AC/DC Bag

"AC/DC Bag" was a staple at Phish performances for most of the group's existence. The band first played it on April 1, 1986, and did it regularly from that point on. The song first appeared on The White Tape, which was never officially released. The White Tape is the name given to the demo album that Phish put together to shop to bar and club owners while looking for gigs in their early days. The tape never was never given an official name.

The song was the fourth track on Phish frontman Trey Anastasio's senior music-school project titled The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday. That project eventually morphed into Gamehendge, a kind of unofficial, perpetually evolving musical that Phish developed over many years. In that Gamehendge story, the AC/DC Bag is a robotic executioner used by Wilson, the saga's antagonist (and namesake of "Wilson"). The song tells the story of the fictional Mr. Palmer, part of the revolution to overthrow Wilson, who has taken over the fantasy world of Gamehendge. Wilson sentences Palmer to death. The lyrics switch between the words of Wilson and the words of Palmer. Wilson condemns Palmer while Palmer refuses to be cowed and calls for the execution to go on. After that, we hear Palmer discussing his grim future (or lack thereof).

The second line of the song, "Just like Roger he's a crazy little kid," refers to the son of Errand Woolfe, the leader of the resistance against Wilson. The name was taken from Anastasio's friend, Roger Holloway. Holloway proposed to his girlfriend on stage at a Phish show on April 4, 1993. He also co-wrote (with Anastasio) the song "Aftermath."