Passing Through

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

History

When Phish debuted their supposed cover of Kazvot Vaxt’s I Rokk for their 2018 Halloween set, they had to figure out a perfect ending to the set. Contrary to a typical set, this was supposed to sound like a complete album, and as such needed to have a song that would realistically sound like the last track on an album. 

The song they settled on borrows, or perhaps just happens to share a lyric with the glue of Gamehendge. The first line of “The Lizards” may or may not have anything to do with the conclusion of the imaginary Scandinavian Prog Rock album, but even if it doesn’t it seems an appropriate connection to make. Does sharing a lyric make this a Gamehendge song? Perhaps not, though after the events of 12/31/2023, perhaps everything is a little bit Gamehendge

Video by Phish

“Passing Through” premiered on 10/31/18, ending the Halloween cover set with a round of call and response “Way-oh way-oh” reverberating through MGM Arena in Las Vegas. Musically, the song features a catchy bassline from Mike and bright piano work from Page. The song is lyrically simple, with only 6 actual lines. The rest of the vocals of the song are the previously mentioned “way-oh” and some “heys.” Even with such a small number of lyrics, the song manages to evoke a certain feeling of happiness and letting go, even as the world will someday go spinning on without Phish.

The first version after Halloween was played at Madison Square Garden during the 2018 New Years run as the meat of a “Harry Hood” sandwich, and had a somewhat failed call-and-response on the “way-oh” ending compared to Halloween’s. To date, the longest version of “Passing Through” was played 2/23/20 in Mexico, clocking in at over 10 minutes. The jam portion, which plays around with an almost Almans-esque sound at times, while also managing to sound like a “Possum” jam for stretches, stays mostly inside the lines while almost managing to escape from the confines of the song a few times. 

Some other notable versions are worth listening to for the segues into the song, as it seems to be a song well-suited to “true segues.” Of the 6 times the song has been played, 3 feature segues. 6/21/19 and 7/19/22 both featured a “Tweezer” -> “Passing Through” combo, while 9/1/21 featured “Cities” -> “Passing Through” as the pairing. In addition, the song has popped up in teases and quotes to various degrees in the 6/18/19 “Stash,” 9/1/19 “Wolfman’s Brother,” 2/25/22 “Carini,” and 5/31/22 “Light.” 

Following at least one appearance per year in every touring year since its debut, “Passing Through” was not played in a touring year for the first time in 2023. It may return in the future, but if not, the song itself may have passed through its usefulness to the band, at least for the time being.

Last significant update: 12/14/95

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