Trey Anastasio is no stranger to the Tiny Desk, having performed a solo set in 2015. Bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman also performed for our Tiny Desk (home) concert series in 2020 with guitarist Leo Kottke. And now, finally, we get a full Phish Tiny Desk concert.
The set began with “Sigma Oasis,” which included a little musical reference to the All Things Considered theme song. The band continued with “Evolve,” a track from its 16th studio album released last week. Before the band’s final song, Anastasio and Gordon warmed up their fingers on tiny trampolines, which likely had the uninitiated scratching their heads. But for fans of this band, it was a clear signal of what was coming next: “You Enjoy Myself,” a song that dates back to the band’s beginnings and can safely be called a Phish classic. In live performances, the jam segment features choreographed bouncing, and the band brought that spectacle right into our office.
After, the band ended its set and swerved out slowly through the crowd, singing while giving out high fives. But the audience's applause didn’t stop, so Phish came back out and played two bonus tracks: “Sample in a Jar” and “Chalk Dust Torture.” “When we started the band, we used to practice in a room exactly this size… it was probably smaller,” Anastasio shared. What a gift to get to watch Phish perform in a similarly sized room 41 years later.
SET LIST
- “Sigma Oasis”
- “Evolve”
- “You Enjoy Myself”
- “Sample in a Jar”
- “Chalk Dust Torture”
MUSICIANS
- Trey Anastasio: guitar, lead vocals
- Mike Gordon: bass, vocals
- Jon Fishman: drums, vocals
- Page McConnell: keys, vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer/Director: Maia Stern
- Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Mitra I. Arthur
- Audio Engineer: Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Elizabeth Gillis
- Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
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