Page’s much anticipated debut solo album combines the signature heartfelt vocals, memorable musical hooks, and complex animated improvisations that made his contributions to Phish so vital. we performed at the Gramercy Theater in NYC for the launch of his tour and new album.

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Coney Island’s sideshows had PT Barnum… Monte Carlo’s Ballet Russe had Diagalev… and Broadway had Florenz Ziegfeld Jr, a huckster, a gambler, and a womanizer of exquisite taste who introduced his signature showgirls, brought vaudeville comedians uptown, and staged elaborate productions which made legends of composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern. Ziegfeld’s Follies spanned 25 years and were patterned after the Folies Bergère in Paris where sex and exotica were mixed with topical humor, operettas, and gymnastics. The word Follies derives from the Latin word for “leaves” (foliae), connoting the idea of an outdoor venue, so it was fitting that Flo’s annual Follies were originally staged in the rooftop theaters of Manhattan’s growing skyline.
…more about The Great Ziegfeld

Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

Warner Bros had such a string of hits with the Gold Diggers movies they couldn’t get them out the door fast enough! MGM fired back with this reunion of hit-makers Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown who had won the Oscar in 1929 with Broadway Melody, the world’s first cinema musical. The Broadway Melody sequels steal shamelessly from Busby Berkeley’s genius, combining stage tricks and camera magic with eyepopping choreography and hummable tunes, but they differ in three important ways: you actually LIKE the characters in the MGM movies, the Gold Diggers musicals star Dick Powell — Melody features Eleanor Powell, and the Melodies take the even numbered years (’36, ‘38, 40) while the Gold Diggers take the odd (33, 35, 37).
…more about Broadway Melody of 1936

The Wiz (1978)

Quincy Jones updates the Wizard of Oz with an uplifting disco-soul soundtrack, but director Sidney Lumet bungles the innercity finding-yourself musical set against racial themes and New York City landmarks. Diana Ross, Micheal Jackson, Richard Pryor, Lena Horn…, the film showcases a legendary cast and one of the greatest musical talents of our age (Jones appears briefly in a nod to Cab Calloway as a piano player in the Emerald City), but Lumet robs the film of all empathy or excitement by shooting scenes wide and long from across the parking lot. It’s almost as if he is afraid to get too close to his Black performers. What would otherwise be a sparkling Motown musical as great as MGM’s original Wizard becomes a tinsel race-card curiosity.

I took these photos of New York City from the Empire State Building on Nov 24th, 2006. Amazingly clear night, visibility was 25 miles.