Something smells Phishy...

[boarder]

Found these two articles over on AM.org...

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/05/28/trey-anastasio-hints-at-phish-reunion/
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/news/article/59406/phish-lyricist-in-stud

Words cannot describe how happy I would be if something comes of this.

[ryangibson]

Wow. My luck, they'll have this massive awesome tour, but won't come within 500 miles of me! :lol

[S,S,FH]

mmmmmmmmm phish!

[ryangibson]

Any word on this?

[McGinnisM]

On one of the message boards for Rothbury there is plenty of talk of them playing after DMB at Rothbury (which would be midnight or later) but who knows. Its probably all just BS at this point

[ryangibson]

I doubt if I could make it to Rothbury. I need them to come to Atlanta or somewhere in Florida or Tennessee.

[S,S,FH]

Twelve Ways To Spoil A Phish (Reunion)
The Phish is fried. Just as the fervor of internet-Phish-dorkdom reached its frenzied peak of reunion show madness, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell layeth down the smack. To paraphrase the open letter he posted recently on the band’s official website, the hypothetical reunion, “Ain’t happening, bitches.”


To be fair, there’s a lot left up to interpretation in his little four paragraph statement. He definitely doesn’t close the door on the possibility of a Phish reunion, and goes so far as to say that if it weren’t for Mike’s stupid new album about bird watching, they would have already made arrangements. Ok, that’s not exactly what he said. File that under ‘creative interpretation’. But he does say that Phish reuniting is “something I consider very seriously, and I think about it a lot.” Somewhere in America, a glowstick and an Uno card just read this and wet themselves.

As exciting as this all sounds, I’m not entirely sure I’m sold on a Phish reunion. I mean, what’s the point? They had their time and place, right? And let’s be honest, things aren’t exactly like they were at the peak of the Clinton ’90s when Phish was at their most culturally relevant. There’s two wars going on now, the world is melting, there’s nothing good on TV, dogs and cats living together- mass hysteria! Not to mention the fact that most of Phish’s core audience has all moved on to things like ‘lives’ and ‘families’, ‘mini-vans’ and ‘brunch’ and all that adult crap. Is there really room in this fucked up day and age of war and diaper changes for Phish tour? Maybe so, maybe not. READ ON for Neeko’s list of Phishy suggestions…

But honestly, who cares? It’s all speculation and doesn’t amount to anything more than my own cynical opinion. I’m the guy who bitches about every big band reunion announcement, citing some imaginary rules of conduct for former rock n’ roll legends, and then gets up early on a Saturday to score the $190 tickets from ticketbastard. So what the fuck do I know? But in the spirit of all the hypotheticals flying around the internet, I’d like to contribute my own little bit of bullshit and conjecture to the larger pile of bullshit and conjecture known simply as “The How-What-When-and-Why of the Big-Phish-Reunion: A Guide for the Band by the Phans”.

So, should the band choose to return to the stage in any shape or form as Phish here are my own personal suggestions to make the experience more positive for all. To be taken with a grain of salt, shaken, not stirred, and followed up with two lot burritos.

1) Don’t Record a New Album. Seriously. Unless its another Junta or Lawnboy, don’t bother. Just go practice YEM so the poor man can keep his damn left testicle!

2) Lose the Dress. Seriously. Fishman, we know you’re wacky. We’ve all seen your ass on stage. You play a vacuum cleaner. We know you is loco, esse! But that fahkin moo-moo has got to go. The sight of that unwashed sweat rag makes me want to retch. You probably smell like Phys-ed.

3) Record a New Album. Definitely. Or don’t. It’s already been leaked on like ten different p2p sites. whatevs…

4) Publish Your Setlists the Day Before a Show. This will benefit no one; I just think it would be funny to see the reaction online.

5) Two words- The Dude of Life. Everyone loves him, and he always injects that much needed, oft-missing ingredient into the show: sequins.

