The Rail Rider Jamboree will return to Ellicottville in March 2024, boasting a lineup of music that includes Karina Rykman, The Infamous Stringdusters, Organ Fairchild, Dirty Blanket and Buffalo Brass Machine.
March 23 will be an incredible day of music, skiing, pond skimming, craft beer, food, vendors and more in store.
Holiday Valley Resort (AKA, Holiday Valley) is a family-friendly ski resort in Ellicottville, opened in 1957, with four runs and a T-bar lift.
Head to railriderjam.com for Rail Rider Jamboree 2024 GA & VIP Tickets, on sale now. Save $10 when you purchase early-bird passes. Discounted lodging rates are also available through Holiday Valley at railriderjam.com.
After more than 18 months of introducing the songs to their loyal fans, the Disco Biscuits have released a seven-minute animated film, Revolution in Motion, Part 1, giving the first glimpse at their highly anticipated space rock opera.
Due for release on March 29, Revolution in Motion is the ninth album from the trancefusion pioneers and will feature newer Biscuits songs “Freeze,” “Buy the Time,” “The Deal,” and “Times Square,” in addition to tracks that were released in conjunction with the video, “Shocked,” “The Wormhole,” “Twisted in the Road” and “Another Plan of Attack.”
The animation tells the story of four aliens who embark on an interstellar journey, only to be thrown off course, into a wormhole, eventually ending up hovering above Times Square in mid-town Manhattan. With animation by Blunt Action, the video and audio combine to piece together the puzzle that has been created over a year and a half of song rollouts, many becoming fan-favorites and/or jam vehicles, while introducing viewers to Polyfuzia, Fuzzies, Space Trains and much more to come.
Jambands.com notes that the initial concept came from guitarist Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig, who worked with friend and collaborator Joey Friedman in August 2021, and bringing in keyboardist Aron Magner to write “music aliens would love.”
Part 2 of Revolution in Motion will be released on February 16. The Disco Biscuits embark on a Winter Tour this week in Nevada, and will be in New York in March. Full tour dates can be found below.
Disco Biscuits ‘Why We Dance’ 2024 Tour Dates
1/25 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Casino Ballroom 1/26 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Casino Ballroom 1/27 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore 1/28 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst 2/1 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre 2/2 – San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park 2/3 – Tucson, AZ – Gem & Jam Festival 2/5 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up 2/6 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up 2/7 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up 2/9 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater * (SOLD OUT) 2/10 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater * (SOLD OUT) 2/11 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre ^ (SOLD OUT) 3/7 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore 3/8 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore 3/9 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE 3/10 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater 3/13 – Albany, NY – Empire Live 3/14 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall 3/15 – Portland, ME – State Theatre 3/16 – Boston, MA – House of Blues 3/28 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center 3/29 – TBA 3/30 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom 3/31 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom 4/2 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom 4/4 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues 4/5 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater 4/6 – Dallas, TX – Longhorn Ballroom 4/7 – Burnet, TX – Texas Eclipse Festival 4/11 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel 4/12 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl 4/13 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle 4/14 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre 6/20-23 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival
Neighbor will make their way to Saratoga Springs for the first time on Friday, January 19, having grown a sizeable following in the Northeast over the past five years. They’ll also be at Levon Helm Studios the next night, January 20, for an intimate show, sure to be packed with diehard fans on what looks to be a frosty night.
Speaking with singer and keyboardist Richard James, one had to know – how did it take so long to come to Saratoga Springs?
“Every time we come to Putnam Place with Pink Talking Fish is a blast, and I wanted to make sure the first time we played there with Neighbor, it was a packed house and the date made sense. Having not played Saratoga Springs definitely has driven up interest in the show, and could be the start of something.”
Neighbor is the creation of childhood neighbors Richard James (vocals, keys) and Lyle Brewer (guitar), plus Dan Kelly (bass) and Dean “The Dux” Johnston (drums), together combining ambitious composition, soulful balladry, and a fearless approach to improvisations with intent, creating Neighbor’s “down home” sound.
While James was touring with Pink Talking Fish, Brewer went on to teach guitar at Berklee College of Music, and in 2018 they revisited playing music together. With no barriers, it was like they were back in middle school, writing songs and performing together. The two are now finding balance after five years, between songwriting and jamming on (mostly) original material each night.
photo by Chris Capaci
Having just celebrated their 5 year anniversary as a band earlier this month, but four years ago in early 2020, Neighbor was just getting warmed up when COVID hit, shutting down the live music industry. Thus, in the years that have followed, they have been strategic with their touring schedule.
