It's been a gas to watch all the musical costume chatter from our users these past few weeks. The staff is every bit as wound up for the big AC reveal, and the anticipation put us in a nostalgic way about a spate of shows during the Summer 1998 U.S. tour when Phish dared to don a musical costume nearly every night (even if only a song at a time).

The resulting flurry of debut covers -- some intentionally ironic, some unspeakably poignant, but all completely unexpected -- gave rise on rec.music.phish to the nickname "Jukebox Tour." The moniker didn't last, of course, and some of the output has even faded from memory for me personally (Wait, Phish played "Running With the Devil"?! Really?! Yep!), but that made it even more fun to revisit. We hope you'll enjoy with both ears and both thumbs.

[NOTE FOR THE ANALLY FIXATED: This is a list of debut cover songs from the Summer of 1998. Anybody who complains that established covers played during the Summer of 1998 were not included, or that debut covers from some other tour were not included, or that the "California Love Jam" that's not a song was not included, will be dipped in honey and fed to fire ants. Thank you, The Management.]

Read more...

It had to be the best idea ever. "Let's build an arena and we'll stick it inside a shopping mall." For 1975, it had to make sense. No one who went to the Hartford Civic Center in 80's and 90's can forget the absurd collision of commerce that was the Civic Center. Buy some jeans at The Gap, have dinner at The Ground Round, and watch a monster truck show. What a night!

Read more...