Phish: Theme From The Bottom 2/16/97

Phish in Germany, Wartesaal, Koln: 2/16/97

[@kevinpetite7818]

Probably some of the best tension/release soloing from Trey ever. The final release has a lick that gives my whole body goosebumps every single time. Just incredible guitar playing.

[@TankWilliams__Jr]

Fishman is also playing completely out of his mind… just peak phish here 🔥

[@Ramathorn85]

Always come back to this one. Trey absolutely destroys this. Perfect example of him at his best.

[@johnshort9171]

Played Theme in StL last night. 16 mins. Words can’t do it justice. Nearly blew the roof off

[@smilind69]

A musical vision of land and sea creatures wanting to explore eachothers' worlds.

[@Phishboy26]

Hard to describe the joy this song brings to me. The jam part of this song gives me chills.

[@jonathanliss3164]

As true today as it was a decade (or 2) ago. Just celebrated the 20th anniversary of my phirst show (12/30/97). The music never gets old or tired

[@thomasoduffy12]

this is one of those times Trey made a legit case for best ever to do it. absolutely unbelievable.

[@MrGratefuldead420]

Absolutely! So ashamed that only 95k people have seen this video....people are robbing themselves of stellar beauty!

[@srsheesley]

I thought a similar thought when it only had 10k views

[@SPINUNDRUM]

❤️❤️❤️

[@glyph241]

@@MrGratefuldead420 100k I’ll Share...

[@mikemac1362]

No doubt. BMF

[@villajidot]

this is one of the songs that set the hook for me and started me on the road to some of the best times in my life. brings me back to some great times with good people.

[@secretsquirrelz]

6 minutes 21 seconds... In that peak. Trey looks like he needs to scoop his brain off the floor like the rest of us.

[@alexpickle2413]

I love how intimate this venue is

[@fluffheadish]

best fking jam of all time. that note at 7:21 is SO nasty

[@FunkSiren]

I've never heard Trey play a note so nasty. He was on fire.So much tension got released in that note.

[@Murrkathoops]

Gets me every time

[@ivanhuber6294]

Wow...

[@papa_pt]

@6:22

[@TK-fk4po]

Austin Apt That’s the note I wait for in every version of this song I watch or have seen live.

[@thomasoduffy12]

Trey unloads on this theme. total domination. songs like this are why he's my favorite.

[@robmadore1]

Trey was just riding the wave during that solo, sooooooo niiiiiiiiice

[@rafi54mariner]

Everything is different now. The contents of this video projected me far beyond

[@tinicumlegend]

The Marvin the Martian shirt needs to return.

[@tombadil64]

Nobody ever did or ever will play a tension release jam like trey Anastasio. Simply one of the best to ever do it.

[@fox2mike28]

Kuroda was so good at what he did. It really does add that extra iota of power and drive to the jams to have a visual aspect in the ever changing lights. Imagine the total high it must be for Trey to be up there playing a rocking solo and having not only the music but a total light show at your command, because Chris has this unbelievable ability to always be locked into the music and improvise as much as the band does.

[@moheganson]

This is my favorite Theme.

[@iamthetoe]

This song etimomizes everything that is great about Phish

[@matagalpaman]

Agreed. Pure joy

[@lukecurran5572]

yes yes yes yes

[@mccrackes001]

I'm an AVID phish fan and musician and no kidding this jam is phish at their best!!!! One of the best on youtube!!!!!!!

[@hopeisunlimited]

first phish song i ever heard live-this version gives me chills and makes me smile all over

[@SPINUNDRUM]

this is fucking magic

[@tbinus7857]

Heat!

[@pango-y8j]

Phish 🍄🐟🍄

[@rodrikthereader7230]

trey rules! brilliant guitarist

[@modelcitizen1977]

I have the whole show on video, and it's epic. Rockpalaste broadcast. I've had it since it was originally broadcast, and it's one of my treasured videos of these guys.

[@moheganson]

Check out some of the Dead at this Rockpalaste in 1981- the Deal is ripping I can never decide who was a better guitarist Trey or Jerry... different animals I suppose!

[@Bernillary]

anticipates Marie Kondo by several years, keep what's important and toss what's not, etc.

[@dancingvicki32]

the hotness

[@alexvimo8739]

🎊 Germany 🇩🇪 🎊

[@RobynMLansford-tn8cg]

I saw the first “Theme” ever live…

[@broesph]

treys killing it with the looney toons shirts!

[@gianc123]

Thanks for posting this. I used to watch this show religiously on VHS. Great jam.

