It had to be the best idea ever. "Let's build an arena and we'll stick it inside a shopping mall." For 1975, it had to make sense. No one who went to the Hartford Civic Center in 80's and 90's can forget the absurd collision of commerce that was the Civic Center. Buy some jeans at The Gap, have dinner at The Ground Round, and watch a monster truck show. What a night!

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I realized yesterday, that I probably haven't listened to Phish in a month. That is, actively listening, thinking about Phish's music. Then I got to thinking… have I listened to Phish this year? Have I distanced myself from the music purposefully? Do I not like Phish anymore? I mean, shit, I don't think I'm gonna go to any shows this summer. And I'm kinda ok with that. So what gives?

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Some days you get just end up neck deep in it. I knew I was in for trouble when I woke up incredibly hungry and willingly broke my morning breakfast routine and schedule for immediate satisfaction. Fast forward to lunch and a (luckily) damage-free fender bender at the Traffic Circle Satan himself would apologize for and I'm writing off today. Arriving back at my desk, I need to take the edge off, so in go the headphones. Now normally, I'd search for a show to listen to, but inevitably a random show will only add to the day's frustration. That's it! I'm opening Spotify and putting on A Live One.

And then everything changed...

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In case you missed it, Phish.net user @LawnMemo has taken on the sizeable task of reviewing each and every ghost, in order, at his new project site "The Daily Ghost". Clearly a man who believes in showing this endeavour the utmost attention, Myke reached out to Brad Sands for some additional info on the unofficial first performance of "Ghost" at his house on June 6, 1997. Brad had this to add about how that gig came about...

Before the band was to head off to Europe they decided to
play a warmup “show” on the back porch at my house
where Pete Carini lived also. There was probably about 100
people there, (probably about 20 dogs) and most decided to
camp overnight. The band actually played 2 sets that night,
both of them being the same set. The tape that circulates is
the second of these 2 sets.

-Brad Sands

You'll also want to check out the full review for a nice cautionary tale from Brad on the dangers of actually having Phish play your backyard.

You can also follow LawnMemo on Twitter (@LawnMemo) and on Facebook

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On September 4, 2011, Phish played a show in Commerce City, CO at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The final show of their summer tour was immediately lauded by fans for its outstanding merits. It was simply, a great show. But a very tiny event on that evening lead to a yearlong battle where friendships were tested as two sides of a heated argument began. Did Phish tease The Modern Lovers "Roadrunner" during a jam in "Piper?"

During the show there were numerous tweets leaving the venue alluding to this connection. In the following days, the Phish.net working group team debated the merits of this claim in a manner likened only to hyenas fighting over fresh kill. On one side, the defense, a group of individuals who argued that the similarity of the jam so obviously harkened back to the main riff in "Roadrunner" that it would be foolish to ignore the similarity in riff. On the other side, the prosecution, who surmised that the two pieces of music were in no way similar when you compared the melody and rhythm. According to my gmail archive, I have no less than 58 threads containing the term roadrunner. That basically amounts to someone bringing it up more than once a week. Needless to say, it was kind of a big deal, and even when someone brought it up as a joke, it really wasn't a joke.

Fast forward to this weekend in San Francisco. Several people tweeted about and directly emailed the setlist team about a Mumford and Sons tease in Sunday night's "Crosseyed and Painless". Like salt in an unhealed wound the Dick's "Piper" came charging back in, this time with the prosecution presenting the audio included above as evidence. And after much deliberation, under the cover of darkness, the "Roadrunner" tease was removed.

So why was it removed? In simple terms, because the majority of people in the discussion felt that it didn't belong. That's not to say that it doesn't exist (it doesn't but you can believe whatever you choose) but rather that we're not willing to put it in print. Hundreds if not thousands of potential teases are out there, but as outsiders we will never be able to measure the intent of the band. In most cases of these obscure teases, I believe that the band has simply played something in the moment that is resoundingly similar to another piece of music, by accident. There are certainly numerous teases listed in the setlist file that fall into this category as well. From an editorial sense all we can do is review people's "ideas" and the rate them based on a comparison with the original cited material. Sometimes it's obvious, most times it's not. The other problem is that once someone plants the seed in your head, the brain is conditioned to expect it and often times leads you to hearing something that may not be there.

