Been Caught Stealing

• Performances
• History
• Lyrics
• Artist
  • Phish
  • Fish
  • Mike
  • Page
  • Trey
  • All

History

While Phish's repertoire has always been filled with a hefty percentage of cover songs, the summer 1998 tour was extraordinary, with the debut of no less than a dozen new covers. The diversity of covers was also remarkable: songs by Cole Porter, The Smashing Pumpkins, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground, Van Halen, Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, and the Beastie Boys all graced the Phish stage that summer. 

Among these covers was the 1990 Jane’s Addiction hit “Been Caught Stealing,” which filled the encore slot on 8/1/98 at Alpine Valley. “Been Caught Stealing” (8/1/98 and 11/19/98) holds the distinction as being one of only two songs (the other being Joe Walsh’s “Walk Away” on 4/29/90) where Mike and Trey use trampolines during a cover song.

Jane's Addiction, "Been Caught Stealing" – Official Video

“Been Caught Stealing” either closed the show or was part of the encore for four of its first five live appearances (polished off by a “Llama” second set closer on 11/25/98). As with most of the new cover tunes busted out that summer, “Been Caught Stealing” had a relatively short shelf life and was mothballed after the encore on 12/28/98 at MSG. Then, after 12+ years and 298 shows, Phish made another bid on the tune on 6/18/11 in Raleigh. Another microphone was delivered to the stage leading many in the audience to think a guest appearance was imminent; instead that mic was for Trey and was wired to an effect that raised his voice a few octaves. Fans were, well, split on whether or not it “worked.” As always, decide for yourself.

Phish, "Been Caught Stealing" – 6/18/11, Raleigh, NC

Ritual De Lo Habitual was however among the 99 "semi-finalists" for consideration to be performed as the Halloween set for Festival 8 before being killed off.

Submit notes/corrections