The following story, by Jennifer Hersey Cleveland, is reprinted from the Orleans County Record (and online there but behind a paywall) by permission of Executive Editor Dana Gray:
It was one of the longest traffic jams in history, backed up for miles after thousands of Phish fans abandoned their vehicles to hike to the former Newport State Airport in Coventry for what was billed as the band’s farewell concert.
But the fans, stuck for days on Interstate 91 and surrounding roads, found comfort in the locals who fed them, provided fuel and shelter, and gave them rides into the show.
That was 11 years ago, and now, filmmakers Alex Daltas of Los Angeles and Lawrence Shapiro of Denver want to capture that giving spirit in a documentary called “Jam.”
Welcome to the 208th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. The winner will receive an MP3 code good for a free download of any show, 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!
Update: The correct answer has been identified and has upvotes.
Answer: Congrats to first time winner @davek87, who by identifying the 10/31/89 David Bowie (RIP) wins a code good for the free download of a show from LivePhish.com. Thanks again to @Dog_Faced_Boy for handling the MJM last week, and stay tuned for yet another MJM this coming Monday at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT. MJM3.0: We Keep It Rollin'!
As we promised several months ago, this is the second installment of a contest to win a pair of tickets to Mike's Friday January 29th show at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, courtesy of the promoter, Goldenvoice.
Like the first, perhaps too easy contest which was quickly solved and might have had too many clues within the question, the question is about Mike's non-musical artistic endeavors, this time, about the opening reception of a gallery exhibition of colored acrylic scupltures Mike did in collaboration with his mother who is an artist and sculptor. Here are the questions, answer in the comments below, first correct answer wins (or closest if no totally correct answers in the decision of the judges):
1. Explain what is going on here.
2. Approximately when (month, year) and where (place) was this photo taken?
3. What eponymous artwork related to Phish is Mike's mother also known for?
A larger version of this image can be seen at http://i.imgur.com/1wEXtWxh.jpg
[Editor's Note: We'd like to welcome phish.net contributor Craig Hillwig for this recap of 1/17/16 Phish @ Riviera Maya. -Read more...
Welcome to the 207th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. Pete is away this week visiting the inlaws in Mexico, but unfortunately for him, he's in the wrong region of Mexico to catch any of the Phish action there. Anyway, he asked me to step in for him this week - big shoes to fill, but I'll give it a spin, and here we go. The winner will receive an MP3 code good for a free download of any show, 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.
Answer: Congratulations to @schvice for correctly identifying the 8/21/93 Runaway Jim, his third MJM victory. To his credit, @schvice pegged the unusual (or wacky) nature of the jamming as belonging to 1993, particularly August '93, and began digging from there. I have newfound respect for @ucpete and the challenge he faces each week trying to stump you guys! Fortunately for you, Pete will be back next Monday with MJM 208, and being the competitive guy he is, he's not going to tolerate the blog getting trounced week in and week out forever. So hopefully he'll spin you a real zinger. Good luck and thanks to all for participating.
[Editor's Note: We'd like to welcome one of our longstanding .net users, Robert Fisher, for this recap of 1/16/16 Phish @ Riviera Maya. -PZ]
Bienvenidos from Mexico!! I have bruises running up and down my arm reflecting the number of times I’ve pinched myself to assure that I’m not dreaming. Phish. In Mexico. On the beach. Surrounded by close friends. This is literally a dream come true. Either that or I’ve died and gone to Phish Heaven. Last year my wife and I came down for Strings & Sol, which was at the time one of the best musical experiences of my life. One of the first things I said to my wife after we settled in was, “Can you imagine what it would be like if Phish did this?!?” In my wildest imagination, I never thought it would happen. But we’re here. It’s not everyday that one can frolic in the turquoise waves in the shadow of Mayan ruins and a few hours later, walk down the beach to see a Phish show.
Typically the purpose of these recaps is to provide an immediate post-show view of the music, both its highlights and low points, allowing those not in attendance a chance to read about what they missed. 95% of the recaps focus on the music alone, with the occasional commentary reserved for the set and setting, or the crowd energy, or the vibe. But these shows are different in that respect. I was asked to recap this show, not because of the number of shows I’ve seen, or my musical background, or my extensive experience reviewing musical performances. No, it’s largely because I’m here, on the ground, in a position to share with people what it’s like to be here, on the beach seeing Phish in Mexico. These Riviera Maya resort shows account for a mere .0016% of all Phish shows, and the setting and vibe take on far more importance than usual.
Photo © @Phish_FTR
By Noah Cole (@col_forbin)
So. Much. Anticipation. Phish’s first tropical destination show, the first all-inclusive Phish experience, the first show in Mexico. What would the band have in store to welcome 5000 of their friends to the Mayan Rivera?
