<\/p>\n
The latest LivePhish official release features a 1990 show at The Marquee in Manhattan, notable for John Popper joining in during the second set on harmonica and vocals. On December 28, 1990, Phish would play their first of three shows, with tickets ($13.50) sold out for the 950-capacity club.<\/p>\n
Phish <\/a>first played New York City in spring of 1988, climbing through the clubs from Kenny\u2019s Castaways, one-offs at Tramps and Ukrainian National Home in \u201988-\u201889, and eight shows at The Wetlands Preserve between \u201989 and September 1990. This was Ron Delsener Presents\u2019 first Phish show, starting a relationship with the legendary promoter that continues today. In addition to sparking Phish\u2019s career-long relationship with Delesner, this show was where Sue Drew, a young Elektra Records A&R rep who initially noticed the band on a CMJ Magazine cover before picking up \u2018Lawn Boy\u2019 (calling it \u201cthe strangest album I have ever heard\u201d), caught her first show. Both these connections spawned alliances that helped define the band\u2019s future. In addition to signing them to Elektra, Sue introduced the band to their booking agent, Chip Hooper.<\/p>\n \u201cI was completely blown away. The crowd was one thing because they were all so into their own little world and into the whole music, but the band was just incredible. The musicianship was amazing. And from that minute on, I just became obsessed with them as musicians, and so I started paying attention to where they were playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Sue Drew<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Marquee performance on the 28th marked the start of the band\u2019s second-ever holiday tour, a three-night run including this show, Campus Club in Providence on the 29th, and their second consecutive New Year\u2019s Eve at Boston\u2019s World Trade Center Exhibition Hall.<\/p>\n Phish had released their sophomore album, Lawn Boy<\/em>, in September 1990, and five of those songs made it into The Marquee setlist. Their instrumentation at this time included Page on a Yamaha CP70 electric piano and Hammond B-3 and Mike on a Languedoc bass, which translated palpably to the soundboard DAT recording.<\/p>\n Musically, highlights abound in this holiday run kick-off \u2013 Set 1 featured a \u201cRunaway Jim\u201d > \u201cFoam\u201d opening combo with a \u201cWe Wish You A Merry Christmas\u201d tuneup and holiday shoutout from Trey. \u201cLlama\u201d followed by a powerful sequence of \u201cColonel Forbin\u2019s Ascent\u201d > \u201cFly Famous Mockingbird\u201d > \u201cMike\u2019s Song\u201d > \u201cI Am Hydrogen\u201d > \u201cWeekapaug Groove.\u201d<\/p>\n Set 2 starts with a pairing of \u201cThe Landlady\u201d > \u201cPossum\u201d\u00a0features a seamless \u201cSquirming Coil\u201d > \u201cTweezer\u201d > \u201cManteca\u201d > \u201cTweezer\u201d > \u201cOh Kee Pa Ceremony\u201d > \u201cMy Sweet One\u201d > \u201cDivided Sky.\u201d \u201cTweezer\u201d\u00a0was fast becoming a classic, having been played more than 40 times since its debut that spring. and only the second time it was split up in a sandwich (9\/20\/90 Tweezer > Buried Alive > Tweezer). Blues Traveler frontman and Wetlands alumni, John Popper, joined in on harmonica for\u00a0\u201cNo Good Trying\u201d (Syd Barrett) > \u201cHold Your Head Up,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Get Me Wrong,\u201d and\u00a0\u201cFunky Bitch\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Marquee 1990 was recorded by John Paluska, mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering with post-production by Kevin Shapiro. Get the new release here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n