Watch: Duane Betts Joins Pink Talking Fish for “Possum” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at Beatles Tribute Show

Photo Credit: Kaelan Barowsky

On Friday, Dec. 3, Pink Talking Fish took the stage at West Hollywood, Calif.’s iconic indie haven The Troubadour for another ambitious fan-forward concept show. In a bill titled “PTF Meets The Beatles,” the storied jam quartet of Eric Gould, Richard James, Zack Burwick and Cal Kehoe added favorites from the Fab Four to their traditional mix of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish, paying tribute to three of the most beloved bands of all time in a 35-track show that set a high bar for forthcoming performances in the New Year. In the throes of a genre-bending medley, the band further elevated their performance with a surprise sit-in from the distinguished blues-rock torchbearer Duane Betts.

PTF kicked off their stand at The Troubadour with a treatment of Pink Floyd’s “In the Flesh?,” then blazed through Phish’s “The Curtain” before coming to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” their first Beatles cover of the show and the source of their matching costumes. After a daring blend of “Psycho Killer” and “Get Back,” the band kept the Beatles hits coming with their debut treatment of “Dear Prudence.”

The band’s high-flying, fully segued first eight songs led them to a more contemplative space, breaking out slow burns like “Time,” “The Great Gig in the Sky,” The Beatles’ “Something” and “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody).” This mellow mood erupted to a roar when Betts emerged for Phish’s “Possum,” which ripped with the addition of his guitar expertise. The very special guest then featured prominently on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” delivering a titanic solo on the George Harrison essential to lead the band into the set break.

Pink Talking Fish returned to the stage with “I Am the Walrus” to set off a second set that featured the evening’s theme band more heavily. Through the second frame, the quartet returned to well-honed covers of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” and debuted a version of “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).”

At the end of the set, the band ripped into a lightning round, sharing a rapid-fire fusion of snippets from “In My Life,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be” before closing with “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.” Betts returned once the lights went down to lead the band through an encore, charging into Bob Dylan’s “Quinn the Eskimo” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise),” then slipping away to let the core quartet wrap the show with a sprawling cover of “A Day in the Life.”

Watch fan-recorded videos of Betts’ collaboration on “Possum” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” below. For tickets and more information on Pink Talking Fish’s ongoing tour, visit pinktalkingfish.com. 

Read the full setlist from Friday night here.