This site is no longer maintained. Use phish.net or current.phish.net.
Anarchy has not been seen in 1749 Phish shows.
It was last played: 1989-10-14.
It was played at 0.54% of live shows.
It has been performed live 11 time(s).
Music/Lyrics: Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell
Vocals: Trey
Debut: 1985-03-04
Historian: Mark Toscano
"Anarchy" was really no more than ten seconds of blaring punk chords supported by breakneck drumming from Fishman, all accompanied by repetitive shrieks of “Anarchy!” It was basically a joke song that didn’t even make it into the nineties – the final known version took place on 10/14/89. If you truly want to experience the many interesting and excitingly diverse versions of this tune, by all means listen to 4/15/86, 10/15/86, 4/29/87 (two in a row), and 8/10/87 (three in a row).
“Anarchy” does have a bastard sibling, an equally thought-provoking composition supported by lyrics that almost live up to the sweet, poetic beauty of this, a song that finds us in perhaps Phish’s finest hour. Played only one delirious time on 10/17/85, “Revolution” will likewise have you cursing songs like “Reba” and “The Squirming Coil” as pedantic and amateurish.
Lyrics: