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***Official Phish Thread*** (3 Viewers)

Otis said:
snitwitch said:
Asking for a Phish show without 10 minute jams is missing the point.
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Agree completely. It hasn't "clicked" for you at all. Not to say it's a terrible thing if you are into the short, poppy, jam-less songs, but you also aren't listening to them for what they are really all about. It took me a long time (and some narcotics probably) to appreciate them but I can remember the period when me and my buddies would always have some Phish live tape playing everywhere we went. It was the soundtrack for several years. I never went to the weekend-long festivals (my friends went to them yearly), but I did see them in concert, and it's pretty insane.
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Maybe I should've said "studio Phish" clicked for me. I was open and wanted to get into a new band. Some people I know suggested BB and Hoist and I liked them. Now I'm making the next step. Sorry if I offended.
 
Tiger Fan said:
Maybe I should've said "studio Phish" clicked for me. I was open and wanted to get into a new band. Some people I know suggested BB and Hoist and I liked them. Now I'm making the next step. Sorry if I offended.
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Don't apologize. There is no need for someone to be negative about something they are fans of that someone else wants to get into. I'm also sick of all the "you need drugs to enjoy it" crap that pops up on every Phish or Dead thread. What isn't better if you're on drugs :P , but if you can't just enjoy listening to the music at home or in the car, I feel bad for you.
 
Tiger Fan said:
Otis said:
snitwitch said:
Asking for a Phish show without 10 minute jams is missing the point.
Click to expand...
Agree completely. It hasn't "clicked" for you at all. Not to say it's a terrible thing if you are into the short, poppy, jam-less songs, but you also aren't listening to them for what they are really all about. It took me a long time (and some narcotics probably) to appreciate them but I can remember the period when me and my buddies would always have some Phish live tape playing everywhere we went. It was the soundtrack for several years. I never went to the weekend-long festivals (my friends went to them yearly), but I did see them in concert, and it's pretty insane.
Click to expand...
Maybe I should've said "studio Phish" clicked for me. I was open and wanted to get into a new band. Some people I know suggested BB and Hoist and I liked them. Now I'm making the next step. Sorry if I offended.
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Don't sweat it, TF. You hear this kind of stuff all the time from hardcore fans of certain artists. I can't tell you how many times I've been told I'm not a true fan of, say, Pink Floyd because I happen to think the best song they ever did "Wish You Were Here" - even though I was buying PF records before most of them were alive & can back up my reasoning. If you like the tighter, studio-based aspect of Phish that doesn't make you any less right about a band (I happen to like the same side of them you do). I know most just want you to get the full enjoyment of them & aren't trying to demean you, but it smacks all too often of snobbery.
 
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:thumbup:

I'd recommend the DVD"s as well as soon as you buy that new Plasma......

Tiger are you into moe.... You'll love the Phish stuff and hopefully you'll catch a show and it will really click but at least you know moe is coming to a town near you soon and that's a great time as well.

It would be nice if Phish could play Vegas the same weekend as WCOFF!!!!!!

I caught those last Phish Vegas shows with moe playing the nightcap till 5am at House of Blues which was sweet.

 
I wish I was into Phish as much now as I was 10 years ago. i used to trade "tapes" with people all over the country. Had at least 500 shows.

I dont even own a tape player anymore!

Man, with nugs.net and bit torrent and what not, I could have gotten that 500 shows in a few weeks, rather than a few years. Oh well.

If I were you, I would go back to 1991 and find the shows with the Giant Country Horns. Those shows were sick. Man, what spring/summer/fall. Dead tour with a spattering of some great Phish shows. My folks were not too happy (I was only 16), but it doesnt get any better than the Dead with Bruce Hornsby, and some Branfrod Marsalis...and Phish with some kick-### horns. Yippee

 
As a long time Phish fan, I'd recommend some shows from 1997 to a newbie. Those shows tend to be funkier and much more coherant than some of the (excellent) madness from 1993-1995, when Phish was really improvising without a net much of the time. Some of that material takes a little more seasoning to enjoy.

A few suggestions:

Saturday, November 22, 1997

Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

Set I: Mike's Song -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood, Train Song, Billy Breathes, Frankenstein, Izabella

Set II: Halley's Comet -> Tweezer -> Black-Eyed Katy > Piper, Run Like An Antelope

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer Reprise

** An all around classic. The Mike's Groove set opener was a jaw dropper. The second set just cooks -- Especially the funked out Tweezer->BEK. One of the best setlists you'll ever hear.

Tuesday, July 22, 1997

Walnut Creek Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC

Check: Limb by Limb (three times), Vultures, Water in the Sky, I Saw it Again (first verse only)

Set I: Runaway Jim -> My Soul, Water in the Sky, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Vultures, Bye Bye Foot, Taste

Set II: Down with Disease -> Mike's Song -> Simple -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Hello My Baby

Encore: When the Circus Comes, Harry Hood

** The segue from Down With Disease into Mike's is one of the most fluid, perfect you'll ever hear by ANY band. Man, was it nasty out that night. Horrible thunderstorm that night.