But in the end, the activity is pretty fun and many people enjoy it. That's not going to change. This is one of those special little wrinkles that make Phish so fabulous. We spent a year (collectively) arguing one tiny little point, so insignificant that 99% of people never knew it existed, smarter individuals might say this is a symptom of insanity. So, goodbye Roadrunner tease, you had a great run. Don't let the door hit you as you leave.

We take a decent amount of heat, here at "Ye Olde Phish Blog," for our unbridled honesty when it comes to providing opinions on a night's worth of music. Our detractors usually are most offended by our inability to see the forest for the trees and levy spurs usually beginning and ending with some form of "fuck you jaded vet." But here's the thing. Rarely, if ever, do I feel our opinions venture into the unfair or unwarranted categories. Nearly every criticism you'll read comes from this place of undying love and the hope that someday we'll all have that personal pinnacle of a show experience eclipsed. It's greed, plain and simple. Before the popularity of twitter and blogging, the tapers took all this shit. The most stalworth of reviewers, they saw the most shows and had the greatest of opinions. These days tapers don't even get spoken of (which is a shame...go download an AUD of this show right now) and bloggers take all the heat. Putting your opinion out there for everyone to consume is dangerous and not for the meek.

But a funny thing happened at the beach/water-treatment-plant last night. Phish played the show that everyone who ever made some bullshit claim about how they picked the wrong song or fucked up the composed part has been waiting for. They played a near perfect show. Period.

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With the conclusion of Phish’s midwest swing, the heat will certainly be spoken about for years to come. In more than one way, even. As temperatures grew towards the century mark, so did the band’s own brand of fire.

When the band hit the stage on Sunday evening the typical tradition of discussing what to play first commenced, with the island infused rhythms of Bob Marley’s “Soul Shakedown Party” setting stage for the evening. Important to note though was what Trey and Mike both fiddled with during the preamble. If you listen back to the Live Phish recording, at 0:23 you can clearly hear Trey begin playing “Chalk Dust Torture Reprise” with Mike following suit. Definitely a fun trivia fact (h/t @zzyzx) and something to throw on to the rarities wish list. Speaking of rarities, for the fourth show in a row, another track off the Velvet Underground’s Loaded found its way into the set. Driven by Fish’s vocal stylings the country rock number "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" is highlighted by a fancy bit of guitar work from Trey, that begs for even more exploration. But the majority of the first set is marked not by high improvisation, rather with the outstanding technical play that has become much more prevalent over the recent week as the set bounces between styles that are masterfully executed.

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Thursday night Phish took the stage at Madison Square Garden for the second of four shows to close out 2011. After a first night where most people had very warm reviews, the second night seems to be a bit more puzzling. After a series of passionate emails among staff here at Phish.net last night fits somewhere comfortably between "amazing" and "frustrating." I mean, we certainly used both words with great frequency but upon further review it's hard to pick which end of the level has more weight. I can probably name more "good" moments than "bad" but for some reason I'm left feeling a bit conflicted. Why is that?

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The submissions have been tallied and we are pleased to announce the results of our Super Mystery Jam!

This was a very tall order using some obscure tracks so everyone who answered really had to put in some work. In all the entries were TWO people who got the Mystery Jam 100% correct...

Congratulations to @RabeldyNugs and @pauly7917 who identified all 5 songs and all 5 dates

1. Split Open and Melt - 1994/06/21
   
   
2. Tweezer - 1992/12/12
   
   
3. David Bowie - 1994/12/02
   
   
4. Antelope - 1994/05/16
   
   
5. Weekapaug - 1993/03/27

Amazing ears on these users. They have a special gift.

