When Phish announced the release of the (sonically astonishing) Amsterdam box set a couple of months ago, the news started a predictable debate at Phish.net HQ. If you took a poll, a plurality of Phish fans probably would crown 1997 as Phish’s greatest year. Phish themselves might even be said to agree, at least judging by how many 97 shows the band has deemed worthy of an official live release. The year’s overall greatness is indisputable. But in thinking about the boxset, we started asking each other, with so many titanic, colossal, monumental shows in 1997, were the much-loved Amsterdam shows even among the 20 best of the year? What are the best shows of 1997?

There was really only one way to satisfy ourselves. We dusted off Robert’s Rules of Order and proceeded to engage in a civil discussion on the merits. Opinions were shared, everyone was assured their perspective was just as valid as the next, and a list was compiled. We wrapped up the whole enterprise that night before coming to our senses and agreeing that it’s completely futile and stupid to attempt to measure the febrile creativity of Phish’s finest improvisations with something as crass as a numerical rank.

Sadly, it went nothing like that. Instead we spent two days arguing over the proper methodology and insulting each other before settling on the following ground rules:

1. We would start off with the Phish.net users’ top 25 rated shows of the year.
2. We would supplement that with whatever other shows anyone strongly felt deserved consideration (in this case 14 additional shows).
3. Everyone agreed to relisten to all of the shows; we would rank on our opinions of the shows in 2015, not based on old preferences.
4. Each voter would rank their personal Top 20 shows, assigning 20 points to the “best” show and 1 point to the 20th best.
5. There would be no set criteria for how to rank. Each voter was free to use whatever criteria he wanted.
6. Results would be aggregated and, voila, we have a Phish.net Top 20 shows of 1997 (though we should note that not all of the Phish.net team participated in these rankings).

And then the real fun started. Opinions were ridiculed. Aspersions were cast. Accusations were levied. Friendships were strained. People left the room and slammed the door, as much as that can be done in a group-text format. I wish I could say I was joking, or that we came out of it stronger. We almost certainly emerged weaker. But we did listen to a metric ton of fantastic music from one of Phish’s greatest years and we did manage to cobble together a list that we’re reasonably proud of and will be presenting over the course of the week. So all was not lost.

Before we do, though, a word on Why Your Favorite Show Isn’t on this List™. Please understand that these are all magnificent shows that we enjoy listening to. Their omission is not a criticism in the sense of a negative judgment against them. But if we were going to write descriptions of these shows, it seemed only fair to point out their flaws, if only to explain why we might have omitted them. Your list is different; we understand and respect that. [SP & DP]

Honorable Mention (in chronological order)

2/17/97 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Phillip Zerbo)
First among the rest, coming in at #21 in our survey was the 2/17/97 gig from the Paradiso in Amsterdam. The recent official release of the Amsterdam box set made this decision all the more difficult, given the pristine sound that allowed this show to shine in the best possible light. 2/17’s first set boasts the Phish debut of Bob Marley and The Wailers’ “Soul Shakedown Party” and solid versions of Phish classics “Divided Sky” and “Bathtub Gin.” The meat of this show and the lead argument for a top 20 slot is a 40-minute second set sequence of “Down with Disease” into the debut of “Carini.” This combo resonates strongly to this day, but imagine if you were at the show and had no idea who the hell “Lucy” was, or why she had a lumpy head? Woah! The combination of power, patience, confidence and weirdness is in many ways a preview of the musical doors Phish would blast down in 1997. As great as that extended segment was… the balance of the show doesn’t offer a whole lot that you can’t readily find in any other 1997 show. The fact it was edged out for the top 20 (I had it at 18th, sigh) is unfortunate, but ultimately fair and, like all of the shows in the Miss Congeniality category, says more about the incredibly stiff competition rather than any flaws or weaknesses of the show itself.

3/1/97 Markethalle, Hamburg, Germany (Phillip Zerbo)
Spoiler alert! No shows from Phish’s winter jaunt through European clubs made our top 20. By no means does this reflect our views on the overall importance of that tour – one of the many factors that culminated in 1997’s perfect storm that was the fact that they had so many shows under their belt early in the year. The tour offered an environment selected specifically to allow them to recapture something that they were missing in the last few years as their popularity moved them onto the shed and hockey rink circuit in the US. Whatever they were looking for, it seems that they found IT! Among the most popular of those shows is from 3/1/97 Hamburg, Germany. Portions of this show were immortalized on the Slip, Stitch and Pass official release. The 17th rated 1997 show by fans, 3/1 slots at #34 in our list, and frankly even that may be charitable. It doesn’t matter… it’s overrated! It’s a nice show, with a first set that offers more than respectable versions of “Down with Disease,” “Wolfman’s Brother,” and “Reba.” The second set has good – but not great – takes on “Mike’s Song and” “Weekapaug,” along with solid versions of “Theme” and “Taste.” But “nice” and “good” and “solid” aren’t going to play with the big boys that would come later in the year. 1997 was a year where every tour got better, and each tour got a lift on the shoulders of its predecessor. These were the building blocks – the payoff was to come, but not yet.

7/21/97 Virginia Beach Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA (Dan Purcell)
U! S! A! U! S! A! The show whose first set really crystallized Phish’s 1997 cowfunk improv style. The show starts with “Ghost” like 1997 in general did, followed by a parade of other new songs, the band showing off the new repertoire it had rehearsed to razor sharpness in Europe. Even better is the insane “Bathtub Gin” where at one point five-eighths of the band is playing “Drowned.” But our voters consistently disfavored shows with disjointed second sets and no real tent-pole jam. Rather than a tent-pole jam, this show has a mid-set “Theme” (okay) followed by a cacophonous jam with LeRoi Moore sitting in on sax for some reason, to make extra noise one supposes. It punches back, closing very strongly, but it couldn’t quite recover to make the list.

8/13/97 Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA (Dan Purcell)
Of all the summer 1997 shows I had on tape, this was the one I played the most. It has great balance. A wonderful little one-off cover to start, done beautifully and then never again. An assertive and credible “Stash.” A “Gumbo” that reinvented “Gumbo” just as Dayton would to “Tube” later in the year. (I know people who would come to blows with you insisting that there is a “Franklin’s Tower” jam in the “Gumbo.”) And a first-set “Crosseyed” > “Wilson” which are you kidding me. But the second set is just good; the band is on, and playing well, and having fun, but it never really takes off the catalytic converter if you know what I mean. I was sad to see it miss the cut, but I didn’t put it in my top 20 either.

12/7/97 Ervin J. Nutter Center, Wright State University, Dayton, OH (Dan Purcell)
This is a wonderful show, a fun show, a show with a brilliant and playful spirit. It’s as good a first tape as you could make for a new Phish fan. It is great right out of the box; even in 1997, the year of the first set, shows usually took a little longer to get going. You know about the “Tube,” which is unimpeachable and standard-setting. But it doesn’t really have a second set. It has two first sets. This field is too strong for that kind of thing.

12/12/97 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY (Steve Paolini)
This probably isn’t one of your favorite shows, but maybe it should be. What the second set lacks in glamour songs, it makes up for in fiery playing. “Saw It Again,” “Piper,” and even our dear friend “Prince Caspian” are not just outstanding versions of those songs, but outstanding Fall ‘97 jams. It’s also probably got the second-best encore of the entire year. It didn’t quite make our top 20, but don’t make the mistake of judging this book by its cover.

12/29/97 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (Dan Purcell)
As one panelist commented, this show just keeps hitting singles – one solid base hit after another – but it lacks the extra-base pop that truly sets apart the best of this year. The second set is flashy on paper and we’re not really criticizing it, only to say that there are a handful of better versions of each these songs from this year, except for “Tube,” which is a worthy contender for Dayton’s championship belt. One interesting thing we noticed: many 1997 shows that were historically regarded as classics because they were part of an excellent multi-show run tended to suffer in these rankings. 12/29 was certainly one of these. Unable to get a boost from the superior show the following night, it couldn’t quite clamber onto the list.