“All members of the band have families and kids. Lyle is an instructor at Berklee College of Music, and Dean is drum chair at Milton Academy outside of Boston, so routing needs to work out among balanced schedules and family obligations”
This, while also trying to push as hard as they can without burning out or taking away from instruction at these music schools, maneuvering the the band’s direction deftly. The band, collectively, wants to make sure they are not overwhelmed by how much is going on – the number of shows, the time on the road and away from home.
As a band, Neighbor wants longevity, and they’ll defer to taking the slow road instead of rushing.
photo by Chris Capaci
Neighbor saw its genesis well before 2018, going back to when James was on the road with Pink Talking Fish. “I’ve been writing since I ever got into music. Once I got started with Pink Talking Fish, I toured for six or seven years straight, compiled all this original music, and it was eventually time to do something different,” said James. After spending a day in New Orleans with piano legend Jon Cleary and gaining clarity towards a vision for his music, he began a Tuesday night residency at Thunder Road in Somerville, recruiting childhood neighbor Lyle Brewer, hence the band name, Neighbor.
For Neighbor’s five year anniversary, they decided to go back to their roots and recently announced a five week residency, one week for each year as a band, to pay tribute to how things came to be what they are now. James recalls those early Neighbor shows. “There are so many weird, crazy antics we would do at Tuesday night residencies in the past, special guests, switching up instruments, keeping fans on their toes and coming back for more the next week.” They look to bring back this magic with their upcoming residency at Soundcheck Studios, starting February 20 through March 19, every Tuesday night. “A lot of people travel to see us, and although we play the songs differently each night to keep it fresh, to give it that extra factor (horns), keeping it interesting where fans won’t want to miss a show” said James.
There is also the Neighbor rock opera, Silver, which was recently performed with the “Neighbor Nine,” where five additional horns and back up singers join the Neighbor quartet for a surprise factor on any given night. The Neighbor Nine come together with the full band, plus Matt Wayne (saxophone), James Cronin (trumpet), Rob Krahn (trombone), with Renee DuPuis and Joanne Cassidy as backup vocalists. The band has custom baseball jerseys, and if four members are wearing them, you might see the three horns and two singers come out and join Neighbor for some or all of the show.
Performing Silver was hands down the show of the year. I was blown away by the musicianship of the other band members, and even with limited opportunities to practice in advance, we ran a bunch of music during soundcheck and it was all there, no one skipped a beat. To have that trust and perform at the level we did – including songs played that night for the first time – it was magical. Adding in the show was rescheduled from October when the shooting in Lewiston postponed many events, in this case until January – which meant practice during the holiday season, a tough call for family-centric band members, but they pulled it off.
Richard James
That rock opera is based on the whole idea behind Neighbor – “let’s go out and have fun,” as James puts it. “The moment this stops being fun, it’s time we should stop doing it. We thought it would be fun to write a rock odyssey. Lyle and Richard grew up on rock operas, and we gave it a go during COVID, escaping the division in the country while settling on a story: two guys plan to leave the planet, stumble upon a guy who has the answers, and take off on an interstellar adventure, spread out over 10 songs, ” “Magic Marble Crew,” “Magna Zero” and “We Need You” among them. The story unfolds as the pair discover different civilizations, steal a spaceship, all in the pursuit of finding a home where everyone looks out for each other – neighbors helping neighbors, if you will.”
Having just released 30 shows on Nugs.Net and a thorough collection of music on the Neighbor Bandcamp page, Neighbor’s diverse catalog of hundreds of songs makes them one of the most exciting and unpredictable live bands in the music scene today. Don’t miss them at Putnam Place on Friday, January 19, and Saturday, January 20 at Levon Helm Studios.
January is in full swing and while the month is quiet for live music, drummer and multi-talented musician Joshua West has a few shows around the state that are well worth checking out, including a run of shows around his 30th birthday in Albany, Plattsburgh and Burlington.
A singer, songwriter, guitarist and percussionist born and raised in Upstate NY on the shores of Lake Champlain, surrounded by the beauty of the Adirondack Mountains to the south and the Green Mountains of VT to the east.
From a young age, Joshua began studying an array of instruments and musical mediums ranging from orchestral percussion to vocal performance, rhythm guitar to world music. He has performed with numerous bands across the United States and internationally and shared stages with The Wailers, O.A.R., SOJA, Black Uhuru, Michael Franti, Rusted Root, Goose among others.