More information including the random draw winner after the jump

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[We've been reviewing the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on their respective 14th anniversaries. The final installment: Sunday, November 23, 1997, Winston-Salem, NC.]

Sunday, November 23, 1997

After the truly amazing show in Hampton on the 22nd, my friends and I spent the night on Coliseum Drive and then did what it seems like most people I encounter did: we drove home. In my case, it was north back to UConn. The correct move was to drive south. Throw caution to the wind, turn a short pre-thanksgiving week at school into an extended vacation. We fucked up. Seriously, screw you conscience. We missed a great show, the three or four times we stopped for Waffle House and Denny’s is hardly a consolation now.

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[Over the next three days we’ll look back on each of the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on the respective 14th anniversaries. Next up: Saturday, November 22, 1997, Hampton Coliseum.]

Saturday, November 22, 1997

Following Friday’s show, we had an interesting evening at the Days Inn. Our string of rooms were on the ground floor and opened to the parking lot. We settled into our spaces, enjoying a few late night beers and having a bit of fun. I remember it was when I found a spot to rest my head that some sketchy tour kid approached Tim who was hanging outside the door. The kid spied a cooler of our beer and was very interested in acquiring one. One in particular, the much sought after “Dank Sammy Smith.” Now remember we have a keg of Long Trail in our trunk, beer supply was not an issue, but Tim was dead set against this kid getting what he wanted. When met with resistance the kid resorted to a little trade proposal in the form of microdots. Now, I’m pretty sure he had a roll of those sugar dot candies because there was no amount he was unwilling to part with. The beer, however, was not for trade. We all began to stir from our rooms just to see what these things were or were not worth. Needless to say no transaction was completed, but at one point I think we could have procured an actual automobile with what he seemed to be offering. To this day, we laugh about The Microdot Exchange on Coliseum Drive.

We spent our day relaxing, definitely with a trip to Waffle House. Those poor waitresses, they definitely weren’t prepared for that morning. The Waffle House was more Halfway House than anything else. But there’s just something so endearing about hearing exasperation in a southern accent. We made our way back to the lot and prepared for showtime.

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[Over the next three days we’ll look back on each of the shows included in the new Hampton/Winston-Salem ‘97 box set on the respective 14th anniversaries. First up: Friday, November 21, 1997, Hampton Coliseum.]

Friday, November 21, 1997

The Phish shows in Hampton, VA the weekend before Thanksgiving 1997 are ones of legend. They’re probably the most complete show experiences I’ve ever had and they probably will never be topped. I was a student at the University of Connecticut, but with one of my best friends at school in Virginia there was no way I was missing it. My friend Tim and I had made the trip a year previous (10/25/96) and the weekend was a blast. Now we had two shows, even better. We loaded up his Chevy Blazer with a bunch of tapes and a pony keg of Long Trail IPA, there wasn’t a need for much else. When we rolled into Fredericksburg late Thursday night we were greeted by plentiful smiles as the Vermont beer was nectar from the north. We spent the night and made the trek to Hampton the following morning.

Hampton was a scene, but nothing like what it became in later years. People everywhere, but it wasn’t chaotic. We stayed at the Days Inn on Coliseum Drive, but I remember a low key afternoon that made its way into the parking lots to wait for the show. When it finally came time for the show, we entered the venue early, scouting out our area on the rail of Section D. Every show I’ve seen at Hampton has been from this spot. It just feels like home.

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With the release of "Hampton/Winston-Salem '97" coming up on Dec 7th, the fine folks at Phish, Inc. have passed on three copies of the 7-CD Box Set to give away here. Now with a prize as cool as this, not just any average Mystery Jam was going to suffice. In an effort to really test you guys and gals, we've got a very special 5-song Mystery Jam for you today. Taken from five different date/song combos we've packaged them all together in a Mystery Jam that should be a formidable opponent.