Coming Tomorrow: Shows 20-16

Read more...

Welcome to the 188th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday! The winner will receive an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery jam clip. Each person gets one guess per day, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. Good luck!

Answer: This week's clip was taken from the 4/22/93 Stash. With his sixth win, @ucpete is now one away from becoming the fourth contestant to earn a pair of all-white Velcro sneakers and a one-way bus ticket to South Florida emeritus status.

Welcome to the 187th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday! The winner will receive an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery jam clip. Each person gets one guess per day, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. Good luck!

Answer: Five-time winner @PersnicketyJim swiftly and impressively identified this week's mystery jam: the 7/23/96 Down With Disease.

Welcome to the 186th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday! The winner will receive an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win, be the first person to identify the song and date of the mystery jam clip. Each person gets one guess per day, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answer to follow on Wednesday. Good luck!

Answer: This week's mystery jam clip was from the 6/1/11 Twist -- a show played exactly four years prior to Monday. Kudos to @GottaJibboo, who picks up his first MJM victory.

An online auction is currently being held at http://auction.mimifishman.org/ with proceeds benefiting The WaterWheel Foundation. You can bid on ticket and CD packages for more than twenty shows, CID Ticket/Travel packages for Atlanta, Alpine Valley and Dick's, or even a Glen Close luxury tent package for Magnaball. The auction ends this Thursday, June 4th, so don't miss your chance to bid on these items for a great cause.

What is WaterWheel?

The WaterWheel Foundation was created by Phish in 1997 to oversee the band’s various charitable activities.

Our primary effort then and now is our Touring Division, though in keeping with our “Local” mission we also support Vermont-based non-profits and others in need. From its debut through the most current tour, the mission of WaterWheel’s Touring Division has been to raise funds for pre-selected non-profits in each community that Phish visits while on tour.

What is The Mimi Fishman Foundation?

The Mimi Fishman Foundation is a volunteer-administered, fan-driven non-profit dedicated to raising funds for a diverse range of charitable organizations that each, in some way, touched the life of our founder Mimi Fishman.

Since 1999, the Foundation has raised approximately $350,000 utilizing an online auction system that provides supporters and fans rare opportunities to win unique pieces of merchandise, equipment and concert experiences.

Read more...

Brothers Day (May 24th) is as good a day as any to satisfy a common request in comments about previously posted charts. So, here finally is a Venn diagram with Phish songs that mention brothers. (Another, for "dog shows", will come later.)

Phish has sung the word "brother" live 1,603 times, in 311 song performances at 283 shows. But no shows have included all four songs that use the word ("Brother", "Wolfman's Brother", "Sand", and "Crowd Control"), or even any three of them; and only 28 shows have included any two of the four. There just aren't a lot of Brother Shows (though there are a few more Bro Shows, if we expand to include the slang "Brutha" in Julius).

Including other family roles doesn't help much. For example, no shows have included both of the songs that mention sisters ("Crowd Control" and "Rock a William"). And only one show has included "Rock A William" and any of the four "brother" songs, making 2/13/97 agruably the only Sibling Show (not counting the 13 shows with "Crowd Control", which uses both "sister" and "brother", nor the 73 with "Sand", which uses "siblings".)

BTW, Siblings Day was April 10th and Brother and Sister Day was the last Saturday in March.

Read more...

A little over a month ago, PhishNet user @TheRealBurnham (Matt Burnham) began polling Phish fans in order to compile a list of Phish's "Hall of Fame" jams. The results of Matt's survey are below, written in his words, and we hope you find them both useful and entertaining. We also urge you to "Comment" thoughtfully, to help create a record of why you believe particular jams belong in certain "tiers," and to draw attention to why your favorite improvisational versions of Phish's songs matter so much to you. Please, share your Phish story, as it may also be "Hall of Fame" material. -charlie

Thanks to a great user response, I received 291 legit ballots for the Hall of Fame. Some ballots were excluded (were not "legit") due, for example, to people just voting for “YEM” with no date (or refusing to list any version of anything), but overall there was such a great turnout that it lends credence to this being a real, quasi-statistically valid poll.

Were I to design and envision the Phish Hall of Fame, a Phish museum would be on the the first floor. The first thing that you’d see is the Hot Dog from the 1994 New Year’s Eve Show, because we would of course get that back from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The floor would be littered with information on New Year’s Eve and Halloween shows, famous sets and band synopses. There would be information about Jeff Holdsworth, Marc Daubert, Tom Marshall, The Dude of Life, and Chris Kuroda. But interspersed among all this would be snippets about the Hall of Fame voting.

In those 291 ballots, 2769 song versions were voted for (e.g., 12/9/95 YEM), which equates to an average of 9.5 song versions (entries) per ballot. Among those 2769 ballot entries, 494 unique versions were voted on. And 269 versions were voted for only once, illustrating the wide and varied tastes of Phish fans.

Unique versions of songs voted for:

Song	Number of Unique Versions
Tweezer	16
Mike’s Song (Groove)	12
Ghost	11
Bathtub Gin	8
Reba	8
Down With Disease	7
Harry Hood	7

For the purpose of the Phish HOF, I made the decision to essentially count Mike’s Groove and Mike’s Song interchangeably. This may be controversial, but it is what it is. Thankfully, this didn’t have much impact on the overall song versions being entered.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Tweezer was the most voted for song in the group of songs where fans voted for specific versions. Tweezer also received the most votes overall. (If only based on this relatively small poll, Tweezer appears to be the most popular Phish song.) Given Tweezer's popularity, the results of this poll will necessarily be Tweezer-heavy.

Overall votes for songs:

Song	Total Votes
Tweezer	373
Bathtub Gin	243
Ghost	237
David Bowie	141
You Enjoy Myself	127

After the first museum floor (so to speak), the remaining three floors of the Hall of Fame represent three levels or tiers of Phish jams. The top floor (the fourth floor) hosts the top overall vote-getters (the first tier), and all of them were on over 20% of the total ballots cast. Baseball may use a 75% threshold, but no songs were near that total, and 20% works for a good top level and keeps it being the cream.

The third floor is the 2nd Tier, and the selection process used song eras in order to elect the song versions for this tier. These “third floor” songs were inducted based on having greater than 9 times as many votes as the average song from their given era. That may seem (and may be) kind of convoluted and arbitrary, but it is based on the fact that the songs selected for this tier had a large percentage of overall votes from a given time frame. Counting them in this manner also leveled the playing field when one compares, say, 1997 vs 1993.

The second floor, Tier 3, features songs elected on the basis of their individual merit: if a song had greater than 30% of the total votes cast for all versions of that song (and all versions of the song had greater than 40 total votes), then they qualified for this third tier.

All of this information isn’t critical to know, but I wanted to be transparent about how I decided to split them up given the diversity of votes casts. I’m sure that others could come up with different ways to slice-up the data, which I am willing to share with anyone who requests it.

Importantly, the top tier (the first tier) was calculated first and its song values were not factored into the second and third tier calculations. (And the second tier calculations were not factored into the third tier.) This was done to model that the top tier was voted in first, then the second, then the third. Without further ado, here are the results!

