Mockingbird Setlists: Phish 1983

1983 Phish Setlists

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This setlist document derives from the first edition of The Phish Companion.
The updated second edition data, as well as shows since that edition, are in the Phish.net HPB.

Sunday, October 30, 1983
Halloween Dance, Harris-Millis Cafeteria, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Show Notes: Though fans have always held this date to be the date of the first-ever Phish show, this date is believed to be incorrect. If a show was played on this date, it was not the "Thriller" show that Phish lore has often referenced. The correct date of that show is December 2, 1983.

Thursday, November 3, 1983
Slade Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Show Notes: Tapes which circulate under this date are mislabeled copies of November 3, 1984.

Friday, December 2, 1983
Harris-Millis Cafeteria, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Check: Jam (with audience present)
Set I: Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, Proud Mary, In the Midnight Hour, Squeeze Box, Roadhouse Blues, Happy Birthday
Set II: Scarlet Begonias > Fire
Show Notes: Trey, Mike, Fish, and Jeff Holdsworth recall being billed as "Blackwood Convention" for this show (though no one is certain what band name was used), which is believed to be their first public gig together. The band was short on equipment, so a hockey stick was used as a microphone stand. Between sets, the DJ spun some Michael Jackson and Trey drummed along to the album. The house music (which included more Michael Jackson) was presumably turned up after Fire to drown out the band. The setlist may be incomplete, though, as the master tape contains nothing after Trey's sarcastic comments about Michael Jackson following Fire. All songs are, of course, live debuts. While this show is often billed as an ROTC Halloween Dance that took place on October 30, 1983, this is incorrect. The master copy of the recording of this show, as unearthed by Phish archivist Kevin Shapiro, contains a handwritten note that pegs the date as December 2, 1983. In recent discussions with Kevin, band members confirmed that they recall rehearsing for this show over the Thanksgiving Break, and that the show was a Christmas semi-formal. Also, though many ROTC students lived in the dormitory (Mike's dorm at the time), it was not an ROTC-sponsored event; it was a dorm dance in a predominantly ROTC dorm.

Saturday, December 3, 1983
Marsh / Austin / Tupper Dormitory, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Show Notes: This show, played by Trey, Mike, Fish, and Jeff, may have been billed as "Blackwood Convention." This date is believed to be correct but, due to a lack of records, the exact date can not be ascertained.

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