With a blend of reggae, hip hop, folk and soul, meshed with conscious lyrics that question the state of our world today, West will be celebrating his 30th birthday with stops in his ‘hometowns,’ starting at Lark Hall on January 25th, performing with Quantum Cosmic, then heads up to Burlington for a show at Nectar’s the next night to perform with Annie in the Water, then closes out the weekend at Olive Ridley’s in Plattsburgh with West’s new band on January 27.
That new band – the Joshua West Band – integrates West’s original music that hasn’t found it’s way into his other groups where he is a drummer or percussionist. West’s vocals will be front and center with his eponymous band, stepping out as a guitarist, vocalist and percussionist. The lineup features Jack McChesney (Satyrdagg) on drums, Mowgli Giannitti (Satyrdagg, The Reflexions, Heavy Nettles) on bass, Ty Miller (The Reflexions) on guitar/vocals, Van Garrison (All Night Boogie Band) on keys, and Connor Dunn (Let’s Be Leonard) on saxophone.
Coming up in February, Annie in the Water will kick’s off Winter Carnival at The Waterhole in Saranac Lake on February 2, prepared to warm up the crowd even if the temperatures are below freezing outside.
West has also recently released Let Your Voice Be Heard, and is back in the studio, currently recording “Something in the Water,” inspired by the pocket of roots reggae music that has come out of the Finger Lakes (John Brown’s Body, 10 ft. Ganja Plant, Thunderbody, Mosaic Foundation, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, Root Shock). West shares that his collaborators include an all-time favorite rhythm section of Tommy Benedetti (John Brown’s Body, Dub Apocalypse) and Nate Edgar (The Nth Power, John Brown’s Body) along with members of Giant Panda and featured vocalists.
Joshua West’s recent debut album Let Your Voice Be Heard is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Phish has announced the details on their first four-day festival – Mondegreen – and their first in more than nine years. The festival will take place at The Woodlands in Dover, DE over August 15-18, 2024.
What is a Mondegreen? Webster defined the word as “a misunderstood or misinterpreted word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of the lyrics of a song.” One example from Phish would be “Read Icculus” being heard as Ridiculous. If there was ever a more fitting name for a Phish festival, it hasn’t been named yet.
Phish will perform multiple sets over the four days of the festival, with a great number of interactive fan experiences yet to be announced, as well as curated regional food and drink, art installations and much more in store.
Magnaball photo by Brian Ferguson
Mondegreen marks the first live performance in Delaware stage for Phish in over two decades, and the latest festival from a band who can be credited with influencing a resurgence of music festivals in the 1990s. Phish’s most recent festival, 2015’s Magnaball, was held at New York’s legendary Watkins Glen International and was widely considered among their best festivals yet.
Centrally located with easy access from all points in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, the festival site will feature an abundance of on-site camping, with many nearby hotel options also available.
Delaware’s picturesque Woodlands is conveniently located within driving distance from major metropolitan areas on the East Coast, including Philadelphia (under two hours), Baltimore (under two hours), Washington, DC (under two hours), and New York City (under three hours). Fans can also take advantage of Amtrak service to Wilmington, DE as well as SEPTA regional rail.
Magnaball Photo by Steve Olker
Travel packages will go on sale this Thursday, January 18, at 11AM ET, with Weekend passes and Camping passes on sale Friday, January 19 at 11AM ET.
For complete details on passes, car and RV camping and parking options, on-site glamping accommodations, travel packages, and more, please visit phish.com/mondegreen.
The team at Jazz Lives recently shared a throwback that caught our eye – Jazz at Charley O’s? The legendary Penn Station libation station for in between trains or before games at The Garden?
Well, close – this is the Charley O’s that was once located at 713 8th Avenue, and was not only a sports bar and grill but also a Jazz Bar and Comedy Club in the evening, as well as a popular spot to go before a night out on the town.
Jazz Lives shares the following recollection of one night at Charley O’s. Once upon a time, I lived in Great Neck, New York, a suburb forty minutes from midtown Manhattan. When in 2005 I found out that my hero Marty Grosz was appearing in the city, probably for a Saturday afternoon session, I checked the Long Island Railroad schedule, packed my cassette recorder, and went there. ”There” was not a jazz club but a hamburger / steak restaurant catering to tourists, where, wonderfully and atypically, hot jazz was on the menu. That place was Charley O’s.
