Thursday 09/26/2013 by Doctor_Smarty

PHISHING POLL THURSDAY, VOL. 7: BEST SECRET FEST JAM

If we are to trust the band as the arbiter of what is and what is not, there have been nine Phish festivals to date. Each of these events has been replete with surprises both on and off the stage. Among the more clandestine of these surprises have been a series of secret, unannounced, unrequited, undermined, and/or under attended sets of non-traditional Phish. Although, not officially a festival, this "secret set" tradition was originally to be initiated with a late night 4th set at Amy's Farm. Unfortunately, due to the arrival of some uninvited guests looking for trouble, the band pulled the plug and this late night set never materialized. Eliminating the elusive 4th set at Amy's farm from contention, we are left with the opportunity to determine the best of the non-traditional festival sets that are alleged to have occurred when many of us were not looking. Some of these sets are so secret, only Phish knows about them.

[ranker width="450" height="711" title="Phishing Poll Thursday, Vol. 7: Best Secret Fest Jam" id="1021388" link="http://www.ranker.com/list/phishing-poll-thursday-vol-7-best-secret-fest-jam/phishingpoll" /]

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Comments

, comment by elephantus
elephantus Where's Coventry's "Dead Tent Tribute Jam"?
, comment by Alaskanmoma
Alaskanmoma The ball square jam knocked me out...mushies hit the bottom of my tummy after a wonderful 3rd set (though i still wonder what happened to that tweezer...) and hysterical boccie ball games.
i fainted about 1/4 of the way through the experiment. once moving to the outskirts, i was now on the ground. i had to lay on the grass to collect my face for a long while. a patient fan and her bf nursed me back to health and sent me on my way with a small gatorade and an encouraging dap... i'm not sure how i feel about the memory but i will always remember it as the only time music literally knocked me on my ass. that has to count for something
, comment by MiguelSanchez
MiguelSanchez The lemonwheel jam is probably my favorite
, comment by pistilstamen
pistilstamen It's a tie between the ambient set and the acoustic set for very different reasons.
, comment by mikh2wg
mikh2wg Lemonwheel is the one I've listened to most. That was a great experience, too. I spent most of the set wandering the weird garden/conceptual art installation at the back of the venue. I think Phish goes down very well when you're staring up at a tower of Port-o-potties.
, comment by J_D_G
J_D_G Are we supposed to rank how much we like @doctor_marty's jokes? The imaginary sets are confusing and defeat the purpose of a poll. Bring back the usual poll crew! They've got it locked.

With that said, the Tower jam was the best/most-exciting/most-intense concentrated hour of Phish performance that I've seen. And as it happens, it's the only secret set I've seen.
, comment by johnnyd
johnnyd Another vote for the Ambient Jam, coupled with Trey's introduction of it at the end of the third set. My personal #1 peak phish experience ever.

Close second is the Mt. Ellen Mountaintop jam latenight in '95. Shit was sick.
, comment by fakebeave
fakebeave Can someone elaborate on the Amy's Farm 4th set cancellation? I never heard that story before.
, comment by lumpblockclod
lumpblockclod IT and Lemonwheel are easy Top 2 for me, followed by SBIX and F8. Saw precisely none of them FWIW.
, comment by bertoletdown
bertoletdown I still listen to Lemonwheel IV about twice a year all the way through. It takes the crown easily for me.

I may have felt very differently if I'd been present for the Tower Jam.
, comment by johnnyd
johnnyd @bertoletdown said:
I still listen to Lemonwheel IV about twice a year all the way through. It takes the crown easily for me.

I may have felt very differently if I'd been present for the Tower Jam.
Tower Jam was amazing too. Might be a "better" stand-alone experience, especially given the visuals. But the way Trey set up the ambient jam puts it over the top for me. That was an un-repeatable shared moment.
, comment by fluffhead108
fluffhead108 I wasn't at any of the festivals, but based on listening to the tapes, I like the Storage Jam the best. Just weird stuff, man. Great to listen to. Tower Jam is also great, but Storage wins for me.

