A few years ago when I was still in college, I stumbled home from a party to my small apartment and threw on (what used to be) the best source of Phish music on the internet, Phishcast Internet Radio. I had gone through a small phase where I needed to be listening to music to fall asleep, so I threw on the most trusthworthy music stream I could find. Phishcast was probably something that I needed in college; I think it really helped me through. It was always on, anywhere there was internet–it just kept pumping out Phish shows for years and years and I hated to see it go.
After dozing off and I imagine I was asleep for a couple hours, I awoke to a haunting melody. I had to lie in bed for a few moments to understand what I was hearing. I can hear the bassline right now–buum, ba-buum, ba-buum, ba-bumm, bumm…
It was Dog Log, first played by Phish on October 30, 1985. An evil Dog Log. Perhaps the scariest one on record. I remember waking up at the very beginning, right after the transition from Theme…, as they play straight through on the entire set.
Rock and Roll > Theme from the Bottom > Dog Log > The Mango Song -> Free (1:02)
I checked the date on the show, made a mental note, fell asleep to the most digusting Dog Log > The Mango Song ever, and woke up the next day on the quick search to a B&P that will get me a damn fine copy of the show.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, my better-half and I went camping for a small retreat and we brought my old CDR collection. I haven’t really touched my CDR’s in a couple years; most everything I listen to now is ripped to an iPod-friendly format and brought with me throughout the great city of Chicago. Well, I decided that we needed to listen to this second set and I gave Katie my how explanation about how scary the 9/17/00 Dog Log really is. “I mean, I woke up to it. Weird.” It’s hilarious because I know I’ve told her this story many times and yet I still tell her like she doesn’t know. I get all worked up and excited just thinking about it.
Fast forward to two days and I get a wonderful email from Scotty B (my new best friend) with some wonderfully ironic (or deja vu-like) information attached. Obviously, one part of this email seriously struck me.
Kevin’s page contains unreleased photos and unreleased audio. The page contains four audio tracks: the 9/17/00 Dog Log, the 7/30/97 Fire, a Fast Enough studio outtake, and Ride Captain Ride’s return from 12/30/92.
Apparently I’m not the only one that got woken up from a drunken slumber to hear the magic, the myth, and the legend that is the 9/17/00 Dog Log. Coincidence?
I really don’t think so. These things happen for a reason. I WAS MEANT TO HEAR THAT DOG LOG. It was going to be relevant to me later in life. Now. Today. This blog. I can really embrace that thought and it’s hugely comforting.
Go to the Kevin Shapiro MySpace page and you’ll see what I mean. Look at it this way–When the Phish archivist has to pick four songs to let people sample Phish on MySpace, he picks the 9/17/00 Dog Log as one of his choices. Keep that in mind.