Wednesday, July 9, 1997

Le Transbordeur, Lyon/Villeurbanne, France

Check: Funky #####, Jam

Set I: Punch You in the Eye > Prince Caspian, Ginseng Sullivan, Split Open and Melt, Dirt, Taste, Sweet Adeline, Harry Hood

Set II: Down with Disease > My Soul > Cars Trucks Buses, You Enjoy Myself -> Ghost > Poor Heart

Encore: Hello My Baby

** Most of the second set with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Awesome.

Saturday, December 6, 1997

The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI

Check: Dog Gone Dog, AC/DC Bag, Ginseng Sullivan, Black-Eyed Katy

Set I: Golgi Apparatus, Run Like An Antelope, Train Song > Bathtub Gin -> Foam, Sample in a Jar, Fee > Maze, Cavern

Set II: Tweezer -> Izabella -> Jam -> Twist -> Piper, Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer Reprise

Encore: Rocky Top

Sunday, December 7, 1997

Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton, OH

Set I: AC/DC Bag -> Psycho Killer -> Jesus Just Left Chicago, My Mind's Got a Mind of Its Own, It's Ice -> Swept Away > Steep > It's Ice, Theme From the Bottom, Tube, Tube Jam -> Slave to the Traffic Light

Set II: Timber (Jerry), Wolfman's Brother -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Reba, Guyute > Possum

Encore: A Day in the Life

** Both shows are utter insanity. Most underrated back-to-back nights ever.

Tuesday, December 30, 1997

Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Set I: Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley -> Taste, Water in the Sky, Punch You in the Eye, Stash, Chalk Dust Torture, A Day in the Life

Set II: AC/DC Bag -> McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Harpua > I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) > Harpua, Izabella > Harry Hood -> My Soul, Sleeping Monkey, Guyute

Encore: Carini -> Black-Eyed Katy -> Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley, Frankenstein

** Words cannot describe how great this show was. They played WAY past curfew.

 
Second the moe. notion Tiger and BrentBlack will agree completely as well. I like moe. more than phish for the exact reason BB stated. They tend to "noodle" much less and the jams are sooo f'n tight. Basically dueling(but complementing) electric and drums(one percussion and the other a standard kit) with a killer bass player. If you like the phish, you need to check out moe.

 
Workhorse said:
Sunday, December 7, 1997Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton, OHSet I: AC/DC Bag -> Psycho Killer -> Jesus Just Left Chicago, My Mind's Got a Mind of Its Own, It's Ice -> Swept Away > Steep > It's Ice, Theme From the Bottom, Tube, Tube Jam -> Slave to the Traffic LightSet II: Timber (Jerry), Wolfman's Brother -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Reba, Guyute > PossumEncore: A Day in the Life
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Great show here.
 
TF - hope you don't feel overwhelmed with all the suggestions. Everyone has their favorites whether it was great shows they attended, first tapes they got, tapes they wore out, etc. When you find lots of fans agreeing on certain shows, you know it's probably a gem.

Here's one I'm sure a lot of us wore out:

10.13.91 North Shore Surf Club, Olympia, WA

The first set contains most of the Gamehendge saga, including narration, that would probably help you understand what Phish is all about. You'll find references to characters and places that tie in to a lot of their songs. The songs are mostly short and manageable, but I think things will click when you hear the few that are a bit longer (Reba, David Bowie).

 
beaglemac said:
snitwitch said:
Asking for a Phish show without 10 minute jams is missing the point.
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No I think he understands completely... Phish isn't that great unless u are high, and enjoy the jam.
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Wrong. I went to most of my Phish shows sober. Didn't make a difference to me. The Grateful Dead, I can see your point. Too many of their jams were aimless noodling IMO. Phish (until toward the end) was always much more focused and dynamic than the GD was.
 
