Day 3: Phish

(Disclaimer: This is 90% finished, but still a work in progress. However, I am done for the day and i think it's at least good enough to post, so, here it is. And thanks very much to vandyfan who helped me out a lot with the layout and html and everything)

PHISH

General Information

Phish:




Phish was formed at The University of Vermont in 1983 by guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman. They began playing at fraternity parties and small clubs, slowly gaining in popularity. The pianist Page McConnell joined the band in September of 1985 after seeing the band perform. Jeff Holdsworth left the band in May of 1986 leaving us with the four members who would makeup Phish for the next 23 years.

The Band:





Trey Anastasio is the guitarist and singer of the band. He began writing songs that would later become Phish staples in high school. It is argued among Phish circles who the best musician is in the band. However it is not argued who is the face of the band. This is Trey, most definitely the most recognizable member of the band.




Page is the pianist. From all the arguments I have read about who the best musician in the band is, I have definitely read Pages name the most. Page also sings on some songs.




Mike is the bassist. In my opinion the weirdest member of the band, which is pretty tough with this group of guys. Mike also sings on a few songs.



Fish is the drummer of the band. He also plays the vaccum. Yes, strange, but he does it. Also strange, he wears a dress. Fish very rarely sings, mainly because he has a horrible voice (argue if you want, but it’s true.)

Studio Albums:


1988 - Junta is a double disc album released, it is the bands first official studio album.
Featured Tracks: Fluffhead, The Divided Sky, You Enjoy Myself (Very hard to limit to three, but that is what my attempt will be to do)

1991 – A Picture of Nectar
Featured Tracks: Stash, Tweezer, Chalkdust Torture

1991 – Lawnboy
Featured Tracks: Reba, Bathtub Gin, Run Like an Antelope

1993 – Rift
Featured Tracks: Rift, Maze, Horn

1994 – Hoist
Featured Tracks – Down With Disease, Sample In A Jar, Wolfman’s Brother, (I have to add Scent of a Mule)

1996 – Billy Breathes
Featured Tracks – Free, Character Zero, Prince Caspian

1998 – The Story of the Ghost
Featured Tracks: Ghost, Guyute, Wading In the Velvet Sea

2000 – Farmhouse
Featured Tracks: Farmhouse, Piper, First Tube

2000 – The Siket Disc
Featured Tracks: What’s the Use, Quadrophonic Toppling, Albert

2002 – Round Room
Featured Tracks: 46 Days, Walls of the Cave, Waves

2004 - Undermind
Featured Tracks: Undermind, Army of One, Two Versions of Me

Live Albums:



The band has released a number of official live albums. These are a few of them. They have also released a very large numer of live albums through their website livephish.com .

Halloween Shows
In 1994 the band began a tradition of covering an album in full on halloween. This was done four times. The first, in 1994, the band covered The Beatles’ White Album. 1995 saw them cover The Who’s Quadrophenia. In 1996 they covered The Talking Heads’ Remain In Light. And finally in 1998 they covered Velvet Underground’s Loaded.

Vacuum Left By The Grateful Dead
The band experienced a surge in popularity in 1995 after the death of The Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. Deadheads had a big hole to fill and Phish was an answer to many of them. At the same time they released their only music video to date for “Down With Disease” which got some play on MTV. It was also featured in an episode of Beavis and Butthead. A Live One was also released the same year, their first album to go gold.

Tape Trading
Phish’s popularity very much comes from their live show. They were very kind and/or smart in allowing people to tape their shows and distribute them. Nearly every show they have ever done has been recorded and is traded among tape trading circles. Now, with the insurgence of the internet the reach of these shows has grown immensely. They are the only band who can sell out some of the biggest arenas in the world without ever having a hit album or single. You almost never see them on TV or hear them on the radio, yet they became one of the top 10 grossing live acts in North America.

GAMEHENDGE
Gamehendge is the name of a fictional place that was created for Trey’s senior thesis at Goddard College in 1987. He created The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, which is a story told through song and narration. Some of Phish’s most famous songs come from this work. Gamehendge has been performed five times in its entirety and it is always a hope for most Phish fans (at least me) that we can be in attendance the next time it is performed.

Tracklist of TMWSIY and Gamehendge straight from wikipedia:
Songs from The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday

1. The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday (The introduction features the story's main theme music as the narrator describes the lonely life of Colonel Forbin and what happens when he begins to see an image of a strange door on a daily basis)
2. The Lizards (Colonel Forbin, while on a walk with his dog McGrupp, decides to finally walk through the door, thus entering the land of Gamehendge. The song features Colonel Forbin hearing tales about the saga of the Lizards, Wilson, and the Helping Friendly Book as told by native Rutherford the Brave)
3. Tela (Colonel Forbin joins Rutherford and other allies, one of whom is the beautiful Tela. The song reveals Colonel Forbin's deep feelings for Tela)
4. Wilson (a song introducing the evil king Wilson, who captured the Helping Friendly Book from the Lizards and declared himself ruler of Gamehendge)
5. AC/DC Bag (tells the story of the execution of Mr. Palmer, Wilson's accountant. Palmer was using Wilson's money to secretly fund the revolution, and was therefore hanged in the town square by the AC/DC Bag, a mechanical hangman)
6. Colonel Forbin's Ascent (details Colonel Forbin's journey to the top of a giant mountain to ask for the help of Icculus, the Supreme God of the Sky, in regaining the Helping Friendly Book, which Icculus wrote, from Wilson)
7. Fly Famous Mockingbird (Icculus sends his friend, the Famous Mockingbird, to retrieve the Helping Friendly Book from Wilson's Castle)
8. The Sloth (once the book is recovered, the Sloth is hired by the allies to murder Wilson)
9. Possum (a non-Gamehendge song written by original Phish guitarist Jeff Holdsworth and later entered into the story by Anastasio with altered lyrics to fit the Gamehendge theme. It offers a strange moral: Icculus considers all that's happened in Gamehendge, offers a slogan to consider ("ain't no truth in action unless you believe it anyway") and describes the roadside demise of a possum. Aside from "Col. Forbin's Ascent," this is Icculus's only direct speech in the Gamehendge saga.)

