Friday, May 1, 2009

Let the games(henge) begin!

Roughly 30 days away from my first Phish show in about a decade, I'm starting to get the itch. So, in the weeks before this momentous occasion, I thought it would be fun to countdown with some of my (and the other Weightstaffer's) favorite tunes covered by Phish, or Phish tunes covered by others.

Leading off is probably my favorite in the Phish bluegrass repertoire and an all-around American classic -- "Uncle Pen," performed by the legendary Bill Monroe. I hope to catch this one live during the summer run.

According to Deaddisc.com, "Uncle Pen was named for Bill Monroe's uncle, Pendleton Vandiver who Monroe described as; '.... one of Kentucky's old-time fiddlers, and he had the best shuffle with the bow that I'd ever seen, and kept the best time. That's one reason people asked him to play for the dances around Rosine, Kentucky. In his later years he was a crippled man. He had been thrown by a mule and had to use crutches the rest of his life. My last years in Kentucky were spent with him.'"

If you have a favorite Phish cover you'd like to see here on The Weight, drop us a note, and we'll gladly post it for you...assuming we can find it!

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update on Uncle Pen. Good Tune for sure. I love Ya Mar. I've looked for the original by the Mustangs but to no avail. Any chance you have heard the original?

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  2. Crosseyed and Painless is my fave by far. Great live clip of it from stop making sense.
    Some other good ones:
    La Grange
    Timber Ho!! a.k.a. timber(jerry)
    When the Circus Comes to Town
    Rock&Roll
    and my Phenway opener pick...

    Forplay>Longtime

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