Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Matching Phish with Republicans, A Task Not for the Weary, or Dull

Thankfully, the 20th and final Republican debate has come and passed.

Now and for the reminder of the election, we won't have to haphazardly catch – at the same time and on the same stage – any of Rick Santorum’s wrath of God diatribes, Newt Gingrich’s myriad countenances, Ron Paul’s stammering responses, and, lest I forget, though it’s so very easy to, Mitt Romney’s drab closing remarks, while channel surfing again.

In recognizing this blissful truth, and in honor of the 10-state vote fest that is Super Tuesday, I decided to see if I could match, through comparing habits and personalities, the four candidates with the four members of Phish.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Phish Announces Additional Summer Dates


Phish Summer Tour 2012 Announcement from Phish on Vimeo.


After letting its fans guess and squirm for over two months, Phish unveiled yesterday the complete list of dates for the first leg of its 2012 summer tour.

The tour, which features 20 stops from Bonnaroo to Alpine Valley, will include two indoor shows at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. Opening the tour, the air-conditioned shows should provide an interesting shift, albeit short, from the traditional summer schedule.

Over the past few months, rumors swirled about a three-day run at Bader Field in Atlantic City, N.J. And Phish confirmed those yesterday. The shows -- Jun. 15, 16, and 17 -- trail the band’s Bonnaroo appearance and, with the camping option, will extend the festival mood for at least a few more stops.

As with all tours, fans can request tickets through the pre-order lottery, which runs until Mar. 12.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Phish Bassist Bound for Europe

Mike Gordon is taking his solo act abroad this summer, with a five-show European tour.

The tour, announced today via mike-gordon.com, begins on March 13 in Amsterdam at the Melkweg, where the Phish bassist will remain for two more nights before closing the mini-run Mar. 18 in London at The Borderline.

The lone London date also appeared on phish.com.

This will mark the first time Gordon has toured Europe sans his band mates. Phish traveled there in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The quartet has also toured in Japan. 

While there is no way of knowing if Phish could have plans for a European tour of its own sometime in 2012 or beyond, the band may tour in the United States during the summer.

So far, rumors of a June festival at Bader Field in Atlantic City have spread voraciously on Phantasy Tour, a Phish message board, with many fans all but confirming the event. 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Roller Coaster Rides of Energy

The ebb and flow of energy at Phish shows is palpable. As the tide turns, you feel the shift, both physically and emotionally. 

Sometimes, it's apparent in the euphoria that, beginning at the pit of your stomach, rises to the back of your throat, and, other times, it's in the goose pimples sprouting on your arms.

The venue itself seems to react, as well. (This is more apparent indoors than outdoors.) At moments of tranquility, it has an air of calm. At moments of dynamism, it pulsates.

We pinpoint these different energies immediately, often with a wave of cheerful applause, expressing gratitude to the band for succeeding in altering our mindsets -- until, of course, the next new aura takes hold. 

Now, before I present two examples, let me first offer a quick caveat: I am a 3.0 baby, my first show being in 2009 at Boston's Fenway Park. Thus, I am positive that there are better, more notable changes in mood that have occurred than the ones I will present.

I only wish I could have witnessed them. 

June 17, 2010/Comcast Center, Hartford, Ct./"Walk Away"


This version of The James Gang's only top 40 hit was just the third of its kind in 3.0. Already invigorated by an exceptional "Esther," the crowd used Trey's energetic solo as rocket fuel. It floated in space for much of "The Divided Sky," eventually coming to a peaceful landing during "When the Circus Comes to Town."

December 31, 2011/ Madison Square Garden/ "46 Days"

(Song begins at 5:45)

New Year's Eve's second set was getting better and better when, as "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" came to a leisurely close, Trey began the opening section of "46 Days." As the song tore on, it brought both band and crowd together as one big kinetic family. Simply listen to the wild applause that followed, and you'll discern the impact of this forceful version. 

Monday, January 2, 2012

All in a Phish New Year's Night


Phish.net

Manhattan hummed. In the unseasonably mild night, scores of revelers preparing to ring in the new year trotted by Madison Square Garden, pleasantly oblivious to what was about to ensue within its storied walls.

Unbeknownst to them, inside, a tradition that began 17 years ago, and so suffused with passion that one could dub it a ritual, was about to be renewed: Phish, the eclectic quartet with legions of zealous followers, would perform at the Garden on New Year's Eve.

Indeed, having etched itself into the building’s vast history, the band deserves to have its best years immortalized on banners, hung alongside those of the Rangers and Knicks.   

As the moment approached when both house lights and house music switch off, fans poured in to their respected sections, concession lines grew and water bottle caps collected, perhaps in the thousands. 

Phish's devoted arrived in waves, donning everything from shimmering dresses to flashing battery-powered headpieces to ruffled blazers to suits with bow ties. 

High above them, affixed to the Garden's circus tent-style roof, were clusters of balloons; some multicolored, shaped traditionally; others white, shaped like sausages. At the stroke of midnight, they would drop down, save for a few stragglers.

Prior to the show, the sometimes-deranged,always-discursive Phish message board on phantasytour.com had been buzzing with decidedly mixed reviews of the previous three shows.

Here, now, is a concise one-sentence summary of the gripes: Because it had probably spent little to no time practicing for the run, Phish was performing shoddily and, much worse, displaying an apparent unwillingness to take musical risks. 