Workhorse said:
As a long time Phish fan, I'd recommend some shows from 1997 to a newbie. Those shows tend to be funkier and much more coherant than some of the (excellent) madness from 1993-1995, when Phish was really improvising without a net much of the time. Some of that material takes a little more seasoning to enjoy.A few suggestions:Saturday, November 22, 1997Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VASet I: Mike's Song -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood, Train Song, Billy Breathes, Frankenstein, IzabellaSet II: Halley's Comet -> Tweezer -> Black-Eyed Katy > Piper, Run Like An AntelopeEncore: Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer Reprise** An all around classic. The Mike's Groove set opener was a jaw dropper. The second set just cooks -- Especially the funked out Tweezer->BEK. One of the best setlists you'll ever hear.Tuesday, July 22, 1997Walnut Creek Amphitheater, Raleigh, NCCheck: Limb by Limb (three times), Vultures, Water in the Sky, I Saw it Again (first verse only)Set I: Runaway Jim -> My Soul, Water in the Sky, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Vultures, Bye Bye Foot, TasteSet II: Down with Disease -> Mike's Song -> Simple -> I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Hello My BabyEncore: When the Circus Comes, Harry Hood** The segue from Down With Disease into Mike's is one of the most fluid, perfect you'll ever hear by ANY band. Man, was it nasty out that night. Horrible thunderstorm that night.Wednesday, July 9, 1997Le Transbordeur, Lyon/Villeurbanne, FranceCheck: Funky #####, JamSet I: Punch You in the Eye > Prince Caspian, Ginseng Sullivan, Split Open and Melt, Dirt, Taste, Sweet Adeline, Harry HoodSet II: Down with Disease > My Soul > Cars Trucks Buses, You Enjoy Myself -> Ghost > Poor HeartEncore: Hello My Baby** Most of the second set with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Awesome.Saturday, December 6, 1997The Palace, Auburn Hills, MICheck: Dog Gone Dog, AC/DC Bag, Ginseng Sullivan, Black-Eyed KatySet I: Golgi Apparatus, Run Like An Antelope, Train Song > Bathtub Gin -> Foam, Sample in a Jar, Fee > Maze, CavernSet II: Tweezer -> Izabella -> Jam -> Twist -> Piper, Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer RepriseEncore: Rocky Top Sunday, December 7, 1997Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton, OHSet I: AC/DC Bag -> Psycho Killer -> Jesus Just Left Chicago, My Mind's Got a Mind of Its Own, It's Ice -> Swept Away > Steep > It's Ice, Theme From the Bottom, Tube, Tube Jam -> Slave to the Traffic LightSet II: Timber (Jerry), Wolfman's Brother -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Reba, Guyute > PossumEncore: A Day in the Life** Both shows are utter insanity. Most underrated back-to-back nights ever.Tuesday, December 30, 1997Madison Square Garden, New York, NYSet I: Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley -> Taste, Water in the Sky, Punch You in the Eye, Stash, Chalk Dust Torture, A Day in the LifeSet II: AC/DC Bag -> McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Harpua > I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) > Harpua, Izabella > Harry Hood -> My Soul, Sleeping Monkey, GuyuteEncore: Carini -> Black-Eyed Katy -> Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley, Frankenstein** Words cannot describe how great this show was. They played WAY past curfew.
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These might be a little too intense for someone who only knows Phish through BB and Hoist. But, Tiger Fan, these are ones to seek out once you're fully turned on to live Phish. IMO 11/22/97 was the best two-set show they ever played.Case in point: I took one of my buddies to a show on that tour (12/2/97 Philly) after he raved about Billy Breathes. The show was too much for him, his mind couldn't make the leap from BB to 20-minute funk jams.
 
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Workhorse said:
Tuesday, December 30, 1997Madison Square Garden, New York, NYSet I: Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley -> Taste, Water in the Sky, Punch You in the Eye, Stash, Chalk Dust Torture, A Day in the LifeSet II: AC/DC Bag -> McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Harpua > I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) > Harpua, Izabella > Harry Hood -> My Soul, Sleeping Monkey, GuyuteEncore: Carini -> Black-Eyed Katy -> Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley, Frankenstein** Words cannot describe how great this show was. They played WAY past curfew.
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Yeah, you're kind of throwing him into the deep end with some of these 97 shows. But, finally here's one that I was at - and it was incredible.
 
TF, go buy a used copy of A Live One to just get your feet wet.

Then report back.

 
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Bobcat10 said:
flapgreen said:
General Malaise said:
Phish is better than Pearl Jam in concert.
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That's not saying much.
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Actually GMs statement is not true. Sorry to disappoint. But, to even compare them live is kinda hard, and really not fair to either band. They are both great in their own ways.I love Phish and listen to them almost as much as PJ. :thumbup:
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When I saw Pearl Jam, I wondered why they used the word jam in the name at all....meh.... To me that's the most overrated band ever and I'd take a Phish, moe or Umphrey show over that any time.All opinions though.... The beauty of music as an art.
 
Reaper said:
Bobcat10 said:
flapgreen said:
General Malaise said:
Phish is better than Pearl Jam in concert.
Click to expand...
That's not saying much.
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Actually GMs statement is not true. Sorry to disappoint. But, to even compare them live is kinda hard, and really not fair to either band. They are both great in their own ways.I love Phish and listen to them almost as much as PJ. :thumbup:
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When I saw Pearl Jam, I wondered why they used the word jam in the name at all....meh.... To me that's the most overrated band ever and I'd take a Phish, moe or Umphrey show over that any time.All opinions though.... The beauty of music as an art.
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Pearl Jam puts on a good live show, it's not as improvisational as Phish, but good nonetheless.
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
Bobcat10 said:
TF, go buy a used copy of A Live One to just get your feet wet.Then report back.
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I think I agree. This is where I'm starting my GB, zamboni.
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I know he's not looking for jams, but if he can't get into Stash and YEM on A Live One, then I'm not sure the direction he will go from there. Those jams are the beauty of it all. Still, he'll get a taste of shorter songs with some good versions of Bouncing, Wilson, ETC. I think he will come around though. :thumbup:
 
FWIW i sat next to Fishman at a wedding reception and asked, prior to the final breakup, what was so different about them now versus then. he said he was bummed they didn't practice like they used to. that's understandable due to family life, etc but i could tell that was what really got Fishman going...the practicing. maybe after a few more years they can devote more time to that and get back together. who knows?

