Phish kicked off a two-night run at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on this date in 1999. The Vermont quartet would welcome guitarist Warren Haynes for a Led Zeppelin cover during the encore.
Phish got the show underway with a cover of “Ya Mar.” The 14-song first set also saw the return of Allen Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down” for the first time since August 12, 1989 for a total gap of 1,006 shows, as per Phish.net. Additionally, the first frame contained favorites like “Carini,” “Stash,” “Billy Breathes” and a “Run Like An Antelope” closer.
The second set began with “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” which saw Trey teasing James Brown’s “Super Bad.” A classic “Mike’s Groove” would follow, along with a fitting “Mountains In The Mist” with the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains looking on. The song would also foreshadow the encore. Phish closed out the second frame with the rocker “Julius.”
Phish then returned for the encore and Trey Anastasio soon introducing Haynes. Warren’s appearance marked the second time he sat-in with Phish following a team-up in December 1995. Haynes would also return the next night along with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. But the guitarist lent his slide expertise on Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop” for the night one encore.
The band surged into “Misty Mountain Hop’s” iconic riff before keyboardist Page McConnell led the way through the tune on vocals as he often does on Zep covers because of his higher register. Haynes added some nice slide touches before Trey handled the melody in the first instrumental section. After the third verse and chorus, Warren launched into a full-blown slide solo that went from tasty to wailing with Anastasio linking up with him to add some complimentary licks heading into Page singing the “I really don’t know” line and the song’s conclusion.
Listen to the entire show below via fromtheaquarium:
Setlist (via Phish.net)
Set One: Ya Mar, Chalk Dust Torture, Farmhouse, First Tube, Carini, Dirt, Vultures, Sparkle, On Your Way Down, Beauty of My Dreams, Stash, Train Song, Billy Breathes, Run Like an Antelope
Set Two: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Mike’s Song -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Mountains in the Mist, Limb By Limb, Prince Caspian > Julius
Encore: Misty Mountain Hop[1]
[1] Warren Haynes.
On Your Way Down was played for the first known time since August 12, 1989 (1,006 shows), although it had been teased as recently as the summer of 1997 (see July 23 and August 16). Trey teased Super Bad in 2001. The encore featured a guest appearance from Warren Haynes.
