Welcome to the eighth mini-episode of Attendance Bias! Mini-episodes feature a breakdown of a single song or jam from a show that I’ve attended. I’ll pick a song or jam for any given reason—it was the highlight of the show, it meant something special to me, it's widely renown--who knows?
Mini-episodes are posted on a bi-weekly basis in between full episodes of Attendance Bias, when a guest and I will go over a full Phish show.
Today's episode focuses on "46 Days," played on 8/7/10 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California. This show was last of three nights at the small outdoor venue in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not only was this run my first time at this venue but it was my first time in California! My girlfriend, at the time, and I spent a week in San Francisco to explore the city leading up to this wonderful trio of shows.
I don't remember many big musical highlights from the 2010 Phish calendar year, but for some reason I remember almost every time I saw them play "46 Days" in 2010. Since the band's return for 3.0, their overall arena sound was much bigger. Much more suited to their bombastic playing and their ability to make venue explode. The Greek Theater is significantly smaller than most of the venues they've played since returning in 2009, and "46 Days" exemplifies their best version of arena rock.
This version of "46 Days" left the Greek run on a high note. It was powerful, it was ferocious, and it demonstrated how much of a guitar rock God Trey still was. Among the fanbase, there was still some doubt of what Phish was capable of in 2010, but rocking the hell out of a venue was never in doubt. If there was, then this "46 Days" put it to rest.
AUD recording for this episode: "46 Days," The Greek Theater, 8/7/10