 
Horses Mouth said:
FWIW i sat next to Fishman at a wedding reception and asked, prior to the final breakup, what was so different about them now versus then. he said he was bummed they didn't practice like they used to. that's understandable due to family life, etc but i could tell that was what really got Fishman going...the practicing. maybe after a few more years they can devote more time to that and get back together. who knows?
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Anybody read that Trey article where he talked about drug use being an issue? Was Trey into oxy?
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
Horses Mouth said:
FWIW i sat next to Fishman at a wedding reception and asked, prior to the final breakup, what was so different about them now versus then. he said he was bummed they didn't practice like they used to. that's understandable due to family life, etc but i could tell that was what really got Fishman going...the practicing. maybe after a few more years they can devote more time to that and get back together. who knows?
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Anybody read that Trey article where he talked about drug use being an issue? Was Trey into oxy?
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hey ate em like smarties
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
Horses Mouth said:
FWIW i sat next to Fishman at a wedding reception and asked, prior to the final breakup, what was so different about them now versus then. he said he was bummed they didn't practice like they used to. that's understandable due to family life, etc but i could tell that was what really got Fishman going...the practicing. maybe after a few more years they can devote more time to that and get back together. who knows?
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Anybody read that Trey article where he talked about drug use being an issue? Was Trey into oxy?
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I did read that article...Was it in Rolling Stone? I don't remember...I think he intimated that he (and maybe others) were heavily into the Bolivian Marching Powder
 
AHHHH!

STOP LISTENING TO PHISH. They are so cheesy. Nothing good has come from them. My roomates freaking listen to Phish and get stoned all damn day, and I hate it.

 
Yeah, happened to still have the issue here at work...Here's the Q&A I was referring to:

Q. What secrets have you learned for survival on the road?A. I'm starting to get it figured out now. There are a few simple rules. Don't spend all your time freebasing cocaine -- that's gonna make your tour a lot shorter. It was getting ridiculous there for a while and it was showing. So on the last tour I reeled it in. And get at least five hours of sleep every third night.
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Can't tell if he's joking or not...
 
SoFresh&SoClean said:
AHHHH!STOP LISTENING TO PHISH. They are so cheesy. Nothing good has come from them. My roomates freaking listen to Phish and get stoned all damn day, and I hate it.
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I bet they don't like the Limp Bizkit you listen to either. Stop crying out for attention and leave the thread if you don't like it.
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Yeah, happened to still have the issue here at work...Here's the Q&A I was referring to:

Q. What secrets have you learned for survival on the road?A. I'm starting to get it figured out now. There are a few simple rules. Don't spend all your time freebasing cocaine -- that's gonna make your tour a lot shorter. It was getting ridiculous there for a while and it was showing. So on the last tour I reeled it in. And get at least five hours of sleep every third night.
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Can't tell if he's joking or not...
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i'd say he is serious
 
Tremendous Upside said:
Yeah, happened to still have the issue here at work...Here's the Q&A I was referring to:

Q. What secrets have you learned for survival on the road?A. I'm starting to get it figured out now. There are a few simple rules. Don't spend all your time freebasing cocaine -- that's gonna make your tour a lot shorter. It was getting ridiculous there for a while and it was showing. So on the last tour I reeled it in. And get at least five hours of sleep every third night.
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Can't tell if he's joking or not...
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Not sure that's the one. I'll look around.
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
Horses Mouth said:
FWIW i sat next to Fishman at a wedding reception and asked, prior to the final breakup, what was so different about them now versus then. he said he was bummed they didn't practice like they used to. that's understandable due to family life, etc but i could tell that was what really got Fishman going...the practicing. maybe after a few more years they can devote more time to that and get back together. who knows?
Click to expand...
Anybody read that Trey article where he talked about drug use being an issue? Was Trey into oxy?
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don't know anything about that but i do know that when anyone from the table got up to dance Fishman would snag their cocktails and drink them like they were his own. a bit strange.
 
Minotauro said:
SoFresh&SoClean said:
AHHHH!STOP LISTENING TO PHISH. They are so cheesy. Nothing good has come from them. My roomates freaking listen to Phish and get stoned all damn day, and I hate it.
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I bet they don't like the Limp Bizkit you listen to either. Stop crying out for attention and leave the thread if you don't like it.
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You can do better than that. You must be too high and have Phish soloing too loudly for hours on end with meaningless lyrics to be able to form thoughts correctly.
 
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harryhood said:
Nigel Tufnel said:
Horses Mouth said:
FWIW i sat next to Fishman at a wedding reception and asked, prior to the final breakup, what was so different about them now versus then. he said he was bummed they didn't practice like they used to. that's understandable due to family life, etc but i could tell that was what really got Fishman going...the practicing. maybe after a few more years they can devote more time to that and get back together. who knows?
Click to expand...
Anybody read that Trey article where he talked about drug use being an issue? Was Trey into oxy?
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hey ate em like smarties
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This is the rumor at least. I also think blow was an issue at various times. You know, the rock star lifestyle?I know a guy who still works for one member of the band (was actually one of the few people who got to retain a phish.com email address after they laid everyone off). I asked him a few months ago about the breakup, the chance of reuniting, etc...I don't think I know him well enough for him to answer truthfully. He said that the big reason was that they were going out there and chugging through the same stuff they were doing since college, and 20 years of that can get real old. He intimated Trey was the one feeling most of this feeling. He tried to downplay the drug aspect, but I could kinda tell it was a factor too.I think a reunion will happen one day, but I doubt they will return to their hardcore touring life. If they do reunite, I think practice practice practice is the key... Those guys used to practice for days on end before touring as they were "blowing up" and I think lack of such practice is one of the reasons their later music got so loose and noodley.
 
SoFresh&SoClean said:
Minotauro said:
SoFresh&SoClean said:
AHHHH!

