August 25, 2017

The Coolest Thing You'll See All Week: Phish Mashes It Up With "Sunshine of Your Feeling"

by Steve Spohn
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TreyAnastasioSunshineofYourFeelingFeaturedWelcome back to "The Coolest Thing You'll See All Week" featuring Phish's epic performance of "Sunshine of Your Feeling" – a mashup of Boston and Cream songs – played on the band's 13-show Baker's Dozen run at Madison Square Garden.

Let me offer some context for those of you who haven't been following along. Phish built each Baker's Dozen show around a different flavored donut (hence, the Baker's Dozen), and the band would play a few songs that would riff off that edible theme. For example, a show built around the ever-popular "Boston Cream" donut might feature the bands Boston and Cream. Sounds pretty tasty, right?

The theme for the 12th show of the run – August 5, 2017 – was, in fact, the "Boston Cream" donut. In that spirit, the band combined "Sunshine of Your Love" and "More Than a Feeling" by Cream and Boston, respectively.

I've been waiting so long
To be where I'm goin'
And I see my Maryanne walkin' away...

The band even stirs in passages from "White Room" (Cream) and "Foreplay/Long Time" (Boston) for good measure. And in the middle of it all, Jon Fishman recites lyrics from "Tales of Brave Ulysses": The tiny purple fishes, run laughing through your fingers...

Phish serves up a feast with a little something for everyone, no matter what your taste. The skill it takes to pull off a musical feat like this – with such precision – is extraordinary, even for a band with unparalleled improvisational chops. And, of course, Phish executes perfectly while laughing at the absurdity of it all.