[@thephunkyb]

Fuck, this is so good. Best Theme ever?

[@moheganson]

Yes.

[@gratefullybred]

totally, i have heard a lot of phish jams from tape trading, and this is definetly one where they are ON, trey is "hittin the note"

[@mrj9814]

Oh man, the 6:20 mark just gave me chills. Trey's face is fucking priceless. Sick jam.

[@wcibbt]

I saw phish 2/25/03 in Philly. There were some great tunes from that night but the Theme was my favorite by far. Its the best I've ever heard and some phisheads that night were proclaiming it the best of all time. I highly suggest checking it out if you love this song.

[@BW-pr8qr]

Checking it out now…

[@liquidrider47]

Trey was going to blow up the Earth because it's blocking his view of Venus.

[@PTJams]

Peeps will always hate. Don't let it mess with your phlow!

[@thebrew]

fishman looks stiff?? no way. that was his style. always played with good posture. played from the inside out. he never leaned into notes. always extended from his torso out...as all the great drummers do.

[@iamthetoe]

Love the way Page & Trey take turns steering this one. This might be their greatest tune.

[@wtboone]

digging the marvin martian shirt

[@andrewschultz5985]

great singers... its germany, definitely high.

[@DAVINOENTERPRISES]

bringing the smooth heat~!

[@feelagroove]

I love how Kuroda messes up the lights at 7:12. He thinks they're going to peak but the tension lasts until 7:22 when he gets it right.

[@superhearingcloud2191]

this is the best version of this song they ever played, i have searched and searched and they are actually getting worse at playing it, which makes it the oddest phish song of all time imo, and a mystery of why they cant play it well anymore, but other songs seemed to have got better in the 2015-16 run, the die hard phish fans get mad, but its almost as if you need to be on the rise to be able to play it, once they peaked they couldnt play it anymore

[@lukecurran5572]

A H Y E A H

[@gratefullybred]

excellent.

[@iamthetoe]

Haven't heard the Philly 03 cut. Deer creek 95 is my personal fave, I thiNk I play it twice every time. Trey could keep this one going forever but still not be long enough.

[@villajidot]

well put. i am with you.

[@dandg1119]

One word! Phucking Phantastic! Okay, two words 🤪

[@jeffreyedwards767]

°•°•°•°• 🦋 °•°•°•• waves of happy,catch a wave ,silly

[@Richvids48]

swim up!

[@dalastejas]

so fuckin beautiful

[@Iggins420]

after 2:29 is that Gordon trying to sing a verse that was cut? Fishman looks like "What is he doing?!" and Page is just laughing...

[@shamwow98]

i think Trey

[@devonmccollister1470]

"And I carved out things".there was a picture in maybe the doniac schvice that had lyrics posted on a wall during the Billy Breathes sessions and the lyric read "and I carved out things people had up their ass" or something to that effect...I've always remembered it cuz it was so fucked up and funny.the first time i heard this Theme I immediately recognized it as being from that

[@user-dc1dr9kr8x]

The man is a god

[@Nlott2]

Good Christ... If they could only still do this.

[@schizlor]

god I miss that

[@mikeshubin]

the philly 03 was good, but i totally second that deer creek 95 call. smokin theme opener.

[@jamseshess92]

idk about you but i for one like it that he doesn't sing as great as other people. i still love it, i think he sounds great, they ALL do, and lets me realize hes like one of us

[@joshschunk7833]

Trey is fuckin amazing.

[@dalastejas]

trey jedi'd this one. watching fish eyes closed and mike was beautiful. Page gave it ambiance. They so nasty

[@JacobsJamz]

well we shouldn't necessarily be theorizing about trey's drug habits, but for many fans phish comprised a hugely important part of their lives. when trey couldn't handle his drug habits, one of the overarching factors in the bands decline, it effected fans negatively. in addition to that trey and the boys brought us all so many amazing feelings and times of happiness that we truely feel for him and worry for him in his battle against addiction. may not be entirely applicable in this circumst :/

[@MrBonesbucket]

just close your eyes and get lost in this

[@Primus-ue4th]

MrBonesbucket done that many times while drinking and driving back in the day

[@LouGehrigsDisease]

dont dig too deep. you dont want to end up leaving early....

