Jerry Garcia band played it 12 times. The first time it was played was November 6, 1991 at the Capitol Theater. And this, in fact, the version we're about to play for you is the final version ever on October 31, 1992 at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California. It's a beautiful song, hopeful and optimistic.
just like jerry perfect for a song to play and perfect song for us to go out on quickly birthday shots to john his birthday was just a down in georgia go waffle house love larry good buddy tommy up in upstate new york who loves you stinky go cardinals and kathy b enjoy your day i'll be at my degree but will celebrate when i get back as good an office assistant as you could ever find and they couldn't go without giving a shout out to ruby after listening to ruby waves you go girl
Enjoy your grandma when she comes down to visit you while I'm at Monda Green, but I will see you soon You are the love of my life. Everyone have a great week Listen to Monda Green if you can thank you for tuning in Please join us next week to hear all about my wonderful adventures of Monda Green Be safe and enjoy your cannabis responsibly. Thanks everyone. We'll talk to you soon