*************************************

Updated rules: 11/23/2011

To enter identify the (5) song/date combos (you must identify the song and date to be correct)

To enter, identify as many of the songs and dates as you can and EMAIL your guesses and phishnet user ID to [email protected]

Do not post your guesses in the thread, you must EMAIL your entry.

We'll be drawing one winner from ALL SUBMISSIONS and giving away the other two to the users who get the most correct on the song/date combos. In the case of a tie, we will randmoly draw from the highest totals

This is clearly a tough assignment (let it be a lesson to you kids who solve the Monday Mystery Jams with such ease) but more importantly we want to make sure you guys have a great chance to win an amazing prize! So please don't be shy to enter, even if you know you are wrong. If you want to update your guesses based on hints, that's fine just make sure you identify who you are and only one final entry per person.

Deadline for entries is Thursday, December 1st

*************************************

Sound tough? Sound easy? Sound confusing? We're here for any questions, but don't expect any hints! Good luck!

Hint #1: All of the songs are a part of 1.0 (as the kids call it)

Hint #2: The songs are not in a chronological order by date, they're all mixed up

I was very pleased and very appreciative for the cooperation of the crowd. They were very pleasant to deal with. I’ve been in the business for 33 years, and I can’t ever remember dealing with a crowd of that size that was so pleasant to deal with.

It goes without saying that with Phish's benefit concert coming up on Wednesday in Essex Junction, all eyes in the Phish community will be squarely on the flood ravaged state. If you purchased a ticket to the show, pre-ordered the webcast or made a donation to The Waterwheel Foundation, take pride in the fact that you have indeed already helped the people affected by Hurricane Irene in Vermont. Only a mere two and a half weeks since Irene ran its path through central New England most Vermonters are still busy cleaning up. The funds raised by Phish will be massive and go a long way over the long haul finding its way into the hands of various Vermont organizations helping in relief efforts. Recovery from this storm will take months, not weeks. That being said the state is already showing signs of rebuilding with business and community resources coming together and getting people and places back on their feet.

If you're heading up to Vermont on Wednesday and are interested in taking the extra step and helping just a little bit more, there are ways through very small commitments of money and time that you CAN make an additional difference.

I spoke directly last night with Matt Sisto of the grassroots organization #VTresponse. He explained how relief and clean up efforts are still very much "day-to-day", focusing on the areas and sites that need the most attention as they come. He and his crew of volunteers are hard at work utilizing the generous resources from people in Vermont and beyond. So while you might not be able to get organized into helping clean up waterlogged areas (if you wanted to stay the rest of the week, I bet they'd find a spot for you though) there are small things that can go a long way to work that is being done RIGHT NOW.

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You just read their recap of buying tickets, now Dusty and Brando from CashOrTrade.org are announcing a ticket giveaway for Wednesday's show in Vermont! Thanks to these guys for such an amazing offer!!

From CashOrTrade.org:

In an effort to continue helping by doing our part, CashorTrade.org is GIVING AWAY 2 TICKETS for Wednesday to 2 lucky fans who help support and build the face value ticket fair trade community.
Go to http://cashortrade.org/vtbenefit.php for details.

Read on for more info about CashOrTrade

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Brando and Dusty Rich from CashOrTrade.org are good friends of the site, so we reached out to them for a first-hand account of Friday and Saturday’s ticket buying experience in Burlington. With a monstrous line, ignoring the band’s request to spend the night at home and only a single point to purchase tickets, some were justifiably concerned that this could spiral into an organization nightmare. When it was all said and done though, none of those concerns even remotely surfaced thanks to a great group of fans and the amazing staff on hand in Burlington.

Read on to hear Brando and Dusty’s account of the whole experience.

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We just received an email from @herschel confirming that print at home tickets for tonight's show at Harvey's Outdoor Arena in South Lake Tahoe do indeed need to be exchanged for hard tickets prior to entry into the venue.

A sign at the entrance reads:

No Ticketfast tickets will be accepted. Please exchange all printed tickets at the Ticketmaster office, located in the Harveys Bus Lobby.

