The thing about clichés is that they are mostly true.

It’s obvious after watching the Waxbanks-Wolfson-Gans cage match here on Phish.net and on Facebook over the past week that a lot of you feel very passionately about the Grateful Dead and Phish. More than a few of you feel very passionately about both and, like Waxbanks, I number myself among you. And more than a few of you favor one over the other with a generous measure of – let’s say – passion. It seems bafflingly necessary for some to litigate the merits or superiority of one over the other.

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Welcome to the 64th installment of the Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: No hint needed this week.

Wednesday Answer: It is the 7/2/98 "Ghost." Congrats to Fluffyfluffyhead on the win. See everyone on Monday...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com

The following excerpt from The Phish Companion is shared not only to encourage you to explore the book, but in light of concerns on the forum about jaded vets. We’re of course thrilled that so many people continue to discover (and rediscover) Phish, and welcome you to a site where connoisseurship sometimes puts praise in the context of historical variance. Previously posted in the earlier (Tumblr) version of this blog, it's now posted here...

There has been such extensive discussion about Phish’s high points that there are common suggestions for best performances (esp.12/31/95), strangest setlists (esp. 2/20/93), and most cosmic experiences (esp. 1/1/00). Much less attention is paid to the “bad moments” in Phishtory. You can find critique (and anything else) in excess in some places on the Internet, but it’s taboo in some circles. Many fans wear rose-colored blinders, or even nay-say about the possibility of mishaps, following the neo-hippie mantra that “it’s all good”. But it isn’t, even with Phish, and discussing that is a necessary responsibility in comprehensively covering their history and music.

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I went online in a Phish chatroom once. I logged on as Crackhead and was talking about smoking crack with Trey backstage. And they were like, 'Bullshit! He doesn't do that!' and I was like, 'Yes he does.' And they were like, 'What was Brad Sands, Phish's road manager wearing?' and I said 'Red Shirt, black tie, standing over by the hors d'oeuvre tray.'

Most lot merch aficianados know about Sean "Waldo" Knight of Knighthood Ts, who fought a copyright infringement battle with Phish, Inc. back in the day over the "song title" parody T shirts where someone other than Phish's IP (such as the manufacturers of Tide detergent, say, for the popular "Glide" T shirts) was arguably being infringed.

Waldo won that battle, and it's been assumed by lot merchants and "phan artists" that most companies other than Phish won't bother with similar trademark parodies. Companies like New England's H.P. Hood dairies, for instance, might even be amused by and benefit from the windfall of publicity and goodwill from Phish fans, on the "all publicity is good publicity" theory.

But not so fast says Bridgestone Brands a/k/a Firestone, which recently sued Waldo and his wife Joanne for copyright infringement. Firestone is not amused because it considers itself in the clothing business (NASCAR style race car driver attire) as well as slinging tires. Firestone's suit seeks an injunction against the sale of the infringing items and triple Waldo's profits as provided for by copyright law.

More details from trademark law blogger Lara Pearson's Brand Geek[r] blog here.

Congratulations to Adam Scheinberg, a Mockingbird Foundation Board member and IT Director (and of course .net webmaster) for being recognized by the Orlando Business Journal as one of this year's "Forty Under Forty" finalists.

In his day gig, Adam is the senior director of technology and information systems for Massey Services, Inc., an environmental services company headquartered in the Orlando, FL area.

Adam is profiled in today's online edition. Not surprisingly to anyone who hangs out on phish.net, he lists "concerts and travel" as the biggest categories of his disposible income.

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Red Light is shooting itself in the foot by overscheduling the northeast and ignoring its fanbase in the south and west ... If I had to pick one first-set closer to see at every show, I would choose "David Bowie" ... Let's be honest, gang, the majority of the bustout covers during summer '98 were not well rehearsed ... My favorite guest appearance at a Phish show would have to be Baby Gramps on 8/26/93 ... Fishman played better in the suit ... The art for sale in the lots, particularly the beadwork, has never been better ...

The narrations in "Forbin/Mockingbird" are always great, but for my money, nothing beats the narration during "Icculus."

I was never comfortable with the rape imagery in "Jennifer Dances" ... Maybe I'm crazy, but Vladimir Putin is a man I would trust to chaperone my daughter ... Pound for pound, no Phish song has delivered as consistently across all eras as "Bathtub Gin" ... Speaking of "Bathtub Gin," although I concede the Ventura "Gin" was a tremendous show opener, the Riverport "Gin" a week later was without question the best show opener of all time ... Riverport Ampitheater was the St. Louis-area venue where they arrested Axl Rose for assaulting a security guard ... "Waste" is a horrible lyric, but "Friday" is perhaps the single worst lyric in the history of music ... Personally, I never clap during "Stash." I find it demeaning ... The best thing Phish ever did was losing showboat percussionist Marc Daubert ...

Many Americans first grew to love Phish through the novel Run Like an Antelope ... Have you noticed that, in horror films, where there's a hippie character, he generally dies? ... Mike Gordon has tremendous calves ... I cannot be held responsible for my actions if I hear another "Loving Cup" encore ... I am fairly certain the cheesesteak I enjoyed after the third show at Bethel Woods contained neither cheese nor steak ...

