Demand

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Originally Performed By	Phish
Appears On
Music/Lyrics	Anastasio/Marshall
Vocals	Page, Trey, Mike
Historian	Ellis Godard
Last Update	2021-11-19

History

"Demand" is a typical Trey composition (complex but not really “fugue-like,” as the band has described it) accompanied by quirky lyrics from Tom Marshall. But unlike those Tom/Trey collaborations that balloon into improvisation themselves, “Demand” often only precedes some other jamming tune. The debut (4/9/94) turned into a fabulous free-form “Weekapaug Groove,” in a set that involved much audience interaction. After being soundchecked three times on 5/20/94, the song took on a looseness that, for example, rendered a surprise segue into “The Sloth” (5/22/94), a nice shift to “Maze” (10/24/95), and a quick ragtime transition to “Antelope” (11/14/96). Its most recent appearances were on 12/31/09 (after a 392-show absence) preceded a lovely meandering "Seven Below," and 07/20/16 (after a 258-show gap), opening the set of rarely played songs and bust-outs.

Phish, “Demand” 12/31/09 Miami, FL. Video by unclejohn78

The song's debut appearance on Hoist included “Split Open and Melt” in the same track. After “Demand” ends, someone can be heard entering a car and putting an analog cassette tape into the car stereo. Then ensues the jam segment from the 4/21/93 “Split,” an instrumental mix of 4/4 and 9/8 time signatures that build in intensity until interrupted by a crash very similar to the start of the original “And So To Bed.” This crash is followed by a splicing of two versions of Phish performing Naomi Shemer’s “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav.” According to an interview with Fishman on the afternoon prior to “Demand’s” live debut, this ending prayer is “like the voice is rising to heaven, the spirit rising out of his body.” Fishman also mentioned in that interview that “Split” was the favorite song of a fan who died in a car wreck, and that her friends wrote Phish a letter to that effect, but that the track was set before that letter arrived.

The full Hoist track (“Demand” > “Split Open and Melt” > “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav”) has only been performed once live – on 6/26/94, which included a performance of the entire album. Some of the best versions came in the fall of 1995, in a legendary series of incredible shows (check out any among 10/8/95, 10/15/95, 10/24/95 or 12/7/95).

Phish, “Demand" > "The Curtain With” 07/20/16 Miami, FL. Video by LazyLightning55a

 

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