Photos by Tim Dwenger
Those of us that love Phish, love exposing our kids to their wacky lyrics, hilarious antics and dazzling stage shows. In some ways there is nothing better for a kid than a pair of grown men jumping on trampolines, singing about mangos, and conjuring up giant hotdogs on New Year’s Eve. In their own way, Phish is magical and, last Sunday at The Boulder Theater, Phour Point O brought some of that magic to the kids in the form of a 75 minute set of music that highlighted some stellar tunes from the Vermont band’s repertoire.
After a brief introduction from Annabel Lukins, the band launched into “Free” just as Phish themselves had done to kick off the Dick’s run this year. Following “Free” was a brief Phish Quiz that tested the knowledge of the youngsters in the house and then the familiar bass line of “Down With Disease” bubbled up and got old and young alike dancing. As Phour Point O jammed, adults sipped a late morning beer and snapped photos of the little ones as they stared in awe at the lights bouncing around the room. As the jam wound down, Lukins took to the stage again and passed streamers out to the kids as the band dropped into the funky beats of “2001.” As “2001” faded away the first of notes of the raucous “Run Like an Antelope” started up and while several kids flashed smiles of recognition, those smiles turned to laughter when the lyrics were changed to the seasonally appropriate “Run Like a Reindeer.”
As Miss Emily Clark took the stage to help the band out on a beautiful rendition of “If I Could,” several parents in the crowd helped unfurl a giant parachute. As the kids ran rampant under the colorful canopy the happiness was contagious and next up was a perfectly placed “Meatstick.” Some kids in the crowd knew every dance move to the humorously choreographed song, but for those that didn’t, there were helpers up on stage leading the way. It wasn’t long before most of the kids were following along like seasoned pros.
To end the all too short set, the band kicked into “Maze” as a limbo stick was hoisted in front of the stage. Kids of all sizes tried their hand as the band deftly nailed the intricate tune. Despite the fact that the “curfew” had come and gone, Lukins encouraged the kids to call for an encore and Phour Point O delivered with a tight take on “AC/DC Bag” to close out the show. My only real complaints of the afternoon were that tickets (at $22.50) were a little pricey for a 75 minute show and there was a guy at the door taking the streamers out of kids hands as they left the theater. I mean really? For $22.50 the least they could have done was let the kids keep the streamers. All in all we had a great time and will probably check out another Rock and Roll Playhouse show in the future.
Setlist: Free, Down With Disease, 2001, Run Like An Antelope*, If I Could^, Meatstick@, Maze
Encore: AC/DC Bag
* Lyrics changed to “Run Like a Reindeer”
^ w/ Emily Clark on Vocals
@ Included Japanese Lyrics
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