With one or two notable exceptions,
Live Phish, Vol. 09 provides a pretty thorough overview of
Phish's repertoire of original and cover material in 1989. They had self-released
Junta several months earlier and material from
Lawn Boy, which would be released the next year, was slowly making its way into the band's sets. Comprising three sets of "live music and family entertainment" (as the advertising for the show, reproduced in the liner notes, denotes), the three discs are a good snapshot of what the band was beginning to bring to college campuses, bars, and small theaters across the country. For the time period, it was pretty remarkable. Most of the original songs included here, primarily composed by guitarist
Trey Anastasio, highlight deft composition and energetic execution. "Fluffhead," "Colonel Forbin's Ascent," "Fly Famous Mockingbird," and "Dinner and a Movie" all twist with complexity. Though there is some improvisation here (notably on "You Enjoy Myself" and "Run Like an Antelope"), it certainly isn't an emphasis. Though they would eventually become known for their winding jams, the years between 1988 and 1992 were spent working on band communication and the performance of complicated material. The band's sense of humor is evident throughout. The second set, for example, begins with the band whistling the "Andy Griffith Theme." As the audience picks up on it and joins in, the quartet accompanies them instrumentally. The show also highlights the first official release of narration (during "Colonel Forbin's Ascent") from
Anastasio's conceptual Gamehendge saga, his senior thesis at Vermont's Goddard College. The group -- ever eclectic -- also makes their way, with equal aplomb, through covers of
Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee,"
ZZ Top's "La Grange," and a ska-like reading of the traditional Jewish hymn "Avenu Malcenu." While on some levels, especially given the relative age of the band, the show might be considered a historical curiosity, the band was already turning out an incredible breadth of material that more than holds up on its own. Remarkable, indeed. ~ Jesse Jarnow