STOP LISTENING TO PHISH. They are so cheesy. Nothing good has come from them. My roomates freaking listen to Phish and get stoned all damn day, and I hate it.
Click to expand...
I bet they don't like the Limp Bizkit you listen to either. Stop crying out for attention and leave the thread if you don't like it.
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You can do better than that. You must be too high and have Phish soloing too loudly for hours on end with meaningless lyrics to be able to form thoughts correctly.
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Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh and clean
 
Bobcat10 said:
Nigel Tufnel said:
Bobcat10 said:
TF, go buy a used copy of A Live One to just get your feet wet.Then report back.
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I think I agree. This is where I'm starting my GB, zamboni.
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I know he's not looking for jams, but if he can't get into Stash and YEM on A Live One, then I'm not sure the direction he will go from there. Those jams are the beauty of it all. Still, he'll get a taste of shorter songs with some good versions of Bouncing, Wilson, ETC. I think he will come around though. :thumbup:
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You might be referring to another previous poster. My musical taste is very oriented towards jammy music, so this could be right up my alley.Will report back. :thumbup:
 
This is a pretty candid interview, but I'm not sure this is the one I was thinking about, either. He never really references a specific drug.

Plain and Central - August 2005

Plain and Central

August, 2005

Interview w/ Trey Anastasio

by Jess Minnen

I jerk awake. Why am I on this couch? Where are my shoes? What time is it? I grab my cell phone off the coffee table. 10:00 AM. ####. ####! How could this have happened? How could I have ####ed this up, of all things?

I roll off the couch and run to my car. I had the good sense to pass out at a friend’s house, and my shock has completely evaporated the lingering liquor stupor from the night before. 11 AM Eastern time, Beth said. Beth is Trey’s publicist. Yeah, that Trey. It’s 10 AM and I’m running to my car, flooring it down Delmar to the Riverfront Times offices. Parking and running up three flights of stairs costs me six minutes.

10:06. The phone rings.

“Jess?” A woman’s voice sounds slightly worried.

“Yes!” I answer, huffing. Three flights of stairs is a lot. “I’m here. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“He tried calling twice and there was no answer.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But I’m here now.”

Beth smiles into the phone. “Ok,” she says. “Relax. Breathe. I’ll have him call you back in a few minutes.”

Trey is coming to the Fox Theatre here in St. Louis in a few weeks, and on the off chance that I could end my illustrious Riverfront Times career with gusto, I emailed Trey’s publicist requesting an interview. I was pretty much shocked when she got back to me with the affirmative. For the past week I have ate, slept and breathed Trey with a fervor unmatched since my sophomore year of college when I filled page after page of my notebook with “Jess Anastasio” and “Jessica Anastasio” and “Trey and Jess Anastasio” instead of notes about David Hume and the philosophy of art.

What do you say to the only man who is still a rock star to you?

I’ve worked in the music business for long enough to realize that stardom is a fabrication, a construction created by the admirer rather than anything done by the admired. All those guys who play the music we love—well, they’re just dudes. They’re just like the dudes I hang out with normally, they just happen to be in a rock band and have names like Sam Beam or Doug Martsch instead of Scott Rockwood or Danny Carroll. But this, him, well he’s something else entirely. He’s the man. The man. The progenitor of the greatest rock band ever, a band that I do not doubt will be remembered as one of the greatest rock bands ever. Say what you want about Trey, but for me, he’s the be all and end all. My dream interview.

And I overslept.

For good reason. See, I’m moving to Jerusalem and it’s all real at this point. In fact, as I write this, I’m sitting in the international terminal at JFK airport in New York, waiting out my layover. I haven’t slept in over thirty hours, but I’m about to sleep for ten on a plane, and wake up on the other side of the world. The night before my interview with Trey, my RFT coworkers took me out for drinks, and things got a little sloppy.

The phone rings and my heart drops several inches down until it feels like it’s resting on my stomach. I pick up the phone.

J: “Hello?”

T: “Hello!”

Holy crap! Trey just said hello to me! And he sounds just like… Trey! And he’s on the phone! And he’s talking to me!

J: “Sorry about that… I ran a little late this morning. Late night last night.”

T: “Oh yeah?”

J: “Yeah. Going away party.”

T: “Where you going?”

J: “Well, I’m actually moving to Israel. To study for awhile.”

T: “Wow!.”

Holy crap! Trey just said “wow” to me. He thinks something I’m doing is wow-worthy. Can I gush yet? Don’t tell him about the notebooks. Can I tell him that I think he’s the ####? Is that unprofessional?

J: “Look, I know this is probably really unprofessional, but if I don’t say something now, it’ll just bubble over at some point during this conversation and that will be weird.”

T: “Ok.”

J: “You… are… the best. Really. I just want to thank you so much for what you do, and what it’s meant to me in my life. I mean, I never even would have started writing about music, or gotten into music in the way I am now if it wasn’t for you. And Phish.”

T: “Oh, that’s great. Thank you.”

J: “Well, it’s true. So thank you.”

T: “How did you get into the band?”

Holy crap! Trey is asking me how I got into Phish. Damn, I wish I had a better story.

J: “Oh, I was a late bloomer. My boyfriend in high school was ages older than me, from Worcester. He told me about this band called Phish, but this was already ’98. I feel like I missed the boat.”