MARTY GROSZ, guitar, vocal; JOHN BUCHER, cornet; JOHN BEAL, double bass, were the band, for the cavernous room. I had met Marty in September 2004 Jazz at Chautauqua, so I may have said a brief hello. I would come to know John Bucher from his appearances at the Cajun. I knew Beal only from recordings, but he was gracious. I asked for a table near the music but none were offered for a single mortal, so I went to the balcony, where I could see the band as well as hear them, admittedly from above and from a distance. (Now, I would know better and would have told the waiter that my three friends were arriving soon, thus earning a table closer to the music. I hope to be forgiven my falsehoods.)
I ordered food — something banal — then set up my recorder to capture the sounds, which were wonderful. I saved the cassette. (A year later, I would have purchased a video camera and a digital recorder, but in 2005 I was still living in a technological past. However,, it DID work.)
You’ll hear I DON’T WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE / WRAP YOUR TROUBLES IN DREAMS / THREE LITTLE WORDS / A HUNDRED YEARS FROM TODAY / Marty half-heartedly hawking CDs / SUNDAY (incomplete) //
I’ve left in the long intervals between songs because you can hear Marty providing the chordal roadmap for his two colleagues. Impatient listeners can scroll forward; imaginative listeners imagine themselves on the scene.
The room got much more noisy; perhaps my waiter, seeing my empty plate, hovered and said, “Will there be anything else?” and I took the check. On the way out, I thanked the trio and lamented the noise level.
There ends my saga of Charley O’s, sometime in 2005. But the music! Better than the hamburger deluxe and much fresher, even eighteen or so years later.
Photograph by Lynn Redmile
Charley O’s closed some time ago. John Bucher, that gentle man, has left us. Messrs. Beal and Grosz are still laying it down, although slightly less frequently.
After 15 years of great live music, bringing people together and raising money for different charities each year, the team at Fox Fest has announced this will be the final year for the Syracuse-area festival, on August 3, 2024.
Located near the villages of Onondaga and Navarino, Fox Fest is held is organized by George Ryan and Doris Ryan, held on their property and sponsored by a large group of local businesses, residents and attendees. There’s a full professional production including staging, PA system, and lighting, while local food vendors provide food and refreshments at reasonable rates. A family-friendly event that allows camping, coolers full of whatever you choose, and the open space to enjoy yourselves, the event is fun but not restrictive.
The growth of the event is noteworthy – what began as a blending of three friends’ annual parties, took on a scale enviable by many regional festivals. Located in the pastoral hills south of Syracuse, Fox Fest is a non-profit event that annually donates its proceeds to honorable charities; this year’s proceeds will benefit the Zach Helfrich Memorial Fund.
Established in 2020 with the mission of raising suicide awareness, especially with parents, and also to fund effective, local mental health treatment programs. The Zach Helfrich Memorial Endowment at Upstate supports their Psychiatry High Risk Program which has been phenomenally successful treating high risk, multiple attempt patients 14 and older.
Taking place on Saturday, August 3 from 12pm to Midnight, ticket holders are allowed to arrive on Friday night and leave Sunday, camping for free on site, whether you have an RV, pop-up or tent. All sites are first come, first serve.
Tickets to Fox Fest 2024 can be purchased in the form of a Fox Fest T shirt, on pre-sale. Order forms are located at Franks Moon Dance on Route 20, and Limp Lizard BBQ on Onondaga Blvd. There will also be a link on the webpage to PayPal.
Two food vendors are on site to satisfy munchies. Proceeds from the food vendor will also be put towards the charity, so please support them when you are hungry. Open fires and grills are not permitted at Fox Fest for safety reasons. Fox Fest is BYOB, with coolers welcome, as there are no alcohol sales at Fox Fest. Fox Fest is also not pet friendly – please leave your dogs at home.
Tickets are $30 at the gate, along with t-shirts and much more at the merch tables at Fox Fest 2024.
Anyone looking to sponsors Fox Fest should reach out to George Ryan gryan@romanocars.com and anyone looking to volunteer should contact bruddyryan@hotmail.com.
The Listen Up Awards, a peoples choice music award ceremony that celebrates local talent in the Capital Region, has released the slate of nominees for 2024.
photo by Frankie Cavone
Created by Mirth Films and Radio Radio X, the Listen Up Awards features multiple live performances, with the ceremony taking place on March 24th at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs, at 2pm.