Like most Phish experiences, the lead up to the event can be all-consuming with planning and questions – especially when nobody really knows what to expect for a first time event. The discussion on Facebook groups dedicated to connecting the thousands of fans following the lines going south rose to a fever pitch in the days before, as feeds were filled with selfies from smiling faces on flights from every possible point to Cancun. As people landed in the Cancun airport, they were whisked away on charter buses to one of six resorts – two at the host, Barcelo Maya Beach, and four in the surrounding towns.
Photo © Noah Cole
Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road
Welcome to the 206th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday. This week, we have a daily double edition, and we'll be giving away two prizes for two different puzzles. Each winner will receive an MP3 code good for a free download of any show, courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. To win the first prize, be the first person to identify the song and date of the first part (i.e., the first 30 seconds) of the mystery jam clip. To win the second prize, be the first person to identify each of the 14 song titles in the clip -- you do not need to identify the dates of each of the 14 clips to win the second prize. A push in the right direction for the megaclip: each song is a Phish original, though most are rarities (and one has never been played live). Each person gets one guess per day per puzzle, with the second “day” starting after I post the hint. A hint will be posted on Tuesday if necessary, with the answers to follow on Wednesday.
Technical note: Like MJM200, on some devices, the longer track skips back to the beggining a minute or two in. Use the Souncloud link for more reliable playback if you can't hear all 14 clips.
Answers: The Blog bites the dust again -- twice, on two touchdowns (and PATs) worth of clips! Congratulations to @justino, who in 9 minutes (mere seconds before @P0opyw0opy) managed to identify the 8/6/10 Simple from the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA. In doing so, he takes home a download code good at LivePhish.com. And congratulations to bust-out maestro @obliviousfool17 who was neither oblivious nor foolish in figuring out the song titles for 14 clips of Phish originals going back 30 years; he (w)ent to the b(l)og and got himself a LivePhish.com download code too. For those on the quest, I'm guessing you know by now that most MJMs spell something, but if not, you can view all 14 answers in a row in the MJM Results spreadsheet below. I'm off next week, but in my stead will be a special guest and colleague of mine from the Jam Charts Team, who has sat back and watched me fail to stump you repeatedly, so he's ready to pick up the slack. MJM 3.0: keeps it rollin'!
Welcome to the 205th edition of Phish.Net's Mystery Jam Monday, and first of 2016. The winner will receive an MP3 code good for a free download of any show, 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. Happy New Year!
Tuesday Update: No hint needed, it's been identified.
Answer: Congrats to now four-time winner @WayIFeel, who by identifying the 7/20/13 Light from Northerly Island, Chicago, wins an MP3 code good for the download of an entire show from LivePhish.com. There seems to have been some confusion about the MJM prize, so let me reiterate that folks can use their winning codes to download any single show from the LivePhish.com archives. Stay tuned for next week's MMMJM, where we'll get both meta- and multi- with our clips.
“What’s up, 2016 Phish?
“It was a pleasure making your mellow, care-free acquaintance last night.
“You may be able to tell by the fact that I shaved my face and put on my Important Show Sneaks With Funky-Assed Day-Glo Laces that I am looking forward to getting to know you a little better tonight, baby. Please feel free to let your hair down and do the whole Garden thing you do. I’ll be stuck to you the whole time. Like groundscore on your shoe.
“Requests? De moi? Wouldn’t dream of it. Play what you want, but by all means feel free to add some nutmeg and other spice to the “Tweezer” cider you’ve got brewing. Some like it hot, you know what I’m sayin’?
“What’s that, you ask? Why, of course you can dim the lights.”
Photo © @Phish_FTR
The final act of this MSG holiday run boots up with what almost feels like a tease of “Your Pet Cat,” versus a performance. It’s gotten shorter than “Tube” way faster than it took “Tube” to get as short as “Tube” is. Actual statistics may or may not bear me out.
“AC/DC Bag” slips into the two slot at what can only be described as a Weir-esque tempo. Message: the quartet from Vermont is going to storm the castle on their own time tonight. Page swings it out on the grand for a few measures, then Kuroda’s HAL 9000 Sentient Wizard Pod sends lighted signals that instruct Trey when to start the climactic trilling. He obeys. He must.
The song... is over.
Gently, Trey begins chording “NICU” on his Ocelot Languedoc (sometimes called “OcelDoc” by rig-nerds and collector types who are so busy buffing pickups that they can’t spare three syllables). “NICU” does not go very well, I’m afraid, possibly owing to the not-having-rehearsed-the-song-at-all thing, or, like, other factors. When properly cared for, this song can propel a set forward and rarely even birth lovely wee jamlets (see: 10/30/98 II). When it’s being crossed off a to-do list, it tends to underachieve.
Photo © @hersch
That makes the selection of “It’s Ice” all the more mysterious. If the relatively elementary changes in “NICU” defy mastery, why dig a deeper hole? Yes, we are sensing a pattern here.
But now, what is this? A “Divided Sky” through yonder window breaks, and despite some missteps, it’s almost as if the Pause in “Divided” is the reset button on this flagging set. The band collectively breathes out the old and breathes in the new, and the music between this moment and the set break is infused with an extra measure of the good stuff.
After a powerful conclusion to “Divided,” a muscular “Axilla” sets the table for “Maze.” While it always has potential to light fire to the building, this “Maze” keeps the pot at a rolling simmer, with the highlight of the song once again arriving before the final peak as Trey transforms into a comp player and serves his Chairman dutifully through the organ run with slashing, atonal chords.
“Train Song” marks yet another brief retreat into precious atmospherics, but a deliberate “Julius” punctuates this mostly-wobbly first set with some legit emphasis.
Onto the second, where “Tweezer” is not a question of “if” but “when.” That question is answered promptly – “Tweezer” is NOW.
Through the composed section of this “Tweezer,” my legs withstand beatings from flailing children dancing their little bottoms off, careening here-then-there-then-here. Mike and Page share some lewd instrumental pillow talk during the pre-Ebeneezer funk breakdown, and we are propelled forth into the jam at warp speed.
Photo © Jake Silco
Trey’s hot take is at first quite staccato, leaping from eighth note to eighth note with barely a touch to each string as Mike weaves a bed of luxurious, sustained tones behind him. Both players are pulling the other two behind them, creating an undercurrent of tension as they try to force their way to escape velocity. Fishman, demigod that he may be, can only hold back so long before the floodgates finally burst, and Trey gushes forth with a deeply satisfying blitzkrieg of pentatonic goodness.
There’s another virtual huddle, then a transitional passage with Page in the lead on clav, and finally a frenzied conversation in octaves that precipitates a shift to the major. The first measures of this blissout sound like the Big Cypress Sand jam on 78 rpm, and it’s apparent by now that this “Tweezer” is playing for the win. The band effortlessly moves from a 3-chord major key meditation to monochromatic and then back again, and then once again into blues rock territory, where they craft another peak of sorts with a stop-start jam.
As a bona fide sucker for the breakdown, I wish this could go on longer, but we have other places to go yet! A climbing four-pack of chords generates a jam somewhat akin to “Tweeprise” for a minute or so before “Sand” announces itself. At first and second blush, this is a truly spectacular, must-hear “Tweezer” that for my money may be the jam of the holiday run. Finger-licking great.
“Sand,” while mostly straightforward, is “Tweezer’s” note-perfect disco chaser, and deliciously funky. Just before the 8 minute mark, it is apparent that Mike wants to take this one out there, but Trey ain’t having it. He ties a proper bow on Sand in another minute or two, and introduces “Limb By Limb.” This “Limb” and the “Suzy Greenberg” that follow it don’t pretend to go anyplace special – they’re just solid readings of tried and true utility tunes that glide home easily on the froth and foam of the “Tweezer -> Sand” segment.
The fourth quarter is anchored capably by “Harry Hood” and “You Enjoy Myself,” both of which you can see coming around the corner. Mike assumes a commanding role in the early moments of this “Hood” jam while Fishman dances across his snare. Page moves to his Rhodes, suggesting a moodier direction, and the band slides agreeably into the minor, where they map their rapid ascent. Trey makes something of a tactical blunder in moving to his Whammy for some whale-calls, though, and this takes the wind out of the sails as “Hood” rather clunks to its unremarkable end.
Photo © @Phish_FTR
[Curfew is a factor at this point, in fairness, and it seems Trey wants to let the “YEM” breathe. Fair enough.]
And breathe it does! Versions of this song that contain soloing from Trey are now the exception versus the rule, but this one has a pretty good one with lots of greasy wah. Mike and Fish nail the drums-and-bass section, and this is suddenly one of my favorite straightforward “YEMs” in quite a while.
“Lizards,” as always, is bloody gorgeous, its melodies perfect for conjuring a mood of gratitude. Tonight, in this placement and this setting, it feels like a carol, or a benediction. And the ever-thunderous “Tweezer Reprise” is there to make sure those smiles stay chiseled on our faces as we shuffle back – sated – to Our Normal Lives.
A happy, healthy, and prosperous 2016 to all of you, from all of us here at Phish.net! Nos vemos en Mexico!
Our next puzzle will have you spinning. All you need, is on the label - though click through, if you're playing, for a higher-quality image.
Concert images (clockwise from bottom left) by Andrew Blackstein (8/23/15 and 10/31/14) and Jake Silco (7/12/14 and 8/23/15) used by permission.
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