And as remote as Phish located their festivals, Limestone, ME and Everglades...there they were. I'm a middle class suburbanite who got into the scene kinda late. I rarely slept well at those shin-digs...so streaming HD on my meager system for twenny fah dollaz a pop. I'm down with that disease, mang!
Having a wife who doesn't like Phish seems like it could make traveling to shows easier? She can watch the kids while you're gone! Then you can watch the while she goes and does her thing. I have friends who work it that way.
I was at Festival 8. Highlights: The Stones set of course, and the afternoon acoustic set, although it was pretty damn hot. The venue is excellent, and wasn't close to sold out, so plenty of room to do your own thing, whatever that might be. 2009 overall doesn't hold a lot of musical highlights for me though. They were just getting back into the groove after the hiatus. 2009<2010<2011<2012 for sure.
That's a song that is hard to nail live. The backing vocals are perfect on the studio track, and that is hard to replicate well live, and actually, to my memory, they never really have. I like seeing that song performed though, but I prefer the Billy Breathes version. The one I got burnt out on to the point of annoyance was "Loving Cup." I had to make myself enjoy it, if that makes any sense.
I hated Character Zero from the start. Repetitive and dull. Since it has one of their big buildup runs at the end, it was a frequent set closer and tended to bum me out. The song structure is too similar to the vastly superior Tweezer Reprise (I know, unfair comparison).
Not sure if you’re already aware of this, but the phish.net jamchart section is invaluable. It lists every notable version of every jammed song, searchable by name, date, venue etc. wanna know the best Rebas? This section can be your best friend. Jamming Charts - Phish.Net
Interesting. Because im still familiarizing myself with the music, im still "neutral" on everything for the most part. Cant wait till i can see that song coming and have a warranted groan about it ala Easy Answers. Oh and i heard that Purple Rain! That was awesome!
So the general consensus is, i take it, they slowly got a bit better and better each year back? What about 2013-2018?
I think so. I can do without pretty much any show from 2009-11ish. Some in 2012-14 are good, especially the ones at Dick's in Colorado. From Vegas 2014 onward they hit their stride, especially the summer of 2015 and Magnaball. Not a perfect list by any means, but it can be fun to pick the top rated show from each year here: Top Rated Phish Shows - Phish.net
Whats the significance of the Dick's venue? Maybe its jist coincidence on my part but i swear it keeps popping up all over.
I’m not sure I agree with that. I feel they hit a peak in late 2012 and rode it through 2015. Ups and downs of course, but I’m not sure they’ve done better than Dick’s 2012 since. 2016 was a downish year, and 2017 was great, although relatively few shows were played. This is all relative of course. While I’m certainly thrilled they’re active and healthy, 3.0 phish is somewhat safe, compared to what came before.
It’s a combination of factors: tradition (3 shows over Labor Day weekend every year since 2011), centralish location, ease of travel & lodging, onsite camping, huge shakedown, and some seriously great shows. 8/31/12 is still my favorite 3.0 show. And now weed is legal there. Also, until recently it was an easy ticket.
i personally think the Baker's took the piss out of Dick's last year, if I may be blunt. Also, the 2016 BGCA run was great, in my opinion. In fact, I think all the recent BGCA shows I've seen, and that's most of them, had "something." And then L.A. is an afterthought, unfortunately. But with 2 here and then 2 at the Forum this year, I wonder where the momentum will be. I'm hoping L.A., since those are the only shows I'm locked into as of now. Or maybe they log three or four blazing shows in a row. That would be nice.
Bouncin Round the Room. Horrible. My first show. Shoreline ‘95 http://phish.com/tours/dates/sat-1995-09-30-shoreline-amphitheatre/ Reba was epic and the 2nd set was straight fire. I still remember the chess board and thinking, well this is different but ok. I felt , or at least I must have felt the way you feel right now. Getting my first newsletters and reading the Pharmers Almanac pouring over the setlist minutia.
As I said, there were moments in 2016, including SF, but overall a down year IMO. 2017 Dicks was frontloaded, with a great show on Friday (still listening to that Carini) and 2 others that were just ok.
SoCal shows have often been underwhelming for some reason, but it’s not stopping me from going this year. Long Beach being the exception-wasn’t it there that they unleashed that epic Rock And Roll in 2012, that basically announced, “we’re back.” With Justin Bieber in the crowd, taboot. And, of course, the just-released Chula Vista ‘99.
But I still go back to the early studio albums for the wet woody hollow sound of the Languedoc up against the sublime and also somehow woody sound of the B3, and electric piano, supported so lithely by the precise and resonant bass and underpinned, if not occasionally propelled by the short appendages of Tubbs. Only to be outdone by the quirky lyrics that try to tell tall tales of people or creatures you might not want to meet...mulcahey can suck it, however. Never found purchase in my estimation... Also try my 1st show, 11/20/92... a powerhouse.