TIER 3

Songs	Song Vote %	Tier
1995-11-14 Stash	67.1875	3
2004-06-19 Piper	57.40740741	3
1997-11-29 Runaway Jim	55.81395349	3
1997-12-30 AC/DC Bag	43.58974359	3
1999-09-14 AC/DC Bag	41.02564103	3
2014-08-29 Simple	40	3
1994-06-18 David Bowie	37.5	3
1994-06-11 You Enjoy Myself	37.28813559	3
1995-12-29 Bathtub Gin -> The Real Me -> Bathtub Gin	33.33333333	3
1998-07-06 Ghost	32.96703297	3

The third tier has some of my favorite versions of songs in it, including my all-time favorite, the June 11, 1994 You Enjoy Myself. The giant Orlando 95 Stash had 67% of all Stash votes in the poll, which is a huge number, but indicates that other (spectacular) versions were overlooked (Paradiso 97, for one). The two versions of AC/DC Bag noted above were almost 85% of all AC/DC Bag votes cast. The longest singular Phish jam to date, the Worcester 97 Runaway Jim, is in this tier, as well as the “MLBowie” and “Real Gin.” Very few 2.0 and 3.0 songs made it into this tier: the SPAC ‘04 Piper and the Dick’s ‘14 Simple (coincidentally, the only two versions of songs in the HOF that I’ve seen). And, technically, the last song in this tier, and thus the HOF, is of course the Prague Ghost. I’m not sure I’d want to visit a HOF that didn’t have the Prague Ghost. On a personal level, this may be my favorite tier. My favorite YEM, Bowie, Piper and Ghost. Not bad for being third tier.

TIER 2

Songs	Era % Vote	Tier
2003-02-28 Tweezer	14.53367876	2
1997-11-22 Halley’s Comet	10.86065574	2
2000-06-14 Twist	10.10752688	2
1995-12-31 Mike’s Groove	10.04098361	2
1993-12-31 Harry Hood	9.863945578	2
1999-07-10 Chalk Dust Torture	9.677419355	2
1993-08-13 Bathtub Gin	9.523809524	2
2000-05-22 Ghost	9.247311828	2
1997-12-06 Tweezer	9.221311475	2

As you can see, there are many fan favorites in the second tier. The two oldest versions of songs in the HOF appear in this tier: the NYE93 Harry Hood and the Murat Gin (8/13/93). Two versions of Tweezer appear as well, the Nassau Tweezer (2/28/03), the highest voted version in this tier, and Tweezabella (12/6/97), the lowest voted version. The NYE95 Mike’s Groove did include both Mike’s Song and Weekapaug votes, but that’s ok. One cool thing to note is that most of the songs in every tier have been released on LivePhish or circulate in SBD. I’m not sure if these songs were voted largely because they circulate widely in high quality, or if they’re released because they’re widely loved, but there seems to be a strong correlation one way or another. I was surprised that the Fukuoka Twist (6/14/2000) didn’t make it into the first tier, but it came very close.

TIER 1

Here it is, what everyone came here for. I'm listing each of the versions in descending order, from seventh place to first place, based on the total number of votes cast for each:

7) 1995-12-09 – You Enjoy Myself (68 votes, 23.4%): The Albany YEM, the most cherished version of Phish’s most played song. Thirty-four minutes of great grooving with multiple jam segments and movements. Some of my favorite Phish jamming happens at 12 minutes, and this YEM probably has the finest silent jam in it (which may be damning with faint praise) that is followed by a triumphant return to the groove. It’s amazing that footage of this exists on YouTube, and it is definitely worth checking out. Seeing a silent jam in person seems like a real trip.

6) 1998-04-03 – Roses Are Free (82 votes, 28.2%): Interestingly, the only standalone version of a cover song in the Hall of Fame. This Roses kicks off the most celebrated set in arguably the most celebrated run in the band’s history. It is a monster and is probably the darkest of the Tier 1 songs. More groove-centric than Trey soloing, and its peak is a perfect example of how Phish can stretch and extend any song in their repertoire. Other than the Big Cypress version, this version is the only truly jammed-out Roses to date, and it is easily the more loved version of the two.

5) 1998-07-29 – Bathtub Gin (86 votes, 29.6%): The Riverport Gin. Probably the best first set opener in history and if that were put to a vote, I bet it would be a landslide victory. Just a transcendent version that starts strong and doesn’t stop until it finishes its 24 minutes. Page shines here in all facets. Remarkably, this amazing version of Gin isn’t even the highest voted Bathtub Gin overall.

3b) 1997-08-17 – Bathtub Gin (95 votes, 32.6%): And that’s because the Went Gin ended up with 9 more votes than the Riverport Gin. (It also tied with the Providence Bowie, hence why there is no “4)”, no fourth place, in this list!) In my opinion the voters got this one right, because the Went Gin is probably the best example of high energy, frenetic HOSE that exists [Editor’s Note: other than the New Haven Tweezer, which did not even make the “Hall of Fame," but apparently just missed Tier 2. –charlie]. From about 9 minutes until the end of the song, and especially at 12:30 onward, is why I listen to Phish and why I go to concerts. The fact that the band can turn on a dime and develop multi-faceted jams that are so melodic they sound like you’ve heard them 10,000 times before. It’s something that not many other bands can do.

3a) 1994-12-29 – David Bowie (95 votes, 32.6%): The Providence Bowie is the earliest song historically in Tier 1, and it’s clear why. Many people view it as the culmination of 1994, which was the first real exploratory year for Phish. This jam has multiple deep movements. Dark, but still oddly compelling, the playing is superb. It really illustrates the band’s yearning to push musical boundaries and psychological limits. It is also the only song in Phish’s history that I know of that has “Lassie whistling,” which is nice.

2) 1997-11-17 – Ghost (103 votes, 35.4%): The lynchpin of what is among the greatest first sets in Phish history, the Denver Ghost is a funk machine that is the perfect example of Winter ‘97 Cowfunk. I was honestly a bit surprised that this was so highly rated, but I can’t find fault in its position either. It is yet another relentless masterpiece with multiple hose peaks. If it is really Trey’s favorite part of the Phish Destroys America tour, then it definitely belongs in the 1st Tier.

1) 2013-07-31 – Tweezer (124 votes, 42.6%): The famous, the infamous, Tahoe Tweezer. The birth of Phishmaps. The highest vote-getter of any song in the Phish Hall of Fame. The creator of the start/stop Woos. Probably the most loved by some and hated by some (somehow) version of any Phish song, but the people have spoken. It is definitely worthy of Tier 1, as it is a great journey into different sectors of music which is unique in many ways. Particularly of note is the post-Woo section at 27:20, where Trey plays with such ferocity, clarity, and joyful exuberance that I’d put it on par with any 1.0 peaks.

So there you have it, the Phish Hall of Fame. Will songs from 2015 make it in one day? Since one song from the last two years made it in, there’s certainly hope, and I should note that the Dick’s Light (9/1/12) was one of the closest songs to not make the HOF. Most years were represented from 1993 on, too, which shows the consistency that the band has, and fans’ appreciation for that consistency as well. We do not forget! The best thing overall about an exercise like this is that it illustrates the great diversity across all levels of fandom.

Thanks very much to all of you who participated in this survey, and if you like what you’ve read, be sure to check out other things I’ve written about at http://soundandphission.blogspot.com.

Read more...

Registration is now open for the “Philosophy School of Phish,” a special section of PHL 360: Philosophy and the Arts, at Oregon State University. The class merges the experience of Phish’s live performances with the study of theories about art, aesthetic judgment, community, and more. It is designed as a philosophy of music class, and will incorporate live Phish performances as case studies.

Along with readings from philosophers such as Kant, Tolstoy, and Nietzsche, students will be required to attend concerts during the band’s 2015 summer tour in person or via webcast and analyze their experience in written assignments. Class begins on June 22nd and runs for eight weeks. It is a distance education course offered online through Oregon State University Ecampus, and enrollment is not limited to Oregon State students. Phish fans from all over the country can participate in the course.

Additional information, including instructions for registration and details about last year’s class, are available on the course’s public website. And for information about OSU Ecampus, please visit http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/. (From Professor Stephanie Jenkins)

Read more...

Phish.Net user Matt Burnham (@TheRealBurnham) is in the process of taking votes from fans on Phish's "Hall of Fame" jams. Surely you've listened to a lot of Phish over the years, yes? They're a highly improvisational band, as you are well-aware, and their versions of certain songs (as attested to ad nauseum in this site's Jam Charts) can differ in spectacular ways----harmonically, melodically, rhythmically, hilariously----week to week and tour to tour. You probably wouldn't be reading this if you didn't already have thoughtful opinions on The Greatest Jams In Phish History, right? Here's more information about what Matt is up to, in Matt's own words, and how you can help determine which jams should be in the "Hall of Fame":

"A Hall of Fame is a symbol of a truly upper echelon of achievement. I love all sorts of Hall of Fames because they separate the dichotomy of 'best' and 'favorite.' For instance, I've grown up a Red Sox fan and, as a 31 year old, I can say that (until last year) Derek Jeter has pretty much been my nemesis in all things baseball-related. However, if I had a 'Baseball Hall of Fame vote,' Jeter would have to be in the first ballot easily. Although he's not my favorite, he was clearly one of the best of his time period. And if I was being truly honest, I'd have to select him over anyone other than Pedro Martinez on those fun Red Sox teams, even though they were filled with some of my favorite players. But that's me. Others may choose to just select their favorites, and that's fine too.

"So,naturally, this led me to start thinking about a Phish Hall of Fame. Specifically, for all versions of songs, are there any jams that are so universally acclaimed that they would be elected on a first ballot? And would those jams reach a 75% threshold like there is in baseball? What other fair ways are there to slice the data to try to determine what jams (and to what extent) are loved by everyone? Are there any jams that are incredbly underrated? How many jams from 2.0 and 3.0 should be included? Is everyone going to vote for only 1997 songs? What attendance biases will be put into play?

"Personally, I don't think that using that high of a bar (75%) will allow for any songs to get in. But how low does that bar need to be in order to let in 10 songs? Or 15? To be elected into the inaugural class, a high criteria should be met, of course, but no-one likes a Hall of Fame with no members. So to that, I created a simple poll for the voters (that's all of you) to fill out with up to ten (10) songs/jams that you feel are Hall of Fame worthy. If you don't have ten songs, that's fine. Just leave the remaining spots blank. Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1R-6lltffyHvx_Mib0W8jzaVNpldLO5YRPCA8nytvNYg/viewform?usp=send_form

--Matt Burnham

Read more...

Phish.net lists 871 songs written and/or played by Phish, but that includes 22 that were "only" teased or jammed, 42 unperformed originals, and 533 covers, of which 289 weren't played beyond their debut. Of the 274 originals left, 42 were only played once and most were written decades ago.

But don't discount the band's originality yet, as there's good evidence of two forms of overlooked balance. You can see them both in today's chart (the next in a series), which involves several variations on a population pyramid (a.k.a an age-sex graph, a variation on a paired-bar graph).

This chart treats Phish's repertoire of songs as a population, disaggregates them by age (measured by year of debut, with the oldest on top), and distinguishes originals from covers (rather than male/female, as is typical). Further,

the bars for each age are segmented ("stacked") to differentiate songs that were only performed once (the lighter tips of each bar) from those performed more than once (the darker root of each bar). Finally, to help understand growth in the repertoire, rows are labelled with studio album releases and musical costume albums performed in the given year.

Halloween performances, as well as the cover-rich summer of '98, help explain growth in the repertoire, often with songs never performed again. But they also belie a relative balance in material: The number of originals and covers played more than once is nearly the same, at 232 and 244, respectively.

And, yes, the band's introduction of new original material has slowed since their prolific early years. But setting aside years when Phish didn't perform any public shows, the slowdown isn't as dramatic as you might have expected. The number of debuts in four recent years is only a minor reduction from the '90s, during which (Halloweens aside) new material was already slowing down from the '80s - but so, gradually, did the number of shows. And the reduction in shows over the last 20 years both partly explains the lower rate of debuts and, as a control variable, reduces its difference.

When they do play, surprises continue - and, arguably, at a comparable rate. But the biggest factor in repertoire expansion has of course been time off, including the "hiatus" and "breakup". With no fall tour, it'll take another debut-rich summer for 2015 to compare even to recent years.

Read more...

As an additional resource for our users, the track listings for Kevin Shapiro’s From the Archives broadcasts are now available in the FAQ section. These track lists include download links for each available volume on the spreadsheet.

A few brief notes about this resource:

The track listings follow the Phish.Net setlist file. Therefore, some of you may have different tracks if you already have a copy. (For example, the 5/8/93 "Mike’s" -> "Crossroads" -> "Mike’s" may be listed only as "Mike’s Song.") Kevin Hoy plans on re-uploading the FTAs in the future so that the track listings for his downloads match what is on the Phish.Net setlist file. The timings you will find are approximate, and are based on the track time, not necessarily the actual song length.

At this time, we do not plan on adding links or notes to the individual setlists. However, I will shortly be adding a large table of all the tracks, sorted by date, to help you find what you need.

You will find that some of the FTAs do not circulate, and are therefore not available to download. In addition, a couple of the volumes are incomplete. If you have a copy of anything that’s missing, or if you have a higher quality recording than what is available on the spreadsheet, please contact Kevin Hoy at [email protected]. If you find any typos or errors in the FAQ, please send a PM to @TheEmu.

Finally, although you can search for these lists using the “Albums” category or by using the keyword “Archives,” the results will only display 20 entries (there are currently 29 shows). So you may need to search for the specific volume you want in order to find the file.

Hopefully we’ll be able to add another volume to this list after Magnaball! See you there!

Read more...

The next few entries in our charts series summarize some of the information and scrutiny available through Phish.net. First up, a quantitative summary of the site's extensive Jamming Charts, which identify 3,343 recommended performances of 193 songs (an average of 17.3 each) as well as 919 highly recommend versions (an average of 4.8 each).

For the 41 of those songs which were performed 150 or more times, the chart to the right illustrates the total performances (to end of grey), proportion recommended (end of green), and proportion highly-recommended (yellow).

Those 41 songs account for 1,549 recommended versions and 541 highly recommended versions, or about half of all those in the Jamming Charts. But those charts recommend a wide range - from only 2 of the 438 Caverns, to 43% of the 366 Tweezers (of which 63, or 17%, are highly recommended.)

We encourage you to explore the charts, more guidance in your exploration of Phish.

Methodology

For purposes of readability, I limited the chart to songs performed 150 or more times. That leaves out classic jam vehicles such as Simple (150 versions, 46 charted and 13 highlighted), Ghost (134, 48 and 15), and Birds (97, 24 and 7).

I did not weed out songs such as HYHU (524, 1 and 1) or Cavern (438, 2 and 0) - that is, I did not define "jamming vehicles" and limit the chart to those - since it's interesting to see both that not all songs would qualify and that our recommendations vary even among those that do.

Where one song appear twice in a setlist and was charted or highlighted both of those times, I included both. Though some might consider that an exaggeration, the difference is a fraction of a percent, imperceptible in this chart's long thin lines without values.

Read more...

Phish has announced their 2015 Summer Tour and Magnaball, Phish’s tenth festival, which will take place August 21-23, 2015 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, NY.

The Summer Tour will begin at the end of July on the West Coast with two evenings at Les Schwab Amphitheatre in Bend, OR (July 21 & 22). The band will also play two-night stands in Atlanta, GA (July 31 & August 1), East Troy, WI (August 8 & 9), Philadelphia, PA (August 11 & 12) and Columbia, MD (August 15 & 16). For the fifth straight year, Phish will wrap up its summer outing with a trio of Labor Day weekend shows at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO (9/4-6). The band will not be touring this fall.