6) Play Several Short Sets. Like, four or five 25 minute sets a night. Your audience is old now. They’ll need to take more breaks to pee and call the babysitter to check up on the kids.

7) Show tunes!

8) More shows in Camden. The E-Center? More like the “Best-Most-Safest-Place-on-Earth-to-See-a-Show Center”! I hope, if they do reunite, they play all of their shows in beautiful Camden, NJ!

9) Loosen Up. I think the band should play some fun songs, like that Page’s New Shirt song. Their other stuff is so gloomy. Velvet Sea?! Even Page can’t keep it together for that one. If they’re going to come back, they should try not to be so sullen. Maybe smile once in a while up there, guys?

10) Don’t Shine That Thing in My Face, Man. I’m serious… I’m serious. Turn it off. “Oooh! Look how the lights go along with the jams! It’s as if the lights are playing the band!” Shut up, hippy. I’m trying to hang on every movement of Trey’s eyebrows, and those lights are distracting!

11) Less Drama. For instance, the unnecessary pause in The Divided Sky or that long sustained note in that You Enjoy Myself tune. I think we would all rather you get on with it and sing the lyrics already.

and finally, from the Home office in Sioux City, Iowa …

12) Fluffhead. This one is for real. Just play it. Mike, this isn’t really up to you anymore. How would you feel if you went to Disney World with your family, and they refused to let you ride Space Mountain? It’s kind of like that.

Our four favorite geeks from VT may very well never play under the Phish moniker again; that all remains to be seen. But if they do, I’ll be very disappointed if they don’t follow at least a few of these pointers. These suggestions are pure gold, and they know it. And I know the band will see this list because my old roommate is good friends with a guy who used to work at the Green Leafe Café down in VA, and he used to date this girl who’s brother got pot from the same guy as a girl who used to date a friend of Fishman’s, and he said he’ll forward this on to Fishman and Fishman will definitely read it because he reads, like, all of his emails. So, anyway… see you on tour!

http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/twelve-ways-to-spoil-a-phish-reunion/

[ryangibson]

:lol

[THE Chad]

Plus...Trey got a DUI in Saratoga and word around Saratoga is that part of his probation is not appearing on stage (where drink is likely to be consumed). At least that was the speculation on why he did not guest with DMB in SPAC as he normally does.

My guess is more that Tim didn't want to show him up... :lol

[ryangibson]

haha, probably right Chad.

[thesavageguy]

I've never heard a Phish song in my life.

Am I missing out?

[ryangibson]

In my opinion, your missing out. DL some Phish, maybe you'll like it.

[thesavageguy]

Where would you suggest I start?

Is Phish an East Coast thing? When I was going to the cuse, I found it funny the bands people liked out there. For example, Barenaked Ladies here are a one-hit wonder. On the east coast they seem worshiped.

[ryangibson]

Where would you suggest I start?

Is Phish an East Coast thing? When I was going to the cuse, I found it funny the bands people liked out there. For example, Barenaked Ladies here are a one-hit wonder. On the east coast they seem worshiped.

I think they are more popular on the east coast.

I would start with a live album. Just pick one. There are SEVERAL to choose from. It took me a little while to catch on, but once I did, I was hooked. Also, listen to Sirius 17 if you have Sirius radio. Best. Station. Ever.

[Mave Datthews!]

Phish turns 25 today! :boarder

(From Relix):

As many readers may remember, Phish played its first show on December 2, 1983 in the Harris-Millis cafeteria at the University of Vermont. At the time the group was known as Blackwood Convention and focused primarily on covers by bands like The Hollies ("Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"), Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Proud Mary") and the Grateful Dead ("Scarlet Begonias"). According to legend, the musicians used hockey sticks as microphone stands and were cut off during a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" so the predominantly ROTC crowd could dance to Michael Jackson records.

