Whatever You Do, Take Care Of Your Shoes

Mr. Miner raised a very good issue yesterday.  Since Phish’s return to the stage last year, certain songs that once proved to be concert staples in the 2.0 era have either yet to reappear or have surfaced only once or twice.  I want to build on this, as he raises a very good point.  In fact, material from the Round Room album on the whole, have been largely ignored in the 3.0 era.

Round Room was an interesting album for the band.  Coming off their hiatus, the band was eager to get back into practice mode in preparation of their return to the spotlight.  The finished product was a departure from other studio efforts in that the tracks were largely culled from unedited rehearsal sessions at The Barn.  Unlike some prior albums, Round Room featured a collection of longer songs that made the record Phish’s longest to date.  Three songs - “Pebbles & Marbles,” “Walls Of The Cave,” and “Waves” all clocked in over ten minutes in length, and would often stretch longer when played live.  The album itself presented a much darker, mysterious vibe.

When Phish hit the road in 2003 and 2004, the Round Room material dominated the spotlight, and the band used songs like “Walls Of The Cave” and “Seven Below” as launching pads for some of the most profound jams of those years.  “Walls Of The Cave” especially, became a go-to song.  You could argue that this song was to 2.0 as “Light” is to 3.0.

So why then has the band been largely ignoring this material since the reformation?  Yes, “46 Days” and “Seven Below” are still popular, but the majority of these songs have gone missing.  One theory is that the songs (many of which are dark in nature) represent a period of haziness and depression.  Listen to the first few lyrics of “Walls Of The Cave”:

I’m leaving you a message,
I’m leaving you a trace,
I’m leaving thoughts for you
I hope that time will not erase.

That’s a far cry from “Free” or the newer “Backwards Down The Number Line.”  It almost foresees the downfall of the band.  With the band back in full force and health (especially Big Red), perhaps songs like this represent a negative period they want to forget.  “Walls Of The Cave” has yet to make an appearance in this new era, causing many of us (myself included) to wonder if it will ever be played again at all.

Still, there are some tracks on Round Room that are great.  The self-titled Gordon song is classic Mike, with his clever wordplay and outlook on the world.  It was played four times in 2003 before disappearing.  Almost every show I’ve been to since Hampton last year, I’ve heard people saying they want it back.  I couldn’t agree more.  “Waves” and “Pebbles” made a few appearances last year, but have yet to surface in 2010.  When they did pop up, the jams didn’t nearly reach the heights they did back in 2003.  Watch the “Waves” video from IT above to see what I mean.  And as odd a song as “Mock Song” is, it would be nice for it to show up now and again (it’s only been played once before at the Gorge in 2003).  The two ballads on the album, “Anything But Me” and “All Of These Dreams” are both gorgeous pieces of music.  If factored properly into sets, they could stick out (I’m reminded of how “If I Could” stuck out as a set one highlight at Jones Beach last year).

“Friday” and “Thunderhead” never did anything for me, and while I can do without those songs resurfacing, I think many of these tunes deserve their rightful place back in rotation.  It’s like Mike says, “I want a round room at the end of the day…”