If you're on site with such a ticket you will want to plan a few extra minutes to get a new one so as not to miss the opener :)

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An entire nation turned it's eyes on Phish last night as the band embarked on their second official stream. First, a couple notes on the stream itself....

Phish doesn't do anything poorly. Ever. They are meticulous in their planning and building their own streaming platform with nugs.net is an absolute win. People in the past have calmored for a partnership with iclips or spoken highly of the recent VEVO offerings, but Phish have maintained complete control and produced a great result. As far as the technical side of things goes, last night seemed to be even more rock solid than the shows over NYE. It's the internet, you're sure to encounter a few hiccups, but last night was well exectued and much appreciated. BTW, if you were one of the scumbags who was watching via a re-stream, seriously?

On to the music.

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Phish left the confines of the East Coast following two shows in New Jersey that produced mix results in the final date. The show had great parts, but completely failed in the second set where Trey seemed to rush through every song to successfully cross it off the setlist. Heading west for Clarkston, MI the band unleashed an unparalleled performance that contained all the pieces for a great show. Fun vibe, good songs and deep jams.

Now the 72 hour rule is still in effect here, but I am very comfortable in saying that this is the best show Phish has played since 2003/2004.

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The onset of summer tour has certainly produced a lot of conversation here on the blog and in the forum. First and foremost, thank you for your participation! Please don't let my conviction deter you from telling me I'm a dumbass, which I am. That being said, there has been an overwhelming discussion on what makes a good review and what doesn't. There's no real answer to that, but all I can say is that for me what follows is my opinion. It's critical in nature, but I'm not attempting to say that this is the de facto version of a show's story. We all have different experiences and we should engage in discussing our opposing viewpoints, not questioning whether they are correct. So please, let me know what you think. I feel very strongly about these ideas, but it's not a doctrine I'm putting forth.

With three shows in Bethel, NY to open the 2011 summer tour, Phish provide several standout moments over the course of last weekend. As the tour moved south to New Jersey, I was interested to see whether they pick up on the momentum of the first two shows or get sucked into the mid week vortex.

After an energy building Chalk Dust opener at PNC in Homdel, things took a dramatic shift into the second song with Roggae. I, for one, love this combination. There are times when the energy builds so high in the first three or four songs that the eventual come down feels like a lead weight. Placing up-tempo and down-tempo together creates an amazing balance, not to mention that Roggae is one of the best choices in this category. When PYITE begins, there’s a sudden uptick right back to post-CDT. Great setlist orchestration by Trey here. By the time that Sand rolled around, everyone took the opportunity to stretch out the jam a little more. Trey provides some pretty little repetition and scale work by Trey around the 6 minute mark, but listen to Page. The layer he creates here is indicative of how awesome he is playing right now and demonstrates an addition to things that I don’t think he was making previously. After this however, the wheels come off the set. While Tube was finely executed, I wholly expect it to be the next popular battle-cry for “song most in need of extending” now that Halley’s has gotten the treatment. From the beginning of Divided Sky, Trey seemed uncomfortable and at the 2:38 mark he loses the handle and just takes a break. Remarking to the crowd “I did that on purpose”. In what had to be a cathartic moment for such an irregular trouble, Trey just lets the rest of the band proceed to a point where he can easily come back in. This is one thing that makes Trey so endearing. At his core, he is still just a guy entertaining a crowd and at certain moments that speaks more to his ability than any extended jam can.

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When Phish left the stage of Madison Square Garden on the first of this year, fans would have scheduled a ticker tape parade for the following day if the city of New York would allow it. Reviews were glowing and opinions on their musical prowess were never higher, and rightfully so. The shows were well played and filled with highlights.

Fast forward to the end of May and, I'd imagine, many people were ready for amazing energy, but probably a series warm up performances. And while that held true, there were several standout moments that carried on the efforts last winter. Probably so numerous in fact, that many fans left Bethel, well...surprised.

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