T: “Aw, you didn’t miss the boat.”

J: “Well, by the time I got to college and actually had the time and the means to go on Phish tour, you guys went on hiatus.”

T: “Sorry about that.”

J: “Mmm.”

T: “So… Israel, huh? Are you going to be on a Kibbutz?”

J: “No, just studying. That’s what’s kind of great about Jewish learning. There’s no end point, no degree, no pressure to get somewhere. You just go and start learning.”

T: “Have you heard of Matisyahu?”

J: “Of course. I saw him several times at Wakarusa.”

T: “He’s amazing. He was at Bonnaroo. I’d never heard of him. He was walking around in my trailer and someone said, ‘You gotta meet this guy. He’s a reggae musician, and he was really into the band…’ So he came back in and we started talking and I was instantly taken with this guy. He asked if we could do a song, so I learned one of his songs really quickly. He was incredible.”

J: “On paper that show looked weird. I remember seeing the setlist and being like, Who the hell is Bo Bice?”

T: “You’ve never seen American Idol? Well, I had an interesting moment because I was thinking about this concept of worshipping false idols. You know, ‘Thou shalt not worship false idols.’ For a long time I thought it meant, ‘There is only one God. Your God is wrong. My God is right,’ which I think is completely off the mark. Then I started really getting it during the last couple years of Phish. I started to find myself really flirting with unhappiness as everything got bigger and bigger and not really understanding why. Like this is all so great, why am I… And then I realized that one God being Truth, Right, Love, the Real Deal. Call it what you will. You’re supposed to worship only that. Don’t worship the messenger.”

J: “But isn’t music by default the most idolatrous art? You or anyone who performs sort of puts themselves on this pedestal. The stage IS a pedestal.”

T: “Exactly.”

J: “People are looking up at you and it is sort of like worship.”

T: “I know it is. And there you go. It’s the first commandment… There’s something essentially wrong if you buy into it. You’re headed for unhappiness. With Phish, we were talking so much about trying to be a conduit. That’s very healthy. A wonderful thing. It was about listening and communication and hopefully some music starts happening. When you’re in the middle of it, it feels like you’re actually channeling something, like it’s not about you. But it’s so easy to get caught up in the fact that you’re standing up there on a pedestal. And you start to miss the boat, right?

“So what I saw at that Bonnaroo show was so interesting. I had two people on stage with me. One was this guy who is very religious. Matisyahu. He was singing the most beautiful… His voice… He’s singing and it’s not about him. It’s about God. He’s very straight up. He’s a Hassidic Jew. The look in his eyes… they were kind of glistening. I was playing and looking right into his eyes, and it was so moving for a couple of reasons. One was that he used to follow the band… He told me he’d been to like, every Phish show for ten years. And then he went and became a Hassidic Jew and sings reggae because of the spiritual purity of a lot of reggae. He’s singing about God. So was Bob Marley. So was Bach, for that matter. Bach wrote at the top of everything he ever wrote ‘For the Glory of God.’

“And then I had Bo Bice with me, who just went through what to me must have been the most torturous experience… Being on American Idol—the ultimate example of worshipping false idols. And the two of them were both up there on stage and it was the most incredible experience. I’m so happy to report that Bo Bice is just the sweetest guy and is handling this so well. I said, ‘How are you possibly dealing with this? You’re getting the completely wrong message about music and everything by being on that show. Everything about it is utterly wrong.’ It was just weird how the whole core issue was right before my eyes up on stage that night. It was a very cool experience.”

J: “Well, I could never be Orthodox for a lot of reasons, but there are very strong beliefs within the faith that your gifts are not yours alone, that talent is given to you by God and that by sharing your talent you are in a way doing what Bach said… sharing the glory of God.”

T: “And it’s beautiful to do that. It got very difficult for the last few years for me. It got a little derailed. I’m just trying to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

J: “Anyway, you know how people talk a lot of ####? Well, you can tell me to #### off for asking, but I have to ask since I’m on the phone with you. And because I’ve always tried to… I don’t know… stick up for you since I try not to believe things unless you see it happen or hear it from the person. So I just want to ask about the drugs, the rumors, how drugs played into the breakup of Phish.”

T: “Ok. Here’s what happens with drugs, as most people know. Drugs are the tip of the ice berg of an unhealthy situation. There’s no other way to look at it. There’s no question that after many, many years of chess and Tetris and work-a-holic-ness being our drugs of choice, that the scene started to rear its ugly head around Phish. At which point it was an easy decision: Well, I’m not living that life. There was definitely an aspect of that…. Everyone is fine, though.”

There’s a semi-long pause and I wonder if he’s pissed at me for bringing it up. Then he starts speaking again. And let me just say, when he gets going on a subject, it’s like a faucet. So much material, matter, information, anything and everything coming out. It sounds like informed stream of consciousness.