Phish returns to Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, NY for their tenth festival, Magnaball (August 21-23, 2015). Located amidst the rolling hills of central New York’s Finger Lakes region, the site is just a short drive from numerous Northeastern cities. Onsite camping is included in the price of admission. Like previous Phish festivals, the event will include numerous activities, attractions and art installations in addition to a series of performances by the band. Camping and travel packages are available.

magnaball.phish.com is your main source for all things ‘ball. We’ve posted the first wave of information about the festival and will continue to update with Travel info, FAQs, Guidelines, Event Info, the hottest celebrity recipes, and much much more, so keep checking back.

An online ticket request period for Phish’s 2015 Summer Tour (not including Magnaball) is currently underway at http://tickets.phish.com/. The ticket request period will end Sunday, March 29th at 11:59pm Eastern Time. Tickets for Magnaball go on sale this Friday, March 20th at Noon ET at magnaball.shop.ticketstoday.com.

Read more...

[Editor's Note, SP] – Continuing a tradition began last year, the phish.net working group set out again to rank the Top 10 shows of 2014 (with Miami being included as part of the 2014 "year" despite bleeding into 2015). Normally this is where I’d caution that any ranking of Phish shows is an exercise in imposing an objective order on something that couldn’t be more subjective. And that’s true! If you really want the lecture, though, here you go. Generally our readers find these posts helpful and informative... or not. If you fall into the latter category, you've at least been warned.

Before we get started, there were some trends that emerged in our admittedly small sample size. We actually ended up with a pretty clear Top 13 that we whittled down to ten. The last three out were 7/20 Chicago, 7/26 MPP and 8/29 Dicks. After that, we were really left with a Top 4 and a Next 6. We’ll get to the Top 4 later, but as for 5-10, these were mostly shows that featured consistently strong playing throughout but perhaps lacked a truly transcendent jam. The group was all over the map in ranking these shows, with any given show as likely to be ranked five or six as it was to be left out of the Top 10 altogether. Now, without further ado, the top 10!

10. 7/12/14 Randall's Island, New York, NY – Steve Paolini
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

Some shows make the Top 10 for having a beloved jam or even set, while others have several smaller highlights. The second night at Randall's Island is part of the latter group. The first set doesn't offer much other aside from a spirited version of "ASIHTOS." After "PYITE" warms up the crowd for set two, the band starts up "Carini." Many a recent "Carini" head straight for major key bliss. This version heads straight for atmospheric space. While the jam ultimately struggles to find direction, it gets an 'A' for effort and legs out the infield single.

The "Ghost" that follows is a fine version. The jam starts out hinting at similar territory to the Chilling Thrilling "Timber" that would make its debut months later. From there it quickly finds a triumphant groove typical to many 2014 "Ghosts," before inverting into a more ominous, yet slinky, jam. After one of the stronger versions of "Wingsuit," the band opts for the obligatory New York City "Rock and Roll." The "R&R" never so much as threatens to leave the theme, but still gets points from a song selection perspective. As a bonus, they save the best for last, delivering a stellar rendition of "Harry Hood" in a year filled with them. Everyone has a different idea of what "flow" means in the context of a Phish set, but few would dispute that this set has it.

Some of the shows in these rankings were highly controversial, with some of us putting a show in our personal Top 5, while others left it off of their list completely. This show, on the other hand (as well as #9), arrive at the bottom of our list, because that's where nearly everyone had them: a borderline Top 10 show but a Top 10 show, nonetheless. Hitting a bunch of singles and doubles may get you on the All-Star team, but it's unlikely to get you in the Hall of Fame.


"Harry Hood" – 7/12/14, New York, NY (video via @LazyLightning55a)

9. 10/17/14 Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR – Martin Acaster
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

When Phish took the stage at the University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena they were definitely looking to buck some established trends. As laid out in my precap for the show, it was the first time Phish had performed in Oregon since their last show at Portland Meadows on 9/12/99, over 15 years and two periods of unconformity ago. Based on their past history of stellar performances in Eugene I tried my hand at prognostication with regard to setlist and performance quality. Though they certainly had my back with regard to the quality of their tour opening gig, excluding the no-brainer heavy dose of Fuego songs, my forecast for song selection had a pretty low success rate with only three (“Poor Heart,” “Reba,” and “The Squirming Coil”) of the likely to be played songs appearing in the show.

The home court vibe at the show was strong. Familiar faces and warm embraces abounded. Fifteen long years of “Waiting all Night” was finally coming to an end. We had begrudgingly let our lost love wander “Free” and their absence had caused pain to our “Poor Heart.” However, as soon as we had another “Sample in a Jar,” the displeasure caused by the “Strange Design” of their tour schedule during the previous fifteen (it seemed like “555”) years was forgotten and everybody was “Bouncing Around the Room.” With the awkward hugs and “I really missed you guyyyyys!!!” pleasantries out of the way... it was time to get down to business. Though certainly not flawless, “Reba” was soulful and sweet. “Roggae” brought forth visions of booger-bears and the guacamole queen. Notwithstanding a “Magilla” tease from Page, “Simple” largely lived up to its name but did segue with ample lubricity into a blistering version of “Maze.” The set closing “Squirming Coil” features a truly spellbinding concerto-pianissimo from the chairman of the boards... if that outro does not fill your cup with love, I don’t know what will.

The second set opens with an atypically buoyant “Carini” that meanders through its lightness of being and seamlessly into the Phish debut of “Plasma,” the infectious hook of which remained implanted in my mind for days afterwards. “Farmhouse” continued the first set trend of playing songs from Olivia’s pool of favorites... happy wife, happy life. This one was approached with great patience and a delicate touch... an existential state to keep in mind. “Halfway to the Moon” was definitely the make or break point for the second set. Would they turn the rocket around and glide back to an uneventful splashdown on Earth destination unreached? Plot “Twist”... HELL NO! We were going all the way. “Crosseyed and Painless” went extradimensional into an ice cold “Tomorrow Never Knows” wormhole that has resulted in memory loss and associated time gap during every subsequent relisten. Regaining our footing on Mount “Hood,” we explored the wondrous internal beauty of the Snow Dragon Glacier Cave system beneath the Sandy Glacier, then surveyed the familiar slopes of the volcano’s “Rocky Top” from the lodge. Triple encore?!?!?!... enough said. See you in Bend!


"Carini" 10/17/14 Eugene, OR (video via @InnovAsianTravel)

7. (tie) 11/2/14 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV – Tim Wade
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

The final show from Vegas has a lot more going for it than just the “Piper.” It has the most exciting version of “Free” in a decade, thanks to “Martian Monster” lyrics that will give you chills when Trey advises that “you’re about to blast off” into a ripping peak. It has one of the more interesting “YEMs” of 3.0, which shows that if you can’t take Fish to a drum solo, you can just take the drum solo to Fish. And it has a “Chalk Dust” which shines when it arrives at a “Wedge”-infused climax (even if it takes a while to establish its identity). These are all strong jams.

But the “Piper,” oh, man, the “Piper.” I have been mocked for my unabashed, rapturous praise for this short-but-glorious piece of music. But the ribbing doesn’t make it any less special. In fact, some day, this jam will help put an end to war and poverty. It will align the planets and bring them into universal harmony, allowing meaningful contact with all forms of life from extraterrestrial beings to common household pets, and... well, you get the picture. Following a breathless gallop on the worm, Trey emerges with an elegant melody, led first by Page and then by Mike, who deploys a bass bomb and a drill scream with a level of precision that gives me chills each time. The 11/2/14 “Piper” is the gem that makes this wonderful show shine. Listen with someone you love.


"Free" 11/2/14 Las Vegas, NV (video via @LazyLightning55a)

7. (tie) 12/31/14 American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL – Steve Paolini
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

The last show of 2014 proper was, let’s face it, a flawed one. The first set amounted to little more than a warmup set. By the end of a compact second set opening “BOAF,” it’s safe to say lots of folks were questioning the wisdom of the inverted new year’s run.