Since today marks the 25th anniversary of Phish’s first concert, we thought we’d reprint the first article Relix ever published on the band. The following clip was written by longtime editor Mick Skidmore for our Too New to Be Known column, a precursor to our current On the Verge section . It originally ran in October 1989, shortly after the release of Phish’s debut album, Junta:

It never ceases to amaze me how many great unsigned bands there are out there.

Phish, a four-piece that hails from Burlington, Vermont, is one such band. It consists of Trey Anastasio on guitar (he also writes most of the music), Page McConnell on keyboards, Jon (Phish) Fishman on drums and trombone, and Mike Gordon on bass.

Phish has a strong base of highly original material that it liberally laces with jazz, rock, funk, calypso, and blues elements, as well as truly bizarre lyrics that would do Frank Zappa proud.

The band has been playing the New England Club and college scene for the past five years to ever-increasing audiences, and on the strength of their self-produced cassette release, Junta, it’s easy to see why.

The tape is superbly recorded and shows the band processes musical flair almost beyond belief. Sure the songs are a little odd, especially the whimsical “Contact,” a love song to a car, and the poetic “Esther,” but the underlying strength of all the material is the virtuoso musicianship and wry sense of humor that runs through it. Guitarist Anastasio’s playing is of a highly exploratory nature and ranges from jazzy runs through melodic phrases to daring improvisations. Keyboardist McConnell embellishes the sound with some intricate playing, while the rest of the band creates a complex mesh of syncopated and polyrhythmic sounds. This is most notable on the lengthy, mainly instrumental “David Bowie” (the only lyrics are the title and UB40 repeated!), and equally exciting “The Divided Sky” and “You Enjoy Myself.”

According to a spokesperson for the band, the tape only reflects a small part of their complex repertoire of originals. They even have an entire suite that runs an hour and a half! I hope we get a chance to hear more from these extremely talented musicians in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, this tape comes highly recommended. For gig dates and other info, call 802-655-xxxx. For the tape, send $9 to: xxx.
:banana

[boarder]

http://www.phish.com/tourdates/index.php?ID=58

Who's going?!?

[Gary!]

So Coventry will be the final Phish show. We are proud and thrilled that it will be in our home state of Vermont. We're also excited for the June and August shows, our last tour together. For the sake of clarity, I should say that this is not like the hiatus, which was our last attempt to revitalize ourselves. We're done. It's been an amazing and incredible journey. We thank you all for the love and support that you've shown us.

Crazy drug-induced comments.

Might try to get to Asheville. I'm not really all that compelled to go for some reason.

[DMBTattoo]

I just requested 2 tickets for Noblesville on June 19. Always wanted to see Phish

[mtrovato328]

I requested 2 for Mansfield!!...

[PAKMAN]

I just requested 2 tickets for Noblesville on June 19. Always wanted to see Phish

I think I might shoot for the same show.
I've never been to a Phish show though.

What's the approx. ticket rate? Comparable to DMB's?

[clwatt3]

Website says 49.50 + fees so 60ish.

[mtrovato328]

it says 49.50

[DMBTattoo]

I think I might shoot for the same show.
I've never been to a Phish show though.

What's the approx. ticket rate? Comparable to DMB's?


i havent either so i figured why not!


Its $119 all said and done. for 2 tickets

[clwatt3]

For anyone going to Hampton, you might want to check this out.

http://bpc3.blogspot.com/

[McGinnisM]

Free downloads of the show available, if anyone wants a data disc with all 3 when it's over shoot me a PM.

[McGinnisM]

Anyone see how much these posters are going for???

[clwatt3]

Holy Shit...

[ryangibson]

I want to go to Knoxville.

[gmunole]

Anyone see how much these posters are going for???

Did you see how much money was confiscated by the po-po at the concert? I guess Phish fans have reloaded the bank accounts with their down time.

Could this be a sign of things to come for the DMB tour? God I hope not

[Rob D]

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=356022&gt1=28102

[McGinnisM]

I would love to see all of those drugs and cash laid out on a table.