Other Gamehendge songs

1. The Divided Sky (a chant performed by the Lizards as they stand on the edge of a rhombus and shout to the sky, praising Icculus)
2. Llama (a tale from the later years of Wilson's reign in Gamehendge during a violent war)
3. McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters (the story of a shepherd who lives in Gamehendge, whose flock is watched over by Colonel Forbin's dog, McGrupp)
4. Punch You In The Eye (tells the story of a traveller who passes through Gamehendge during Wilson's reign and his subsequent escape from Wilson's jail)
5. Icculus (introduces Icculus, the Supreme God of the Sky and author of the Helping Friendly Book)
6. Harpua (tells the story of a mean bulldog who sometimes lives in Gamehendge, however not all Harpua narration sequences include Gamehenge)
7. Axilla (a tale of monsters, witches, and battles in old time Gamehendge)
8. Axilla, Part 2 (told years later during peacetime in Gamehendge as the narrator reflects on the land's past turmoil)
9. Kung (a chant that one must perform in order to enter the land of Gamehendge)

Phish 2.0 and 3.0
In October of 2000, the band played its last show before a hiatus that found each of the band members performing in their own side projects. They returned to the stage for a New Years run in 2002. This period would become known as Phish 2.0. They toured until August of 2004 when they announced that the band would be no more. 80,000 people came out to Coventry, VT to see what was believed to be the last ever Phish performance. The band seemed split in the sense that it seemed some members did not want to break up. I was in attendance and it seemed the least cohesive of all the shows I have attended. Not really the way I wanted to see my favorite band go out. Then, over four years later came an announcement from Phish 3.0. They would be returning in March of 2009 for a run of shows at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia. I was unfortunately unable to attend, but the band to show their fanbase that they wished we could all be there, posted the soundboards of all three nights up on their website for free. I am glad to say that in my opinion they sound way better than all of Phish 2.0. There are a number of high quality videos on youtube of the Hampton shows here
Phish has announced an extensive summer tour which includes what should be two very memorable shows at Bonnaroo.

What to Expect at Bonnaroo:

This is very hard to say. Every single Phish show is different from any other show. The recent Hampton run was three nights and not a single song was repeated. Phish is billed for Bonnaroo for two shows, one show labeled as a “Special Late Night Set.” This can mean many different things and there are different ideas as to what might entail a “Special Late Night Set.” I think it’s safe to say that at the very least it will be an extra long Phish show lasting until the sun rises. The other end of the spectrum would involve Gamehendge in some way. It is a long shot that they would perform it, as it has only been performed in full five times. But, if you consider the facts that 1) Phish, even though they have never played a Roo, is almost like the poster child of the festival. Their members have been represented at almost every Roo to date. 2) It is being billed as a “Special Late Night Set” and 3) I think the Fluffhead opener at Hampton shows that the band wants to show their fans that they know what they want and aren’t afraid to give it to them, so why not Gamehendge. Still, a longshot, but not out of the realm of possibility. No matter what they decide to do, it will undoubtedly for me be the highlight of the weekend. The mere fact that there are going to be 60,000-80,000 people all “sharing in the groove” is going to make this an incredible experience even if they play The Curtain With forty times in a row. Anyone who has seen Phish I am sure will be in attendance, and to anyone who hasn’t I urge you to make sure you do not skip what is bound to be an amazing time.

A few things to look foward to during a Phish show:

• Glowstick Wars – During some songs there will be glostick wars. They are not exclusive to Phish shows, but I believe they enhance the show. During a jam or a point of high intensity hundreds or thousands of glowsticks are all thrown into the air making almost a second light show. If some land at your feet, go ahead pick them up and throw them back. (Not at the band though!!)
  
  
  
• YEM Trampolines - Earlier in the history of the band, while they played the song You Enjoy Myself, Trey and Mike would play while jumping on small trampolines with synchronized moves. After a period of not performing this ritual, it was brought back during the Hampton run.
  
  
  
  
• Da-dum Da-dum WILSON - In the beginning of the song wilson, their is some audience participation. Check out this Hampton vid for exactly what I mean.
  
  Wilson starts at around 4:20
  
  
• Bathtub Gin – Just before the extended solo Trey says “Cause we’re all in this together,” then entire audience: “And we love to take a bath.”

It is impossible to actually explain what it is like to be present at one of Phish’s shows. It is much more than just the music they are playing. It is about experiencing something special with so many other people and the feeling of community is so strong that it overwhelms you.