And then “Ghost” started. Once among Phish’s most reliable jam vehicles, these days “Ghost" is a far more uncertain proposition. The soaring “Ghost” jam is quite pleasing, but when it begins to peter out at the eleven minute mark, it feels like not so much a version of “Ghost” slipping away, but an entire New Year’s show. With the jam on life support, Fish and Trey lock into a new groove, the band returns briefly to the “Ghost” theme and then builds it up to a second peak. By the time it’s all over, we have the best “Ghost” of the year.

Photo by Scott Harris

It’s hard to overstate how refreshingly great the ensuing “Theme” -> “Cities” is, in the context of 3.0 Phish. One of the criticisms of the current era is that sometimes it seems like we know where the big jams will be coming, and we know what songs will bring them. “Theme” -> “Cities” turns all of that on its head. And, though each song only contains five-six minutes of jamming, they cover an astounding amount of terrain in that brief time. Setting side Big Cypress because it’s Big Cypress, this is almost certainly the best NYE set since 12/31/98.

Set III is another oddity. We start with the odd Phish debut of “Dem Bones,” which sets up a NYE prank that can charitably be described as underwhelming. As they did in 2014, Phish started out 2015 with a new song, this year “The Dogs.” An exploratory “Tweezer” follows and by the time it finishes, we’re left with quite possibly the best 90-minute stretch of 2014. Given that, you may wonder why this show only comes in tied for #7 in our little rankings. The answer is because there was still an hour left in the show, but Phish retreated to first set form, offering up the song selection equivalent of waving the white flag. One and a half sets of top shelf Phish and one and a half sets of entirely forgettable music. Like I said, it’s a flawed show… but a great one.


"Theme from the Bottom" 12/31/14 Miami, FL

6. 10/28/14 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA – Tim Wade
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

The second set of BGCA2 starts with a “Kill Devil” curveball, jamming out the Joy tune instead of its older cousin, “Chalk Dust.” This type-II jaunt is more propulsive than exploratory, with some Hammond color from Page, some whale-calling from Trey, and a soft landing into “Mountains In the Mist.” “Fuego” follows, and I’ll confess to disappointment that its star didn’t burn as bright this Fall. Nevertheless, there is a pretty, somewhat ambient coda that blends into “Julius.”

But the fourth quarter is where this set tightens its belt and starts to chuckle. “Twist” drifts around at first, but eventually winds its way into a dark, early-Floydian jam that makes makes me shiver. The exquisitely sinister “Twist” is followed by a quick “Runaway Jim,” and then Phish lets loose with yet another amazing “Harry Hood.” “Hood” absolutely OWNED 2014, reeling off nine – count ‘em, NINE – versions for the jamming chart (including eight straight starting with Great Woods). This one might be the best of the bunch. Diving into type-II territory around 7:30, this jam gets gritty and mean before making a neat turn, executing a gleeful “Party Time” dance, and ultimately swirling back to “Hood.” It’s a beautiful end to the set, and cements this show’s place in the top ten.


"Twist" 10/28/14 San Francisco, CA

5. 8/31/14 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO – Phillip Zerbo
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

Coming in fifth in our 2014 Top 10 is the Dick’s edition of “never miss a Sunday show,” the 8/31/14 summer finale. Starting with the unexpected, “The Curtain With” opens a show for the first time since 6/19/88 at Nectar’s or 1,519 shows (though “The Curtain” opened as recently as 11/28/97 Worcester). The set also featured an energetic “Wombat,” the always funky “Wolfman’s Brother,” an “ASIHTOS” far adrift from any shore, and a vibrant “Possum” set closer. Modern Phish shows are not won or lost in the first set, but this was a solid, spirited first half performance. Not even the “Lushington” gag or the horn-infused “Suzy” could save Friday’s opening Dick’s frame, and Saturday’s opener was a poster-child for first set malaise, leaving this the weekend’s best first set if only by default.

If 2013 was the Year of the “Tweezer,” 2014 was the Year of “Chalk Dust.” Outstanding type-II versions of “Chalk Dust” dominate the calendar, with notable offerings at Philly, Charlotte, Portsmouth, Santa Barbara, Vegas and most dramatically at Randall’s Island. This second set opener establishes flight early and maintains a steady cruising speed throughout, declining to ascend toward a dramatic peak or lurch for dramatic shifts, but nevertheless establishing a solid foundation for the set. The “Twist” that follows is easily overlooked if one just looks at the short timing, but what it lacks in expansiveness it makes up for with an attacking aggression from Trey.

Photo © Phish From the Road

A brief run through “The Wedge” paves the way for “Tweezer.” “Tweezer” escapes the main theme and settles into a groove at the five minute mark, downshifting if only briefly before Fishman insists on a driving tempo, leading the way for the band coalescing around a minor peak culminating about ten minutes in. Trey then seizes the initiative with a slick segue into “Sand” that explodes out of the gate. The first half of this almost fifteen minute gem sizzles with a danceable insistence, reaching peaksville before exploding into a brief up-tempo “Tweezer” jam that changes the trajectory… for the emphatically weird! Fishman seemed intent on riding that wave but Trey insists on “Piper” to emerge from the ashes of “Sand.” This “Piper” shoots out of a cannon, establishing a blistering early pace. Trey throws in a “Norwegian Wood” tease three minutes in before yielding the steering wheel to Page, then taking the handoff back ever so briefly and then gliding the jam to a conclusion in deep space.

“Joy” offers a tender respite from the high-octane proceedings, the only breather in this set that was otherwise jam-packed with action. The opening notes of “Mike’s Song” then signaled the set’s home stretch. Trey leads the way to Funktown with an echoplex-driven jam that evoked a modern polish on a style reminiscent of 1997 start-stop. With “Mike’s” second jam in deep hibernation and other innovations few and far between, one needn’t go overboard to call this dance-til-you-drop version the most innovative “Mike’s Song” of the post-breakup era. This style of even-less-is-more jamming would rule on fall tour, but the surprise factor here was clutch, injecting excitement and diversity into a song that, while always pleasing, was due for a breath of fresh air. “Sneakin’ Sally” re-floors the accelerator with only its second appearance within Mike’s Groove (7/9/14 Mann) before wrapping the set with a solid if uneventful “Weekapaug.” A “Loving Cup” > “Tweezer Reprise” encore puts a bow on yet another satisfying run at the fantastic Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.


"Mike's Song" 8/31/14 Commerce City, CO (video via @LazyLightning55a)

This #5 ranking is well-deserved, for as we can see the show contains a wealth of riches. That said, this is the point where the 2014 rankings become highly subjective. The first four gigs in our list are locks for those top slots in some order. Beyond that core four of shows heading on to a coveted Champion’s League appearance, any of a half dozen 2014 shows could have easily slotted here without much in the way of controversy. It reflects more on the extraordinary strength of the previous year more than any weakness in 2014, but this show would have trouble breaking any top ten (or even top fifteen) among the exceptional roster of shows from 2013. That said, the reliable first set, and impeccable construction, attention-keeping pace and jamming innovation of the money frame make 8/31/14 a show that deserves if not demands your attention.

4. 1/3/15 American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL – John Demeter
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

The final show of the touring year served as a stunning valedictory statement to the Miami run (fantastic setting with some excellent playing), to 2014 (marked by legitimate exploratory excursions in almost every engagement, and a career creative crest cloaked in a crypt), and to 3.0 thus far. The quintet of classics that kicked off this capstone had an average debut date (2/7/90) almost 25 years old. “Maze” and “Cavern” were high-energy in uncharacteristic setlist slots, but the early highlight was Trey’s triplet trilling in “Divided Sky.” The outro wasn’t a holistic home run, but the band’s intent and empathy were evident early on. Switch speeds to a sultry, swampy, and somewhat surprising “Plasma” (third time ever by Phish) that saturated the arena, a crystalline “Water in the Sky,” and a murky meandering “Melt,” characteristic of the era, and the band covered a whole lot of territory in the first half before ballistically blowing out a “Zero” and heading into halftime.