With the nominations now released, the voting process has begun for the 2024 Listen Up Awards and the awards are entirely determined through online voting.
The nomination process wraps up February 29th at 11:59pm ET. Vote for your favorite Capital Region bands/artists by visiting this link.
2024 Listen Up Awards Nominees
Favorite Solo/Duo: Sirsy
James Mullen Matty D Acoustic Inc.
Favorite Solo/Duo Covers: Acoustic Inc. Gus Unplugged Jason Irwin Matty D and Ky McClinton
Favorite Party Band: Hit-N-Run Lucid Street Off The Record The Refrigerators
Favorite Country Artist: Kristian Montgomery Tame the Rooster Skeeter Creek Grit and Whiskey
Favorite Rock Cover Band: Harmony Rocks Hit-N-Run Lucid Street Out of Office
Favorite Americana Artist:
Kristian Montgomery Northern Borne Little Saints James Mullen and the Strangers
Favorite Pop Artist: IRod and the Auxiliary Phil Orsini Sydney Worthley Shannon Roy
Favorite Rock/Hard Rock: The William Deuel Band Same Old Rat The Broken View The Hard Luck Souls
Favorite Alt/Indie Artist: Nickopotamus No Such Things as Ghosts Galene Anacortez
Favorite Folk/Bluegrass: Northern Borne Shannon Tehya Jim Gaudet Carolyn Shapiro
Favorite Jazz Artist: Billy Buono Joe Barna Keith Pray Ian MacDonald
Favorite Punk Garage: Feral Meryl The Erotics The Hauntings VinTri Hill
Favorite Metal/Hardcore/Extreme: Gozer Frozen Sun Brick By Brick Alloy Reign
Favorite Jam Band:
Dead Man’s Waltz Glass Pony Hilltop Ampevene
Favorite Blues Artist: Dealt The Blues Matt Mirabile Soul Sky Berkstar
Favorite RB/Soul/Funk: Oobleck Donna Tritico Band Aplo The Nolanauts
Favorite Electronica/Experimental Artist:
Portyl UnRendered I’m Getting The Skeleton Comfort Frequency
Favorite Performing/Recording DJ: DJ Goodlyfe DJ HOLLYW8D DJ John Brown DJ Irod
Favorite Reggae/World Artist: Mixed Roots Embe Esti Dr Jah & The Love Prophets Jordan Taylor Hill
Favorite Irish Artist: Get Up Jack Kilashandra Triskele Hair of the Dog
Fresh for 2024, and fresh off the release of his first two singles, emerging Miami-based indie soul artist JOSCH (A.K.A. Josh Schwartz) showcases his musical palette with the funk and soul-filled track, “Fantasies Don’t Cry.”
Drawing from a wide pool of inspirations ranging from funk, R&B and electronic music to soul, pop and lyrically-based folk music, JOSCH spent 2022 touring with Zac Brown Band (on their “Out In The Middle” stadium tour) and currently tours with rock and roll legends Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew (on their “Remain In Light” tour) as well as disco funk band Cool Cool Cool, and of course indie funk band Turkuaz.
“The song “Fantasies Don’t Cry” combines bombastic horns by The Horn Section, funky 70’s clavinet from keyboardist Swatkins (Allen Stone, Scary Pockets), a driving back beat and Schwartz’s soulful vocals dripping with attitude. “Fantasies” is the frustrated confessions of a scorned lover who gets kicked to the curb without warning, replaced by someone else.
“The concept that one’s reality, the model of their universe they put together in their mind, can be shattered instantly by getting broken up with, that has always fascinated me. Whether it’s getting dumped, losing a friendship, getting fired from a job, we’ve all experienced some kind of event that makes us question our perception of others, of ourselves, even our own sanity. It makes you wonder if you can really trust your senses and your gut. My aim with “Fantasies” was to channel that heavy mass of emotions in a way that brings a bit of levity to the situation. I think having me sing the vocal melody in unison with myself but an octave higher lends some Scissor Sisters-esque sassiness and humor to what could other wise have been a pretty dark song.”
Josh Schwartz
The opening query, “Did I miss the meeting when you decided to dust me off the shelf?” moves quickly into the accusatory “your heart is fleeting, your mind will mirror someone else.” So begins the journey into the mind of the heartbroken and confused protagonist that waffles between deep hurt, bitter resentment, and a begrudging acceptance of the fact that “romance, to me, can die.”
