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Phish
The Clifford Ball
Review By Jeff Niesel
To say that this seven-DVD set provides the definitive account of Phish’s Clifford Ball concert would be an understatement. The collection documents the two-day concert in its entirety, including all three sets from each night of the festival that that drew some 70,000 fans to a decommissioned air force base in Plattsburgh, New York in August of 1996. Highlights from day one include an ornery version of “AC/DC Bag” that concludes with a spirited jam and a frenetic (but in a good way) rendition of “Sparkle.” Day two highlights include the bluegrass cover “Old Home Place” and a particularly twangy offering of “Runaway Jim.”
While the filming is pretty pedestrian — shots are taken from multiple camera angles but there’s not much flourish to any of the footage — the band’s performance isn’t. Sure, many of the jams meander on and on for way too long, but the guys were definitely at the top of their game at this point in their career. Singer-guitarist Trey Anastasio makes the case that his playing has been underrated through the years. That said, since all nine hours are represented here, it becomes a bit tedious to sit through each and every jam (not to mention having to go through a total of seven discs). A bonus disc packs plenty of great material, including the band’s pre-concert sound check, the “flatbed jam” it performed from the back of a pick-up truck and interviews with band members. Extensive liner notes by Parke Puterbaugh nicely document the behind-the-scenes activities from the festival. But with a retail price of $99.99, this is really for diehards only.
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