T: “Here’s how I’ll answer that question. What was going on out in the audience always seemed to line up pretty well with what was going on back stage. We had a big scene around Phish. That became a serious problem. Our backstage scene was huge. There were so many friends, so many characters. We had parties backstage, at least one or two that were ongoing parties from show to show. It was fun for awhile, then it just kind of took a turn for the worse. Right at the end it needed to end. You know what I mean? There’s no question about that. It couldn’t go on like that. When that started happening, the people who had been around forever… I remember having a conversation with Paul. In the beginning there were five people who traveled with Phish: The four of us, and Paul. He used to do everything. Paul Languedoc. I remember one day he came up to me backstage and said, ‘This doesn’t fit.’ There were all these people around and this darkness had come over the whole thing. It was seedy and depressing. I remember looking at him and saying, ‘God that’s the realest thing anyone has said to me in a long time.’”

J: “It was like that in the crowd, too.”

T: “Exactly. Well, I’m gonna guess that that was right around ’99? That’s what the hiatus was about. The whole thing was like one big gang. I think our guest list at Coventry was like, three thousand people. Everyone on our crew was taking care of this ongoing scene, and it was becoming more and more difficult to do what we were supposed to be doing, which was concentrating on the music and practicing. I always think about what was to me one of the great Phish shows. I just look at it as an amazing night, symbolic of everything good about Phish: the 1996 Atlanta Halloween show when we did the Talking Heads album. It was because we spent months practicing for that thing. All the way up until four o’clock in the morning we were practicing for that show. And then we played the music once. That’s always what it was like with Phish. That’s the way I like to work. I love writing. I love practicing. I love working towards that experience on stage. Discipline towards that ecstatic release. It became harder and harder because we were dragging this giant circus around with us wherever we went. Even the guys on the crew were complaining… ‘I can’t do my job because I’m spending so much time parking the back stage scene at the venue.’ It was completely out of control.

“So I can just about guarantee that I don’t need to answer that question. Everyone knows because they saw it out in the audience. I’m going to tell you the truth. We tried the hiatus and nothing was working. It had to stop. I know that was the right thing. I have so much hope. I want to continue to play for a long time, have that feeling of lighting people up. I really love that so much.”

J: “Speaking as an audience member, it’s the most amazing thing to have happen to you.”

T: “I want that! So badly. Every day I pace around waiting. My next show is Thursday. I can’t wait. I wish it was today. And… it was becoming harder and harder to do that, in that context. It wasn’t anybody’s fault or any one specific thing. It wasn’t that drugs were around, or that we weren’t able to practice as much. It wasn’t any of those things. It was all of them. Exhaustion. The utterly overblown scene. Phil Lesh talks about that in his new book, how it was so psychicly draining to walk from the band room to the stage. That’s exactly what it was like. But it’s not like that anymore. When I did my last tour… It worked. I have hope.”

J: “So do we, you know. So do we.”

We talked some more. We talked for forty minutes. He sounded real and alive and I felt more real and alive having spoken to him. I wish I had remembered to tell him my name, but nonetheless it was a dream come true, as cliché as it sounds. But I’ve got another dream about to come true: My plane is boarding in fifteen minutes!
Click to expand...
 
snitwitch said:
I think a reunion will happen one day, but I doubt they will return to their hardcore touring life. If they do reunite, I think practice practice practice is the key... Those guys used to practice for days on end before touring as they were "blowing up" and I think lack of such practice is one of the reasons their later music got so loose and noodley.
Click to expand...
that's what I was saying here . it seemed evident to me that Fishman missed that aspect in the later years.
 
snitwitch said:
SoFresh&SoClean said:
Minotauro said:
SoFresh&SoClean said:
AHHHH!

STOP LISTENING TO PHISH. They are so cheesy. Nothing good has come from them. My roomates freaking listen to Phish and get stoned all damn day, and I hate it.
Click to expand...
I bet they don't like the Limp Bizkit you listen to either. Stop crying out for attention and leave the thread if you don't like it.
Click to expand...
You can do better than that. You must be too high and have Phish soloing too loudly for hours on end with meaningless lyrics to be able to form thoughts correctly.
Click to expand...
Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh and clean
Click to expand...
...Outkast is good rap, but not one of my favorite bands, it's a funny lyric. Good try though it's[Chorus]

Ain't nobody dope as me; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Don't you think I'm so sexy; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Ain't nobody dope as me; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

I love when you stare at me; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

[big Boi]

Sir Luscious gots gator belts and patty melts and Monte Carlo's

and El Dorados; I'm wakin up out of my slumber feeling like Rollo

So follow, it's Showtime at the Apollo minus the Kiki Shepards

What about a ho in a leopard-print?

Teddy Pender-grass cooler than Freddie Jackson

sippin a milkshake in a snowstorm

Left her throat warm in the dorm room at the A.U.

We blew hay too, ath-letes might cake you

but you must have me mistaken with them statements that you make

Cause

[Chorus]

[big Boi]

Canary yellow seven-nine Seville is on display

My ##### - Bongo hooked it up, Omar gon' - dip my rims today

So a ##### can - ride out to the Honeycomb - Hideout

I'ma show you how to - wild out like Jack Tripper

Let me be bambino on your snipples

YKK on yo' zipper, lick you like a - lizard when I'm slizzard

or sober; six million ways to fold ya

Like Noah's, I get two's of youse and you get pretty 'D'

But I'll call yo' ### round eight-ish I know you'll be there for me

Girl

[Chorus]

[Andre 3000]

Those huge baby eyes, get to runnin off at they mouth

and tellin me everything that's on yo' nasty mind

They say you're malnutritioned in need of vitamin D

and invitin me to that tingle in your spine

I love who you are, love who you ain't; you're so Anne Frank

Let's hit the attic to hide out for bout two weeks

Rick James'n, no chains and whips

I do suck lips 'til hips jerk

in double time the boy next do's a freak, ha ha!

[Chorus]

[Hook: Andre 3000]

(And we are...)

The coolest motherfunkers on the planet

(And my my...)

The sky is fallin ain't no need to panic

(But ooh ooh...)

I got a stick and want yo' automatic

(Ooh ooh ooh...)

Compatible created in the attic

[repeat Hook]

[Chorus] - repeat to fade

 
Last edited by a moderator:
harryhood said:
Tremendous Upside said:
Yeah, happened to still have the issue here at work...Here's the Q&A I was referring to:

Q. What secrets have you learned for survival on the road?A. I'm starting to get it figured out now. There are a few simple rules. Don't spend all your time freebasing cocaine -- that's gonna make your tour a lot shorter. It was getting ridiculous there for a while and it was showing. So on the last tour I reeled it in. And get at least five hours of sleep every third night.
Click to expand...
Can't tell if he's joking or not...
Click to expand...
i'd say he is serious
Click to expand...
Yeah...Even Country guy Keith Urban, who just went to rehab was mentioned to be doing That.Sheesh. Sounds like something they do on the road... I guess if every day is a party then eventually they keep stepping up their habits.
 
Reaper said:
harryhood said:
Tremendous Upside said:
Yeah, happened to still have the issue here at work...Here's the Q&A I was referring to:

Q. What secrets have you learned for survival on the road?A. I'm starting to get it figured out now. There are a few simple rules. Don't spend all your time freebasing cocaine -- that's gonna make your tour a lot shorter. It was getting ridiculous there for a while and it was showing. So on the last tour I reeled it in. And get at least five hours of sleep every third night.
Click to expand...
Can't tell if he's joking or not...
Click to expand...
i'd say he is serious
Click to expand...
Yeah...Even Country guy Keith Urban, who just went to rehab was mentioned to be doing That.Sheesh. Sounds like something they do on the road... I guess if every day is a party then eventually they keep stepping up their habits.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and with the partying all night and crashing and playing shows etc, and the pther drug use, I'm sure it became a way to get up for shows...
 
SoFresh&SoClean said:
snitwitch said:
SoFresh&SoClean said:
Minotauro said:
SoFresh&SoClean said:
AHHHH!

STOP LISTENING TO PHISH. They are so cheesy. Nothing good has come from them. My roomates freaking listen to Phish and get stoned all damn day, and I hate it.
Click to expand...
I bet they don't like the Limp Bizkit you listen to either. Stop crying out for attention and leave the thread if you don't like it.
Click to expand...
You can do better than that. You must be too high and have Phish soloing too loudly for hours on end with meaningless lyrics to be able to form thoughts correctly.
Click to expand...
Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh and clean
Click to expand...
...Outkast is good rap, but not one of my favorite bands, it's a funny lyric. Good try though it's[Chorus]

Ain't nobody dope as me; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Don't you think I'm so sexy; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

Ain't nobody dope as me; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

I love when you stare at me; I'm just so fresh, so clean

(So fresh and so clean clean)

[big Boi]

Sir Luscious gots gator belts and patty melts and Monte Carlo's

and El Dorados; I'm wakin up out of my slumber feeling like Rollo

So follow, it's Showtime at the Apollo minus the Kiki Shepards

What about a ho in a leopard-print?

Teddy Pender-grass cooler than Freddie Jackson

sippin a milkshake in a snowstorm

Left her throat warm in the dorm room at the A.U.

We blew hay too, ath-letes might cake you

but you must have me mistaken with them statements that you make

Cause

[Chorus]

[big Boi]

Canary yellow seven-nine Seville is on display

My ##### - Bongo hooked it up, Omar gon' - dip my rims today

So a ##### can - ride out to the Honeycomb - Hideout

I'ma show you how to - wild out like Jack Tripper

Let me be bambino on your snipples

YKK on yo' zipper, lick you like a - lizard when I'm slizzard

or sober; six million ways to fold ya

Like Noah's, I get two's of youse and you get pretty 'D'

But I'll call yo' ### round eight-ish I know you'll be there for me

Girl

[Chorus]

[Andre 3000]

Those huge baby eyes, get to runnin off at they mouth

and tellin me everything that's on yo' nasty mind

They say you're malnutritioned in need of vitamin D

and invitin me to that tingle in your spine

I love who you are, love who you ain't; you're so Anne Frank

Let's hit the attic to hide out for bout two weeks

Rick James'n, no chains and whips

I do suck lips 'til hips jerk

in double time the boy next do's a freak, ha ha!

[Chorus]

[Hook: Andre 3000]

(And we are...)

The coolest motherfunkers on the planet

(And my my...)

The sky is fallin ain't no need to panic

(But ooh ooh...)

I got a stick and want yo' automatic

(Ooh ooh ooh...)

Compatible created in the attic

[repeat Hook]

[Chorus] - repeat to fade
Click to expand...
:lmao: thanks -- I love it when I mis-hear lyrics and think they're one thing (when they're another) for years on end.Case in point: Come on Irene is really Come on Eileen? Nawww.....

 
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