Performances
Song History
Lyrics
7/2/11 was the second Monkey I have heard, and coincidentally ended what was the best 25th birthday a young gentleman could ask for. "Icing on the cake" indeed.Here is how it looked from my angle.
Score: 0
Sleeping Monkey
Music/Lyrics: Anastasio, Marshall
Vocals: Trey, Fish
Albums: At the Roxy, Live Phish 12, Live Phish 13, Live Phish 16, Live Phish 20
Debut: 1992-03-06
Historian: Mockingbird Staff
Last Update: 2011-07-08
Fans look forward to most Phish songs for the jams. “Sleeping Monkey,” though, has become a welcome concert treat because it offers a glimpse of the band’s sometimes-bawdy sense of humor. Sung by Trey and Fishman, with tongues firmly planted in cheek, the song tells the tale of a narrator who laments the disappearance (or, should we say, malfunction) of his “monkey.” Laden with acute sexual references and double entendres, it is nine parts fun and one part music. Fishman’s vocal performance on the final chorus, singing as high-pitched and whiny as the narrator surely feels, provides the icing on this cake. Also, many fans will recognize the ending jam as the tag from The Beatles’ “Let it Be”; a clever ending given “Monkey’s” frustrating tale of woe.
"Sleeping Monkey" – 10/30/10, Atlantic City, NJ
“Sleeping Monkey” began its life in the Phish repertoire exclusively in an encore role, then diversified a bit in the latter ‘90s, then returned to it's encore-only role after 6/30/00. The song’s presentation doesn’t usually change much from performance to performance, but there are some versions that are particularly fun to hear. Seek out 3/14/92 (with John Popper on harmonica), 10/29/94 (“Monkey” inside of a hot, raging “Antelope”), 10/24/95 (which arose a cappella from the “YEM” vocal jam, and was followed by an amazing “Antelope”), 12/6/97 (near the end of a hot, jam-filled second set), 7/8/98 (with Beatriz from Chile on stage), and 12/28/03 (“Monkey” is revived and rewarded with a “Loving Cup”). 2010 introduced a strong association with "Tweezer Reprise" as a one-two encore punch; in the case of 6/18/10, a one-two-three punch of "Sleeping Monkey" > "Tweezer Reprise," "Tweezer Reprise!" For another fun twist, seek out 5/2/93, where Trey forgot Tom Marshall’s lyrics and was embarrassed because Tom was in attendance!
For nearly twenty years and close to 1,000 shows, that was the story of “Sleeping Monkey.” Until 7/2/11, when Phish found themselves trapped in a storage facility. WHAT!??!?! After three sets of music on the second night of the Super Ball IX festival, Phish returned to play a “secret” fourth set inside a structure labelled “USA Storage” located in the festival’s Ball Square. The set consisted of roughly an hour of wildly experimental, structureless, effects-driven improvisation that culminated in by far the strangest reading of “Sleeping Monkey” they’ve ever played and, in all likelihood, ever will.
"Sleeping Monkey" – 7/2/11 (early morning of 7/3/11), Watkins Glen, NY
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7/2/11 was the second Monkey I have heard, and coincidentally ended what was the best 25th birthday a young gentleman could ask for. "Icing on the cake" indeed.Here is how it looked from my angle.