[@dksoccerman]

i really wish i wasnt 6 years old when this shit went down. ive seen phish recently and theyre pretty fucking aweosme but they arent quite at this level

[@steved6149]

"It's like that thing in Pumping Iron when Arnold talks about working out, he's like "Everytime I get to that last set it's like I'm cumming, and then girls see my muscles and i'm cumming all night, and it's like all day long I'm cumming", and that's kinda how I feel."- Trey 6:18 6:38 7:20

[@moheganson]

One of the best scenes in "Bittersweet" lol

[@moheganson]

and those insane eargasms at 22:00 - 23:00 2/28/03 Tweez. filthy

[@evievanhouten3194]

February was not the date. More precise please. Fuck the 14th 🤣🌹

[@jonathanbogush0580]

the 1997 Euro tour is wherer Trey met smack...or opiats at large. Don't ask how I know...I just do.

[@superhearingcloud2191]

i think u are right, its not a very well liked topic in the phish community but its apart of the history which is interesting, but before i read your comment i had thought it was high on opiates at this show, helped him play really good

[@6packofsteel]

did i hear a free bird?

[@AVinkMaster]

Looks like Gregg Allman playing the drugs, good look Fishman.

[@kyediggity79]

Thank you to the lower arguments phish is tight as hell now and the shows are sick so if you want to live in96 get your tapes out and stay out of the lotto

[@hellbornelfchild]

Why cant they play this song properly anymore?

[@ajmcdavis]

trey soars

[@webb10588]

No not at all, look at his face, in a different dimension

[@matthewgregor3330]

how is this not the top comment on this video

[@ShuguProductions]

@kissthesky711 You obviously have never seen Michael Cera before...

[@tmrosenfeld88]

@78jjackson i see what you did there.

[@dalastejas]

@operasinger61904 fucking hilarious... sooo tru

[@prjctcivilian]

ya but lets be honest, wats more likely

[@johnwelch2736]

I'd love to know who gave this a thumbs down lol.....communists

[@JD0x0]

i think theyre great singers especially in the studio, it's much harder to sing while youre playing an instrument, and ontop of that theres a high possibility that theyre high which makes everything more difficult

[@jebus1187]

you think baker plays stiff? definateley no. maybe you were thinking neil pert?

[@fifaworld2]

As far as the lyrics flub goes... it happens. They were playing 80-100 shows a year. Plus, you don't go to a phish show for the lyrics. You go for what Trey is doing from the 5 minute mark and on. @dksoccerman.... They are no where near this level now... It's kind of sad, really. I listen to shows from 94-98 and have been to several shows recently, and I just want to ask Trey how his skills have diminished that much.

[@superhearingcloud2191]

people get old man, its hard to stay on top for very long, the end where he is just playing in think a d cord super fast before they go into the last lyrical part, he cannot do that anymore and hardly even tries, his hands cant move like they used to, and there is nothing compared to a 30 year old on top of his game

[@schizlor]

Is this Rockpalast?

[@ThePinkfloyd8686]

schizlor no

[@danhope5]

Is it really about pooping...

[@bobscomix]

Not bad. I've heard much better themes though. 12/7/97 for one

[@moheganson]

I like the Dayton one; more pretty. I own that show, but that Theme doesn't have as much as juice and peak as this one. Both great but this one rips.

[@papa_pt]

Check out the deer creek '95 one too

[@webb10588]

Trey looks pretty rough around 6:25, bangin that H

[@papa_pt]

webb10588 or tripping balls through another dimension

[@hellbornelfchild]

WSP SUX BTW

[@migbee]

@kyediggity79 dude, seriously? widespread is a ridiculously glorified bar band. the only aspect of wsp that's consistently "better" than phish is JB's voice. why spread panic?

[@briandrum1]

It's Page that's out of key.....

[@kyediggity79]

@pajasper now gentleman I love both bands almost seen em even number of times and love them both. Phish cant play what wsp plays and wsp certainly cant play what phish plays. they are just differet. Also I would liek to say come up with something more original that wsp sux of dave schools is fat. Like I said I like both bands but I love phish but they both blow roofs off and melt faces so top arguing. I hate this argument and wsp was much better pre 2000 just like phish

[@guyyute]

What does this information add to this video, youTube or the Phish community at large? You people publicly discussing someone else's problems in a public forum need to stop.

[@MrJDP1974]

...AND, I dont care who you are, everyone with the exception of Page plays with standard monitors. Back in this era, they all played with stage monitors. This makes for alot of human error. Have you ever played on stage and tried to sing when you cannot hear a thing that is coming out of your mouth? Back in the day, yes the focused much more on the instrumental side but I wonder how many haters have done this before? Try it sometime!

[@IgnatiusChinaski]

JDEP great point. Something I don’t often consider.