Somebody needs to tell the kids sucking balloons after shows, it's just not smart, gang ... The most courteous staff I have ever dealt with at any venue were the fine people at Alpine Valley Music Center in East Troy, Wisconsin ... If you go behind the 200 section Fishman side in Alpharetta, they have a dog track with all the amenities ... The people who feel "Tweezer" peaked in 1994 and 1995 are wrong; I believe "Tweezer" has yet to peak ... The men's basketball team at Goddard College is shockingly bad ... I'm concerned that keyboard player Page McConnell is going bald.

Larry King is a retired broadcasting legend who lives in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area. He has seen 133 Phish shows since his first show at the Pickle Barrel in Killington, VT on 2/7/91. His favorite jam is the GSAC Drowned -> Rock & Roll, just like yours should be. He enjoys smoked whitefish with capers and regular, vigorous prostate massage.

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This recap was a collaboration between @pzerbo and @lumpblockclod.

Phish closed out yet another successful tour at the UIC Pavilion tonight that has seen visits to an outstanding and diverse set of venues and witnessed a solid dose of innovative and thrilling jams. From the awe-inspiring natural majesty of the Gorge, to the shining spectacle of Phish under CK’s light’s at the Hollywood Bowl, to the blissfully peculiar hybrid of Vegas and Telluride that was Tahoe, and the history-drenched over-sized party of Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park, the tour remarkably gained yet more steam as it went indoors to conclude in Chicago. The quality of performances in Chi-town have caused even the most JadedVet™ to stand and applaud, with gloriously extended improvisation (“Waves” -> “Undermind” on 8/15 and “Down with Disease” on 8/16), debuts (“Babylon Baby”), rarities (“Let it Loose”), extended encores on both of the first two nights and all-around solid play. Heading into the final show of the leg, expectations ran high and, as always, anything was possible. Let’s dim the lights.

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Please note: this recap was written by @PYITE.

Some people hold specific venues in high regard because of past performances. I think it's fair to say that UIC Pavilion is one of those venues. A quaint and decidedly log-jammed sweat lodge is just the kind of place that good Phish shows happen. After two nights here, it should be safe to assume that the public's hopes and dreams for this run are being met.

In an absolutely entertaining evening, Phish put together a show that was light on run-of-the-mill repeats, heavy on a mix of songs you haven't heard in a while, and jams you won't soon forget.

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Two new Trey shows have just been added. Announced on Trey's and Phish's facebook pages, TAB will now also be playing at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC on October 6 and the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC the following night. There will be a pre-sale beginning Friday at 10 AM (EDT) at http://treytickets.rlc.net .

Nothing could be finer...

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Perhaps inspired by the nearby ‘L’ train, Phish opened the first of three nights at the relatively intimate UIC Pavilion with a solid version of “Back on the Train.” A standard version of “Rift” followed. Keeping with recent custom, the song-oriented first set continued with a jaunty “Guelah Papyrus” and the more infrequently played “Scent of a Mule.” “Jesus Just Left Chicago” arrived as expected to satisfy the local crowd and as usual Page brought his best Texas hillbilly. Up to this point, the set mostly comes off as workman-like: solid and fun, driving straight down the middle of the fairway.

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One of Phish.net's most prolific reviewers, W H @waxbanks, has written an insightful piece on his blog (blog.waxbanks.net) comparing the music of the Grateful Dead to that of Phish. He sees them as polar opposites with Phish's music being built around order (or structure) and the Dead's being built around disorder.

With his permission, we are re-blogging his piece on the Phish.net site. p.s. If you're a Dead fan, you may well be interested in his recent piece on tribute bands, particularly Furthur, and I found my self shaking my head in agreement with @waxbank's take on Obama taboot. Good stuff!

Without further ado:

"The home state of Phish's improvisatory music is order (or structure). They depart productively from it, and play against it, entering states of tense, nervewracking disorder. But they always want to resolve, to cohere. Their improvisatory structures (like the two chords of the 'Bowie' jam, with their many modal suggestions) are centers of gravity; that's why they can swing wildly away from them and return surefooted, time after time. Their improvisations are famously architectural and coherent, as are Trey Anastasio's unique full-band written arrangements. The flip side of this strength-in-order is that their experiments in purely Free jamming have rarely been wholly successful, though they've gotten much better at it over the last ~30 years. And for a long time they were afraid to be emotionally wild, preferring intellectual experimentation - at some cost to the overall musical vibe."

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If it's Monday, it must be time for another Mystery Jam. As usual, we will be playing for an MP3 download courtesy of our friends at LivePhish.com / Nugs.Net. The rules haven't changed: you need to correctly identify the song and the date to win. Post your guess in the comments. One guess per person per day (with the second “day” starting after I post the hint). The hint will come on Tuesday and the answer will be posted on Wednesday. Good luck...

Tuesday Hint: Oops.

Wednesday Answer: Congrats to RebeldyNugs for ID'ing the 8/15/93 "Stash." I believe that is Rebeldy's League leading 6th MJ victory. The Blog bows in awe. See everyone Monday with #64...

MP3 Downloads Courtesy of LivePhish.com