Ventura is a live album by the rock band Phish.
It contains two complete concerts on six CDs. It was recorded on July
30, 1997, and July 20, 1998, at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in
Ventura, California. Packaged as a box set, it was released by JEMP
Records on June 18, 2013.
A six-disc archival set, Ventura chronicles summer concerts Phish gave at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in the back half of the '90s, by which time their status as the titans of jam was well-established. The first show here is from July of 1997, the second performed a year later, which means both arrived during the two-year gap separating 1996's Billy Breathes and 1998's The Story of the Ghost -- two years where the band's popularity was on the rise and it certainly seemed like a crossover was perhaps within their sites. That crossover never happened and these two shows indicate the band never seriously thought about moving into the mainstream, preferring to ride a sweet, hazy, sun-soaked vibe that fits Southern California in the late summer. A few covers surface -- Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" was played in 1997, Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" in 1998 -- and soundcheck jams round out the third disc of each show, but the appeal of Ventura is, as always, how Phish tackle their core catalog, choosing to dig deep on "David Bowie" and let "Halley's Comet" float out as coda in 1998. It's a good summer soundtrack for Phisheads.
- Trey Anastasio – guitar, vocals
- Page McConnell – keyboards, vocals
- Mike Gordon – bass, vocals
- Jon Fishman – drums, vocals
Disc one
July 30, 1997 – first set:
"NICU" (Trey Anastasio, Tom Marshall) – 6:06
"Wolfman's Brother" (Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Marshall, Page McConnell) – 11:59
"Chalk Dust Torture" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 11:07
"Water in the Sky" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 4:11
"Stash" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 15:23
"Weigh" (Gordon) – 5:08
"Piper" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 5:06
"Cars Trucks Buses" (McConnell) – 4:49
"Character Zero" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 9:20
Disc two
July 30, 1997 – second set:
"Punch You in the Eye" (Anastasio) – 8:56
"Free" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 11:16
"David Bowie" (Anastasio) – 21:29
"Cities" (David Byrne) – 5:29
"David Bowie" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 6:08
Disc three
July 30, 1997 – second set, continued:
"Bouncing Around the Room" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 3:54
"Uncle Pen" (Bill Monroe) – 4:14
"Prince Caspian" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 8:55
"Fire" (Jimi Hendrix) – 6:51
July 30, 1997 – encore:
"My Soul" (Clifton Chenier) – 6:02
July 30, 1997 – sound check:
"Ventura '97 Soundcheck Jam" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) – 9:18
Disc four
July 20, 1998 – first set:
"Bathtub Gin" (Anastasio) – 21:55
"Dirt" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 4:02
"Poor Heart" (Gordon) – 3:51
"Lawn Boy" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 3:04
"My Sweet One" (Fishman) – 3:05
"Birds of a Feather" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, Marshall, McConnell) – 6:19
"Theme from the Bottom" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, Marshall, McConnell) – 9:29
"Water in the Sky" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 2:47
"The Moma Dance" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, Marshall, McConnell) – 9:56
"Split Open and Melt" (Anastasio) – 14:00
Disc five
July 20, 1998 – second set:
"Drowned" (Pete Townshend) – 14:52
"Makisupa Policeman" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 8:08
"Maze" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 12:10
"Sea and Sand" (Townshend) – 3:10
"Prince Caspian" (Anastasio, Marshall) – 12:11
"Harry Hood" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) – 15:31
Disc six
July 20, 1998 – encore:
"Sexual Healing" (Marvin Gaye) – 7:48
"Hold Your Head Up" (Rod Argent, Chris White) – 1:41
"Halley's Comet" (Richard Wright) – 10:58
July 20, 1998 – sound check:
"Ventura '98 Soundcheck Jam" (Anastasio, Fishman, Gordon, McConnell) – 13:38
Buenaventura Bonus CD
All tracks from 3/21/93 Ventura Theatre, 1-5 from Set I, 6-10 from Set II
1. Maze (10:00)
2. Sparkle (3:52)
3. Divided Sky (14:32)
4. Split Open and Melt (12:43)
5. Lawn Boy (3:21)
6. Tweezer (11:41)
7. Llama (5:01)
8. My Sweet One > (2:09)
9. Big Ball Jam (2:32)
10. Cavern (4:43)