Of course, the story of this show is the second set, much of which played like a single suite of music anchored only by what seemed to be obligatory stops at actual songs. The “Disease” > “Light” > “Sally” sequence in particular played out like a triumphant tour through the history of rock and roll. The first shots in this huge improvisational sequence were fired when “DwD” almost ended, but instead went full band into tropical changes that, in the moment, we thought could have been some song… that… we couldn’t quite identify. Starting there, Phish masterfully emceed an arena-sized party, improvising through sounds and styles – upbeat, driven; the music clearly playing the band. One could recognize big chords and feel them ready to drop into “Rock and Roll,” “Low Rider,” “Manteca,” “Takin’ Care of Business,” “Simple,” and “Get Back” (for starters) at various points, but instead of landing on the crutch of covering or teasing a known classic, they kept pushing forward, furthur, into a somehow familiar unknown. The jam out of each song sounded more like the jam out of the prior song than anything else, and by the time we arrived at “Sand” and “Hood,” we were deep into bonus territory. It was the kind of night where strangers continually exchanged knowing glances with strangers, nodding the nods we only share with each other, acknowledging “special;” that in this place and time, everything is saved by Rock and Roll.

A “Birds” quote in “Suzy” and an incendiary “Good Times Bad Times” encore informed us all that after four rich nights and a damn solid six year run, They were still in ‘Attack’ mode, getting right after it. As Trey had proclaimed and predicted a couple nights prior, “2014 - Good year! 2015 - Better!!!”

And here we are...


"Down with Disease" 1/3/15 Miami, FL

3. 7/27/14 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD – Tim Wade
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

I think a lot of the Jaded Vets™ among us rolled our eyes at the initial segue into “Back On the Train.” I know I did. A song ripcorded faster than the UIC “Ghost”? You gotta be kidding me! And then the segue back into “Tweezer” turned that frown upside down and made it look silly. The return to “BOTT” revealed that Phish had brought a quiver of arrows to MPP, and I can verify that even from the couch, this “Tweezerfest” was pure delight.

Shows like these are more about playfulness than how the band plays, but there are moments of beautiful improvisation, too, in particular the third “Tweezer” segment and the jam out of “Disease.” But my oh my, how much of a blast is the “Free” -> “Tweezer” -> “Simple” -> “Tweezer” -> “Free?” How awesome is the first “Catapult” in five years? How sweet is the odd jam out of “NICU” that becomes the first “HYHU” since SPAC 2012? And how absolutely HILARIOUS is “Jennifer Dances?” It even included a poke at “Jennifer’s” detractors, and had me laughing so hard I didn’t catch Fish rhyming “song” with “dong” the first time around. Throw in the band marching off stage with the first “I Been Around” in 149 shows, and you have yourself some historic hijinx. That’s without even considering the now-rare “Fee,” “Curtain With,” and “Saw It Again” from the first set. This show is tier one fun, so throw it on when you need a smile!

"I Been Around" 7/27/14 Columbia, MD

Speaking of tier one, we're heading there now. Only two 2014 shows received first place votes in our rankings (for context, six shows received first place votes in our 2013 rankings). In fact, with one exception, this was a unanimous top two.

2. 7/13/14 Randall's Island, New York, NY – Scott Marks
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

"Chalk Dust Torture" > "Light" > "Tweezer." Three songs, 56 minutes. Since Phish walked on stage at the Hampton Coliseum six years ago, having a trio of tunes filling up almost an hour has been a rare feat, something that seemed more likely to be found in a monster second set in the mid 90s. Leading the way was a multi-layered "Chalk Dust Torture." Quickly straying off the song's chord structure to chart into jam territory with no turning back, this majestic version had many turns and left me instantly thinking that this was one of the top renditions in the song's 24-year history. With most takes on "Chalk Dust" failing to reach the ten minute mark, the third night of Randall's produced the longest version ever, clocking in at just under 28 minutes and surpassing the old record-holder from IT by two minutes. This "Chalk Dust" has stood the test of time, passing through the haze of immediate post-show hype to stand among not only Phish's best jams of 2014, but also the all-time top versions of the song. "Light" followed "Chalk Dust" with Trey dabbling in a "St. Thomas" tease in the middle of the jam, then an amazing melodic finish before "Tweezer" entered the fray. "Tweezer" had a couple of slow bluesy breakdowns before rising back up to a powerful rush to the finish line, only to return to the melody and slow down to completion.

The first set of the show featured the first "Sand" to ever start off a Phish concert and was followed by a setlist that didn't veer that far off the path with song selection or improvisation and ended with a powerful "Melt." While the second set post-"Tweezer" took an energy dip before finishing off with a tightly-knit selection of songs, all that was lost in the shuffle was dwarfed by the three songs opening the second set; a trio that easily ranks among the best multi-song combinations Phish has put forth in the 3.0 era, sliding right into place with the Albany 2009 "Seven Below" -> "Ghost" in terms of musical blocks the band has put forth.


"Light" 7/13/14 New York, NY (video via @LazyLightning55a)

1. 10/31/14 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV – Brian Feller
Official LivePhish Soundboard * Audience Recording

Your trip is short! They attack! These two phrases are now forever part of the Phish lexicon thanks to one of the coolest "gag" shows in Phish history, 10/31/14.

Phish's Halloween shows have always been draped in secrecy. Sometimes we've been given hints along the way, but the Phish organization has done a fantastic job over the years of maintaining a healthy element of surprise. After mixed reviews from 2013's Wingsuit set, there was a lot of anxiety and wonder amongst people I knew. Trey even indicated the time of covering albums was over. So, what were they going to do this year? When fall tour started, it seemed to be the best kept secret yet. Even the day of the show, most people I spoke with had not a clue. Personally, I had no intention of going to Halloween until we were hanging out with Fishman before the LA Forum show, and he made it very clear that we should come to Las Vegas. Based on hints that tantalized but gave nothing away, we made the trip happen on a couple days notice. All we knew was that it was indeed going to be an album, but not a traditional album cover. And that it was a classic but not in the way an Elvis or Zeppelin album is classic. And the Hot Dog guy was involved in set design. Set design? Oh!

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a wondeful place to host a run of Phish shows. Staff that has seen everything are quite adept at scene management. In a town that always goes overboard, we were easy for them, I'm sure. The venue had rare in-and-out priviliges, which was truly great. Upon entering, it was apparent this was a special spectacle when you looked up to see beautiful chandelier-like installations hanging above the crowd. For just these gigs. Phish gives in ways you don't often see in popular music, and we would soon see how much intention, effort, money and dedication was put in to this singular night.

The first set was thoughtfully Halloween-y in song selection but gave no real hints. The Phishbill had been let loose so you either knew what the classic Disney sound effects LP was or you didn't. I had the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House as a kid, so when I saw the Phishbill I freaked. But I still had no idea really what was coming. As setbreak went along, it seemed like all of a sudden there was a graveyard where none had been. OH! Hello! We were blessed that some friends saved us a spot about seven people back dead center, and that's where we watched the first two sets. I assume you have all heard and/or seen the Haunted House set so you know that it is up there with some of Phish's most memorable musical explorations. A set of brand new, original, instrumental jams with Halloween themes and weird noises and space ships and Chinese torture and attacking birds, played in a circle in a Haunted House in white suits and zombie makeup? Uh, what?!?!? I looked around that set and saw jaws on the floor everywhere. People who would normally be dancing with abandon, mouths agape and smiling at the same time. Wow. They could have walked off after set two and done no more, but in true Phish fashion we got a full third set. I barely remember it, but a rare set ending "Tweeprise" out of "Sand" was a trick AND treat.


