I thought Back on the Train was the highlight of Set 1. Roggae and Theme also very nice. NMINML was best of the show. Solid start to the run...more fun tonight!
Just don't expect anything close to the Dead or the Allman brothers band and you'll probably be fine. I still haven't listened to a Phish studio record. Don't love the songs but I like the jams This was one jam that got me started
I think I heard A Picture of Nectar before I heard any live Phish. The songs from that period (roughly 92-93) are still among my favorites. The live era that followed (93-95) is many people's favorite live Phish era, mine included.
Same here. And I still think that's one of their better (best?) studio albums. I've sort of gravitated towards more of their studio material in recent years. With their live stuff, I find myself picking and choosing too often, much like I do with the Dead.
I agree with the input re: live and A Live One. But specific to studio albums I think Junta is as good a place to start as any, not just because it’s the first but also because it’s very good. My personal favorite is Rift. Or for a more accessible entry point that’s a bit further down the line, Billy Breathes is a good option and well regarded.
YouTube is a great place to start...Phish live is also a visual spectacle. There are plenty of full concerts up from the LivePhish webcasts with great audio & video. The New Year's NYC run & Dick's shows are plentiful & awesome intros.
Managed to (mostly) avoid the set list before now and have just finishing listening - apart from the encore which is now playing - and dayum, that 2nd set! NMINML into Twist. Wow. Two out-there jams with awesomely surreal keyboard sounds. Mike’s bass louder too. Sooooo good. I saw all 4 nights two years ago, and man do I wish I were doing that again this year. Great exploratory music.
Where to start with phish? That’s really hard to say. A Live One really captures their live sound in their prime. I also know people who got into phish via their studio album, Billy Breathes. It’s really different from their live show but it’s a really great album which might spark some interest.
I like a lot of studio Phish, so I don't buy the "studio albums suck!" narrative. I think Junta (ignore the throwaway bonus tracks on disc 2, they're not part of the original album) and Billy Breathes are two very good starting points that wonderfully encapsulate Phish as musicians and songwriters. Obviously A Live One really captures the true essence of the band as a whole at that moment in time, the way Live Dead or Europe '72 did. The whole thing is a bit overwhelming, and "Stash" as track 2 I think would turn some people off, so I suggest picking and choosing from it, namely "Bouncing Round The Room," "Chalk Dust Torture," "Wilson," "Simple," "Harry Hood," and "Squirming Coil," which would give you a nice 50-odd minute sampler of easily-digestible, definitive live Phish.
I'll echo everyone who suggested A Live One... For me if I had to pick one album that was *most* representative of the band, that would be it. They were at the top of their game in '94 and this is a nice sampling of material. Another one very easy to get into is Slip, Stitch & Pass. This album was taken from a simply ridiculous show in March '97 in the middle of their deep funk. Some of my personal favorite shows are the four from the Island Tour in April '98... Pound for pound, the best "tour" of them all.
Because they embrace varied genres, it is hard to say. However, to me the archetypical song is Reba, which combines detailed virtuosic composed sections with inscrutable lyrics followed by a “IV-V chord” jam that, like that in FZ’s Inca Roads, builds to a furious intensity. It also features a common Phish theme of the “chase” where the guitar and keys are offset in time and create a twisted vibe of one instrument chasing the other around a musical tree, like squirrrels...
Dec. 30th 2017 Madison Square Garden New York, NY SET ONE Mike's Song I Am Hydrogen Weekapaug Groove Tweezer > Ass Handed Kill Devil Falls Bathtub Gin Mikes-h20 were shaky but things REALLY picked up during Weekapaug. I'm enjoying this set immensely.
Dec. 30th 2017 Madison Square Garden New York, NY SET ONE Mike's Song I Am Hydrogen Weekapaug Groove Tweezer > Ass Handed Kill Devil Falls Bathtub Gin Brother
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York December 30, 2017 2017 Song Count | 249 songs Run Poster by Your Cinema | https://goo.gl/eE1H5W Run Poster by Matt Taylor | https://goo.gl/V5w8Ns Run Poster by Rich Kelly | https://goo.gl/iJ2GJ6 Set One: 8:12 pm - 9:30 pm Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove Tweezer > Ass Handed Kill Devil Falls > Bathtub Gin Brother More Set Two: 10:04 pm Down With Disease
I agree with all recommendations above but I’d also strongly suggest to watch the documentary Bittersweet Motel to get a good feel/idea of the PHISH world.
Great call! I have a friend who fought getting into phish on my strong recommendation. However, watching this allowed them to form an appreciation.