Bittersweet Motel is a 2000 documentary about the rock band Phish. The film was directed by Todd Phillips and covers the band's summer and fall 1997 tours, plus footage from their 1998 summer tour of Europe. The documentary ends with The Great Went, a giant two-day festival held in upstate Maine which attracted 70,000 people.
Phish:
- Trey Anastasio - guitars, vocals
- Page McConnell - keyboards, vocals
- Mike Gordon - bass, vocals
- Jon Fishman - drums, vocals
The film's title comes from a Phish song of the same name, which is featured at the end of the movie.
Most songs that appear in the film were performed live unless noted. Eight cover songs are featured in the film, including the rehearsal and debut of Ween's "Roses Are Free" from their Chocolate and Cheese album. Two other notable debuts captured in the film are an early version of "Sleep" (played solo by Trey on his Languedoc guitar for the cameras which would later appear on their 2000 album Farmhouse) and a soundcheck of the band performing what was at the time the new faster arpeggiated version of "Water in the Sky" that would be seen later that year in studio form on their 1998 album The Story of the Ghost.
The song list does not follow the order in which the scenes were shot. "The Great Went" appears as the climax of the film, though in reality it was the first footage that Phillips shot for the movie.
1. Credits/Brian & Robert
2. Tour rehearsal
3. Rochester/"Roses are Free"
4. The First Gig
5. "Down with Desease"
6. Trey Talks Press
7. "Waste"
8. "Sleep"
9. New Year's Eve
10. Europe/"Whet the Circus Comes to Town"
11. Waking up Fish
12. Soundcheck
13. "Frankenstein"
14. The Gun Shop
15. "Wilson"
16. Page's New Shirt
17. "Hello, My Baby"
18. On the Way to The Great Went
19. "Character Zero"
20. Second Set
21. "Simple"
22. "2001"
23. The Photo Shoot/"Loving Cup"
24. Finale/"Bittersweet Motel"
Extras:
1. Trailer
2. Deleted scenes: Full-length versions of "Punch You in the Eye," "Big Black Furry Creature from Mars," "Maze," and "Lawn Boy"
3. Interview with Todd Phillips
