Saw It Again
| Originally Performed By | New York! |
| Appears On |
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| Music/Lyrics | Anastasio, Marshall |
| Vocals | Trey (lead), Fish, Mike, Page (backing) |
| Historian | Phillip Zerbo (pzerbo) |
| Last Update | 2020-03-07 |
History
“Saw It Again" is a harsh, strident-sounding head-banging tune, a soundtrack to a B horror film. Fans generally either really like it... or detest it. "Saw It Again“ was seen first on 5/21/97 at Club Toast in Burlington during the “New York!” project that featured Mike and Trey, making its Phish debut a few weeks later on 6/14/97 in Dublin, Ireland. "Saw It Again“ is a “mood piece” – where the mood is decidedly frightened, or angry, or you just want to SCREAM – averaging five to seven minutes.
"Saw It Again" -> “Antelope” – 10/20/10, Guyutica, NYEven fans who detest “Saw It Again” will grudgingly admit however that the jammed-out 12/12/97 Albany version is worth hearing. This twelve-minute exploration opened a second set filled with inspired playing despite a string of setlist duds, proving that you don’t need a fan-friendly setlist to make a great show.
The band may be ambivalent about the song as well. “Saw It Again" was not played at all in 1998 after seven performances in its debut year of 1997, and made it into the rotation only three times each in 1999, 2000, and 2003.
For a while, fans wondered if they would ever "see it again," a question Phish answered resoundingly on 6/27/10 at Merriweather. That MPP gig essentially built a set around “Saw It Again,” with two full performances and vocal quotes scattered throughout no less than five other songs. The next appearance was also noteworthy, part of the “Guyutica” show on 10/20/10 immortalized on the Live in Utica DVD. “Saw It Again” has been a relative rarity since, averaging one or two performances each year including 6/22/12 Cincinnati, 9/1/13 Dick’s, and back at Merriweather on 7/27/14.
"Saw It Again" > “Tube” – 10/31/14, Las Vegas, NV
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