While he recorded the song during the pandemic, Schwartz wrote “it “Fantasies” while in college, around 2007, for acoustic guitar. He says of the song: ““Fantasies” is one of the few songs I’ve written that’s stuck with me for years. When I showed it to [then-bandmate] Dave Brandwein, who was producing my album, he loved the soulful, R&B style choruses but hated the verses. On the demo, I played the song on acoustic guitar and swung the rhythm slightly, which Dave rightly pointed out sounded a bit cheesy, kind of 90’s pop rock. The verses just didn’t match the vibe of the chorus, or of the other songs for that matter. But I wasn’t ready to give up on the song.” So Brandwein and Schwartz put their heads together and realized that with a few tweaks to the chords, beat and instrumentation, they could transform the song into a 70’s-inspired funky strut. That’s what it would’ve remained were it not for the insistence on Schwartz’s part that they add horns.
“Dave suggested I shy away from adding a ton of horns, since our funk band at the time, Turkuaz, was horn-heavy and this album was my chance to show another side of me. While most of the other songs I recorded don’t have horns, I knew in my gut that this song needed a powerful horn arrangement to musically portray the depth of emotions the lyrics deal with.”
To make that happen, Schwartz tapped his longtime bandmate Chris Brouwers, who masterfully arranged the 6-piece horn arrangement heard on “Fantasies.” The horns you hear are courtesy of The Horn Section, which in addition to Brouwers on trumpet and Schwartz on baritone sax, includes Greg Sanderson on alto and tenor sax as well as Grammy and Latin Grammy nominated trombonist Quinn Carson. “I was worried it was going to be too much with six horns, but Chris’s arrangement beautifully dances around the guitar line and vocals and doesn’t get in the way. It was the final element the song needed to really pop.”
Mixing all the myriad elements of “Fantasies” was no easy feat, but mixing engineer Kyle VandeKerkhoff was more than up for the challenge, and mastering engineer Joe Bozzi made VandeKerkhoff’s mix shine. Rob O’Block, as with Schwartz’s first two singles, was heavily involved in the production of the song. His menacing, synthetic-sounding guitar playing evocative of The Black Keys soars in the instrumental sections, and he added other guitar and electric bass parts along with drum-replacing and other production elements that helped the song go from demo to done. Dave Brandwein, former leader of 9-piece funk band Turkuaz of which Schwartz was a part, produced “Fantasies.”
“It’s time you knew the real story of Gamehendge!”
These nine words from actress Annie Golden, playing Jimmy’s Grandma during Phish’s New Year’s Eve concert, released a swell of emotions from Phish fans gathered at Madison Square Garden, witnessing for the first time in nearly 30 years, the first full performance of “Gamehendge.”
Photo by Brian Ferguson
Written by guitarist Trey Anastasio as his senior thesis at Godard College, titled The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, the rock opera tells the tale of retired colonel from Long Island who enters a mythical land where the lizards live under the rule of the evil king Wilson.
Gamehendge shirt c. 1999, via PhanArt
To the lay person, this is the plot to a children’s book, but to Phish fans, this is the holy grail of shows, only performed five times prior and not even this century, until December 31, 2023.
With a cast of Annie Golden (Grandma), Mitchell Sink (Jimmy), Jo Equality Lampert (The Wolf), Jeff Williams (Colonel Forbin), Daniel Gaymon (Rutherford) and Rebecca Magazine (Tela), the performance spanned a total of 17 songs, with costumed dancers, a flying mockingbird and slow-moving assassin sloth among them, over two sets, stretching past midnight into the first hour of 2024.
The full show remastered video of the entire performance was released on Tuesday. Watch below and relive Phish’s 83rd show at Madison Square Garden.
Set 1: Everything’s Right, Tube, Ether Edge > Reba, Taste, Ruby Waves, A Life Beyond The Dream, Character Zero
Set 2: Down with Disease, Harpua > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > The Lizards > Punch You in the Eye > AC/DC Bag > Tela > Llama > Wilson > The Sloth > Divided Sky
Set 3: McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Auld Lang Syne > Split Open and Melt, You Enjoy Myself > Loving Cup > Possum
Encore: Cavern > First Tube > Tweezer Reprise
Additionally – Phish quietly announced a new box set would be available for sale in March. The Spectrum ’97 will celebrate the December 2 and 3 shows during the famed “Phish Destroys America” Fall 1997 tour. More info to come.