Phish scribe Dave Calarco -- otherwise known as Mr. Miner -- who recently penned a sizable Phish tome titled Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts: An Anthology by a Fan for the Fans, had a vexing question on his mind going into show four.

"Now with only three sets left, one has to wonder what has happened?" he wrote on his popular blog,phishthoughts.com. "Will New Year's Eve follow the steady decline of the week, or will Phish come to the rescue with a show that will give zest to the bland taste left in the mouths of so many fans over the past two nights?"

Well, after three sets, over three hours of music, and a riveting acrobatic spectacle, the most apt response to Calarco's inquiry would be that Phish, at least musically, failed to turn heads, instead putting in a workmanlike effort with few auditory surprises.

Yet even in spite of this, it crafted an exceptional memory -- a night its fans will hold forever and which will doubtless launch thousands of “remember when” stories.

This, in the end, being all its faithful could ever want.

A one-two punch of "AC/DC Bag" and "Wolfman's Brother" only managed to ignite a fleeting fervor. As the first slate drew on, the energy clearly waned. However, after a dreary "Farmhouse," which caused twirling fans to become resting ones, Phish tugged at the crowd’s heartstrings with a beautifully placed "Pebbles and Marbles."

Then came "Ocelot," which, to be frank, has become a bit like an old, smelly, ragged feline one expects to see creeping through a dank alley. The song, from Phish's most recent album "Joy," always brings a dull, structuralized improvisation.

When Phish finishes the tune's composed section, it tends to claw at the same tired notes. Most versions, aside from a few shockers of course, follow this script. 

Ending with a soaring peak is never a bad decision, so a searing "Fluffhead," featuring a crowd-pleasing "Auld Lane Syne" tease woven in, proved the perfect close to the dismal opening frame.

"Party Time" led off the second set, and similar to a leadoff hitter in baseball that the manager trusts to reach base, it served its purpose by priming the crowd for a power hitter waiting in the wings. 

Unfortunately, such a hitter did not show up until later in the set.

Phish sent "Light" to the plate next and chose to bring this version into the very heart of some psychedelic groundswell. The jam shifted pace from fiery to reserved. Chris Kuroda’s lights mimicked the mood. 

Then, somewhere amid the deep groove, anchored largely by bassist Mike Gordon, Trey Anastasio -- in many respects Phish’s unofficial skipper -- teased the opening riff of TV on the Radio’s “Golden Age.”

It was a message to his band mates: time to come back to earth. But they did not immediately oblige, resulting in an awkward transition.

Gordon, keyboardist Page McConnell and drummer Jon Fishman slowly slipped into the song’s structure, though with mixed results. Phish played this “Golden Age” fast -- supersonic time signature fast. It was as if it had to complete the song in order to keep from falling into a pool of sharks.

Two time fillers followed in “Theme from the Bottom” and “Heavy Things” before the set hit its stride. “Ghost” began an end sequence that by its final song, a raucous “Suzy Greenberg,” had spurred thousands of grinning countenances.

In the middle was an epic “46 Days.” A suddenly vivacious Anastasio let loose a fury of sound, building and building and building his solo. He was emotive, bobbing his head up and down -- his shaggy red hair flopping in his face.

It took eight songs for the party to begin. And there was one more set to come.

Midnight approached. “Cavern,” usually a closer, opened set three. After it ended, a pot of boiling water screeched and steamed. Intrepid fans knew immediately what was coming.

Or so they thought.

“Steam” started up as they anticipated. But what they were not prepared for was the floating objects -- a keytar, speaker cabinet, bass and vacuum – heading toward Heaven through the thick smoke released sporadically during the song’s chorus.

Nor were they ready when a dancer took flight, accompanied by part of the security gate. And when members of the crowd wearing glowing backpacks made to resemble jetpacks levitated, too, insanity enveloped the Garden.

With the airborne excitement, it was easy to forget that the clock was still ticking to 2012. A bodiless voice echoed through the arena counting down … 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 … the balloons fell, and Anastasio initiated “Auld Lane Syne.”

The second song of 2012 was “Down with Disease.” It reprised the floating dancers and even had Anastasio and Gordon joining in on the gag. Using wireless instruments, they stood on rising platforms. Amazingly, the height didn’t seem to faze them -- neither missed a note.

The rest of the set, like the year before it, seemed to fly by. A “First Tube” provided fans one more opportunity to boogie (an overjoyed young woman announced that she was going to dance so hard that she would need to remove her pants).

After the encore, “Slave to the Traffic Light,” reached its musical mountaintop, Anastasio thanked everyone, wishing them a Happy New Year.

Fans departed the Garden, but not before letting out one final wind rush of cheers to greet the cool air. The city was wide-awake. Another Phish concert had come and gone.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Let us Now Go unto MSG and See this thing which Phish has Made Known to Us

The venerable quest has begun, as a formerly weary traveler, newly refreshed thanks to a draught of caramel caffeine, departs one city on his way to another.

The journey, though, unlike adventures experienced, say, during the crusades, will be drab, colorless, without blood or beast or plunder.

But the prize, similar to the chalice -- the Holy Grail -- will, while not imbuing the pilgrim with eternal life, bring him undying splendor: New Year’s Eve with Phish at the newly renovated Madison Square Garden.

A jam-seeking hero etches himself into Phish lore.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Classic Trey

In light of the recent announcement that Trey will embark on an orchestral tour this winter, I thought it might be wise to present clips of the four symphonies he will perform with.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Colorado Symphony Orchestra

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Los Angeles Philharmonic