I tend to go for the more high energy uptempo stuff usually. With the Dead, 1991 and 1977 and 1974 are my favorite years. How does Phish go year to year? Did their sound evolve as well?
I realize as much. Until i can get my hands on the studio albums im just going through official live stuff. Thats what i did with the Dead. Jist start from the beginning (officially) and work into it. I am so surprised i didnt get into these guys earlier. They are RIGHT up my alley.
80's to 92 - energetic, proggy stuff 93 - starting to experiment more live 94/95 - long experimental improvs 96 - transition between 95 and 97 97 - long funk jams 98-00 - Trey gets erratic, hiatus 02-04 - weird druggy long jams 09-present - enthusiastic, usually more concise jams
Thanks for the breakdown! Yea i was gonna ask what the consensus is on 2000 onwards. Good? Bad? The ole "good just not as good as..."?
It's a bit like asking for the consensus on the 80s or 90s Dead. I'd suggest sticking to 1993-2000 period at the beginning. Two great shows that should give you an idea where Phish had begun the ascent from and where they concluded their most creative period are: Phish - 5/8/93 UNH Fieldhouse, Durham, NH Phish - 6/14/00 Drum Logos, Fukuoka, Japan
Colorado 1988 - If you want to hear how Phish sounded at the beginning, this is the release to listen to.
02-04 is sometimes great, sometimes hard to listen to. 09-present is usually fun but a bit safe. If you compare it to the Dead, you could think of them as 1983 to 86 and 1987 to 89.
As a supplement to what @pbuzby outlined you might find this summary useful (it only goes through 2012): From: Musical Evolution of Phish ?
Thanks for the link mate. Also, hearing my first Tweezer right now. 10 31 90 Wjat the hell is this lol
Personally...2013 on is where the really good stuff is. 2015 in particular was a remarkably consistent year (especially Watkins). But, Halloween 2014 is mind blowing... and 7.27.14 set II is more fun than it has any right to be. If you go with 2003... 2.28 and 3.1 are what you need. I’m not a fan of 2000...with the exception of Fukuoka 6.14.00 Live Phish 4.
10 31 90 I talked last night about how the 12 31 95 Reba blew my mind. This one is doing it too. It's like when I'm listening to the Dead and Bird Song just keeps building and building and building and building and it seems like it's never gonna stop. And then, dang it, they killed it....
Back in the day 10/31/90 was one of the most commonly available Phish soundboards, and for good reason as far as playing quality goes. My cassette of that got a lot of spins.
I listened to the first half of 12 31 95 yesterday but this will shortly be my very first full-show experience.
Not a bad place to start, a lot of tape traders from the early 1990s can probably say the same thing.
Yep. 11.4.90 was one of my first tapes from that era...and still has one of my fav opening sequences. Carolina AC-DC Bag> Curtain> Bouncing Tube Harry Hood Funky Bitch Don’t ignore Amy’s Farm 91...another one of the first tapes many of us got...and the quintessential Runaway Jim>Foam opener.
Phish can be a lot like the buildup to the final verse in Jack Straw. But instead of 1-2 minutes of climbing before the peak, Phish will keep it going much much longer. I'm glad this thread has picked up again. I need to listen to more Phish.
Just tihnking about The Dead and Phish - is it fair to say Phish are more...for lack of a better term, energetic overall? 12 31 90 felt like a sprint from start to finish (in a very good way). Jumping over to some Dead there's immediately more "air" in the music. Or do I just have no idea what I'm talking about because I've barely heard anything yet? (Gonna assume this). The Phish I've heard so far seems like it gets really out there but the Dead that gets "out there" still seems more, um, grounded in the basic composition. With Phish things feel a lot more zany and all over the place. Again, I have no idea what I'm talking about, just some instant thoughts from the last 2 days.