I seem to be one of the few that does not find the Ambient set to be anything special.
, comment by johnnyd
johnnyd
That was an un-repeatable shared moment.
Though the band-audience group meditation/incantation prior to the Up All Night/Early Riser Yoga Soundtrack at Fest X this past summer came close...
, comment by Mr_Incompletely
Mr_Incompletely Whats with the plus and minus system?
, comment by Doctor_Smarty
Doctor_Smarty @J_D_G said:
Are we supposed to rank how much we like @doctor_marty's jokes? The imaginary sets are confusing and defeat the purpose of a poll. Bring back the usual poll crew! They've got it locked.

With that said, the Tower jam was the best/most-exciting/most-intense concentrated hour of Phish performance that I've seen. And as it happens, it's the only secret set I've seen.
Thanks for always being there to suck the joy out of life @J_D_G! What exactly is the purpose of the poll? What is the purpose of your feigned confusion?

With that said, I find it ironic that the only secret set you've seen was the "Great GAG in the Sky"...because you clearly don't get "IT"

The universe I share with Phish is loaded with jokes...both practical and otherwise.

BTdubs...it's Doctor_Smarty...with an "S"...for suck "IT"
, comment by Doctor_Smarty
Doctor_Smarty For reference...this would have been the rolling stage for the Coventry set. Because the runways were full of cars and the rest of the place was a mudpit...the PharmaPseudicals Phlatbed set didn't happen. Late night denizens of the bonfire pit reported an impromptu Trey acoustic set...if you were there...let's hear about it.

Image
, comment by Jackaroe
Jackaroe I was at Oswego and have no idea what the Green Echo Lodge Jam was. Help?
, comment by johnnyd
johnnyd @Doctor_Smarty said:
For reference...this would have been the rolling stage for the Coventry set. Because the runways were full of cars and the rest of the place was a mudpit...the PharmaPseudicals Phlatbed set didn't happen. Late night denizens of the bonfire pit reported an impromptu Trey acoustic set...if you were there...let's hear about it.

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv292/xxxoooxxxooo/DSC02144.jpg[/quote]I just remember being really pissed at that thing because it was in the middle of the main (only) egress one of the nights. Was already body to body - shit was super-jammed up. I think we lost two of our crew into the mud pits on the way out of the Back 40 (RIP), and then that fucking thing was jamming up the works.
, comment by Doctor_Smarty
Doctor_Smarty @Jackaroe said:
I was at Oswego and have no idea what the Green Echo Lodge Jam was. Help?
Echo Lodge was the second stage on the Green at Oswego
, comment by Doctor_Smarty
Doctor_Smarty Image
, comment by MLuckow
MLuckow this post will surely keep all these "secret jams" secret.
, comment by j_led
j_led Acoustic set doesn't belong on list. My vote goes to impromptu 3rd set CHI2
, comment by Wactoob
Wactoob I was def at the Coventry trey acoustic jam. It was terrible. He fell asleep during the composed part of fluffhead. Other notable items: two more times he told that same lame story about writing some of phish's music near there; he had to restart Golgi a number of times (each time in the wrong key); he broke out lushington, but played it accordion. The only thing that was good was his dancing during the folk section of Scent of a mule...he did the Russian thing with arms crossed, bending down, feet flying out in front of him, the whole nine yards. Since page wasn't there he asked us all to hum the melody that page usually plays during that part and we sounded pretty good.
, comment by andrewrose
andrewrose I think the Lemonwheel ambient jam is the far and away winner here, in terms of the actual music. I re-listened to this recently again after having it be a go-to jam for years following witnessing it. It's a real high point for the band. It's engaging throughout during one of their most dynamic periods. There are two or three really moving peaks to it that measure up against the best 'glory moments' from 97-98. Have a listen.
, comment by Sodito
Sodito Now that I have a kid, I find myself listening to that Festival 8 set repeatedly. It is a true gem that has a lot of staying power.
, comment by uctweezer
uctweezer @andrewrose said:
I think the Lemonwheel ambient jam is the far and away winner here, in terms of the actual music. I re-listened to this recently again after having it be a go-to jam for years following witnessing it. It's a real high point for the band. It's engaging throughout during one of their most dynamic periods. There are two or three really moving peaks to it that measure up against the best 'glory moments' from 97-98. Have a listen.
I agree. The Ambient Jam is one of the greatest things Phish has ever done. Easy winner here.
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