Bike
Music/Lyrics: Syd Barrett
Vocals: Fish
Original Artist: Pink Floyd
Original Album: The Piper At the Gates of Dawn (1967)
Debut: 1987-11-19
Historian: Tim Wade (TheEmu), lumpblockclod
Last Update: 2012-11-17
This tune is special for a couple of reasons. First, it is the only Phish cover song written by Syd Barrett originally performed by Pink Floyd. Second, while it was never really common, performances since 1994 have been extremely scarce. However, Jon “Bob Weaver” Fishman has delighted crowds with renditions on 8/3/98 Deer Creek, 11/6/98 Madison, WI, 7/30/99 at the Fuji Rock Fest in Japan, and another Japanese appearance on 6/15/00 that erupted unexpectedly out of an impromptu vacuum solo. Check out the 9/12/00 version for some amusing comments by Fish about the extent of his repertoire.
Pink Floyd, "Bike" – The Piper At the Gates of Dawn
Other notable performances occurred on 11/20/91 (with Fish on fretless guitar instead of vacuum) and 3/16/93 (a “Bike” -> “Lengthwise” -> “Bike” sandwich). After being ignored for all of Phish 2.0, "Bike" made its glorious return to the stage during the encore of the 6/18/09 Burgettstown, PA show. After a less than perfect "Grind" Trey announced that they were going to try another a cappella song, but, if they screwed up a second time, that Fish would sing "Bike." They did – on an aborted "Hello My Baby" – and Trey remained true to his word, much to the delight of those in attendance.
Phish, "Bike" – 11/6/98, Madison, WI
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