"Your Pet Cat" 10/31/14 Las Vegas, NV (video via @LazyLightning55a)

2014 Halloween was certainly one of those special nights. Top Shelf Phish with a lot of thought, practice, and love for where they are now. Ever forward 30 years later is no easy task, but they did it. No, they killed it! Pun intended. There is no resting on laurels. Phish pushes on. What's my favorite show? The next one.

Read more...

Chris Calarco (www.chriscalarcoyoga.com) has been practicing yoga for over a decade. He recently began incorporating Phish’s music into some of his classes, including classes for the benefit of The Mockingbird Foundation, and we wanted to take the opportunity to publicly thank and acknowledge him for his work, and learn more about his inspiration.

Can you explain how or what inspired you to create Phishy yoga classes? Does your experience with Phish's music inform your practice?

When I first started practicing yoga, I would feel exhilarated and exhausted following class. It was a truly beautiful, wonderful feeling, and it felt really familiar. Pretty quickly it came to me that the feeling reminded me of the post Phish show feeling. So, in that way, Phish informed my yoga almost immediately. I had always said that I learned the most about myself dancing at Phish shows. But that was before I found yoga, which insists that one be willing to skillfully and honestly stare yourself in the face, and be self-reflective. Yoga isn't simply a physical practice. It’s a way of looking at yourself and the world. So much of the yoga philosophy that I studied and continue to study is a sort of “homecoming,” in that I first learned it all through the creative inner exploration at Phish shows. It was a beautiful confirmation to "re-learn."

When did you get “IT” with respect to Phish?

I was a later comer to the Phish game. I initially ignored them. I didn't understand them, and even pushed them away as my friends got into them. My brother started getting into them in 1995, but I was not down. But I eventually got “IT” in 1997. In summer 1997, after my freshman year in college, I was living in London. Phish was on their European tour. My brother told me Phish was playing Royal Albert Hall (6/16/97), and that venue was literally like three blocks from my house. So I walked there with a couple friends, and saw my first Phish show. I was hooked, immediately. I freakin' loved it! I called him up and told him to get me tickets to Star Lake and Darien. Needless to say, I loved those shows as well, and then decided on a whim to drive to Limestone for The Great Went. It was all over from there.

What are you up to yoga-wise these days?

Well, I am involved in a big project here in Portland, and that has been taking up most of my time and energy for the last year. For the last two years, I have been building a green building. I've never been in the construction business before. But practicing yoga in good company at Yoga Union in Portland, Oregon (www.yogaunioncwc.com), has been central to my personal growth over the past eight years. I am good friends with the owners of Yoga Union, and because of the growing community there, we decided together to expand the studio. I found an old building just a block and a half away from the current studio and purchased it. We entered into a long design phase in order to renovate the building and to build it in the most sustainable way possible. Little did I know the adventure I was getting into! More than two years later we are deep in the throes of construction with a finish line in sight in mid-June of this year.

The project has taken a lot of patience and forced me to look at myself and my habits like nothing I have done before. Basically, it has challenged the effectiveness of my yoga practice, and been an amazing learning experience. The building is called The Breathe Building and will house an expanded version of Yoga Union with two studios, locker rooms, sauna, larger retail space and gorgeous roof top deck for gathering and outdoor yoga classes. There will be a full service holistic wellness center on site called Prema Health, as well as a healthy cafe called Fern Kitchen. We've got a lot going on in a 10,000 sq. ft. space!

Christ, you do sound busy!

The Breathe Building will truly be the most sustainable built community wellness center in the country, and I can't wait till the doors open. You can find out a little more here https://www.facebook.com/breathebuilding and www.breathebuilding.com.

So, in light of this work, I personally didn’t teach much Phish yoga in 2014. But in May 2013, I held the first Phish Yoga Teacher Training in New York. Five people -- all of them Registered Yoga Teachers (a requirement) – attended the training, and we discussed the in’s and out’s of teaching yoga with Phish music. It’s a unique and super fun way to practice for sure. So, in 2014 those guys held it down big time on summer and fall tours. Big shout out to them: Tracy Stonaker, Kerry Contini, Michael Levin, Sara MacConnell and Brooke Carlson.

What was the playlist of the last Phish-themed yoga class you taught?

The setlist from the last Phish class I taught is:

Soul Shakedown Party 7/3/11

Cities 8/6/10

Carini 7/12/14

Roses are Free 4/3/98

Brian and Robert 7/31/13

Fee 7/1/12

Harry Hood 7/3/13

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see that you played the Berkeley Cities. That’s up there with my favorite Phish improvisations, frankly. When did you first begin practicing yoga?

I started practicing seriously in 2005, when Phish was on their second hiatus, of course.

How would you describe your yoga practice to someone who's largely ignorant of yoga, e.g., someone like me, who has only attended three or four Vinyasa classes?

Well, yoga has come to be understood by many in this country as a purely physical practice, and really modern yoga has even become synonymous with the postural practice. But while this is a huge part of the practice to be sure, in my view it’s not all of it. I truly see the postures as a way of gaining self-understanding. The poses are blank slates; they have no inherent meaning in them. They are shapes we take to see how our bodies, mind, and hearts react. In some way, like drugs. It’s like, "Try this pose on. This is the shape. These are things that might help. Do your best. Get a good teacher and stay strong when things get hairy. Rest when you need to. And keep practicing." You can learn a lot about yourself when you are dedicated to a repetitive discipline.

The postures bring us increased strength and flexibility, as well as the ability to find some form of calm in intense situations. An endless exploration of lessons learned on the mat has a lot of relevance to how we are off the mat. There is a whole world of meditation, of learning how to breathe more effectively, of philosophical teachings that can help inform how we approach ourselves, others, and the world around us. Yoga can become something you do for exercise, or it can become a way of living. Either is great.

Do you have any advice for people just beginning to take yoga classes or who haven't yet taken one but are interested? For example, is there a certain beginning style of yoga class, like Vinyasa, that you would recommend that someone take before getting into other styles?

I would recommend starting with a "Yoga Basics" type class. Generally, this would be called a "Hatha" Yoga class, which in reality is a very general term for the postural practice, but has become a way of saying "slower, more mindful yoga." I believe it’s necessary for beginners to take it slowly, and learn the shapes and the alignment of the body, their body, before taking a Vinyasa class. Vinyasa is certainly the most popular form of yoga in the modern world, because it is often fast, athletic and a great workout. Unfortunately, however, I think there is a lot of bad instruction out there, and beginners should really begin at the beginning. Some might move on more quickly than others to be sure, but a basics class, or even a private lesson, is ideal.

Phish-themed yoga classes are now taking place in cities nationwide, right? Where can one go for more information about them? Is there an email list or Twitter account to follow for updates on the locations and dates/times of classes?

Yes, Phish yoga classes do happen nationwide. The best place to look for information would be both our Facebook group page www.facebook.com/phishyoga for all of the latest announcements, as well as our website www.surrendertotheflowyoga.org.

Proceeds from the Phish yoga classes benefit two organizations. Because both Phish and yoga have given me so much, it was natural for me to use this platform to give back to kids who need music and yoga, so we give 50% of our proceeds to The Mockingbird Foundation (which Phish fans are very familiar with). The other 50% goes to Living Yoga, an amazing non-profit that provides yoga and meditation to children and adults in schools, prisons, drug treatment facilities, and more.

What music do you listen to other than Phish? Have you thought about using other improvisational rock music during yoga classes and, if so, what?

I listen to all kinds of music. Truly. Far too much to start listing here. I do teach other music themed classes. People seem to really dig em. Often I'll even use live DJs for my Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, and Madonna classes. Those are a blast. My friend and I do a Pink Floyd class with video projections, a light show, and more. I've also done a Soul Music class with a live DJ. I stick with the artists that have moved millions of hearts, ya know? It’s a great time.

Thank you for your time, for your practice, and for your support of Mbird.org, Chris!

Read more...