Jam Central Station 10.17.09: Phish Part 2
Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 10.17.2009
From their highest point at Big Cypress to their final show at Coventry to their reunion tour and beyond, come and take a look at this decade in Phishstory...
Hope everyone out there in the real world had a good week. I'm busy today cleaning the house and making chili for the 2009 Chili Cookout here in Ohio. Hoping the weather holds up, but you never can tell, I suppose. But chili, drinks, and a fire should make for a good evening. I don't have much else to say, so on with the show!
Last week we went through the history of Phish, from their inception to what is widely considered their crowning achievement, the Big Cypress festival and their 7+ hour set on New Years Eve 1999. Phish had gone from a college band in Vermont to one of the most popular and recognizable jam bands in history, all without any radio or MTV exposure. After the success of Big Cypress, however, the band started going through some rocky times. This week we'll look at how the band went from their pinnacle to calling it quits just a few years later, and, of course, the reunion that brought them back to the top.
After Big Cypress, the band took a short break to focus on other projects. Pork Tornado and Oysterhead both came from this time, and the band released Farmhouse in May. However, the band was not writing new material, and the years of recording and touring was beginning to take their toll. In retrospect, the band's drug use also had an obvious effect on where they were, although it wasn't recognized at the time.
The band was also beginning to become a bigger entity than any of them were comfortable with. Trey said in an interview that the band had over 2,500 people on the guest list for Big Cypress. While the band enjoyed the music and the thrill of being on stage, everything else surrounding the band had become, in Trey's words, "too dark." In light of all of this, the band, for the first time since their formation, decided to take an extended time off. The band toured that summer, but there was no festival. They officially began their "hiatus" after their October 7 show. Instead of making a big deal of the upcoming hiatus, the band simply played a normal show, and walked off stage to The Beatles "Let It Be."
The hiatus gave the band time to relax, connect with their families, and explore other side projects. Everyone in the band began collaborating with other musicians releasing albums. Trey focused on solo material and orchestral material, along with recording and touring with Oysterhead. Mike focused much of his work on his films, but also released solo music. Fish continued his work with Pork Tornado, and Page formed Vida Blue. None of these these projects came close to matching the success of Phish, but the band enjoyed the time away from the Phish structure. They weren't completely away from each other, however, as band members occasionally joined in on each other's projects, and the band did appear as a group on an episode of The Simpsons. The "Live Phish" series also began during the hiatus, a novel concept at the time. Phish has used this platform to release over 20 full shows for fans, and the "Live Phish" series inspired many other bands to follow suit with extensive live releases.
In 2002, a re-focused Phish announced that they would return with a New Years Eve show. The band released Round Room prior to their return, and then toured through the early part of 2003. They hit the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and they sold out shows across the country. The band worked hard during this time to balance Phish with other projects, and all band members were involved with music outside of Phish. Their summer tour culminated in "IT," their sixth weekend festival.
The band toured off and on in the coming months, often just playing a few shows instead of touring extensively. Despite some rocky times that the band had been having, and the fact that the band was touring less often and tours were becoming shorter, fans were not prepared for the announcement that came on May 25th, 2004. The Phish website said:
AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TREY 05.25.04
Last Friday night, I got together with Mike, Page and Fish to talk openly about the strong feelings I've been having that Phish has run its course and that we should end it now while it's still on a high note. Once we started talking, it quickly became apparent that the other guys' feelings, while not all the same as mine, were similar in many ways -- most importantly, that we all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health. We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act. By the end of the meeting, we realized that after almost twenty-one years together we were faced with the opportunity to graciously step away in unison, as a group, united in our friendship and our feelings of gratitude. So Coventry will be the final Phish show. We are proud and thrilled that it will be in our home state of Vermont. We're also excited for the June and August shows, our last tour together. For the sake of clarity, I should say that this is not like the hiatus, which was our last attempt to revitalize ourselves. We're done. It's been an amazing and incredible journey. We thank you all for the love and support that you've shown us.
-- Trey Anastasio
Many reasons were cited for the decision to break up. Trey spoke extensively in an interview of the fact that the band, other than the hiatus, had been together nearly non-stop for nearly half of their lives. Trey said that the hiatus was actually a last-ditch effort for the band to save themselves, but that they couldn't keep going. The band played their final, emotional shows, leading up to the Coventry festival.
Unfortunately, this last hurrah did not go off without a hitch. The band was expecting well over 100,000 fans to attend, but the weather didn't cooperate. Prior to the festival, week-long rains caused problems with the stage and the camping. The band took to the radio to state that no more cars would be allowed in, despite the fact only 20,000 fans had made it into the venue. Fans were unwilling to relent, however, and many abandoned their cars and walked. Despite all of this, thousands of fans with tickets were never able to make the festival. In normal circumstances this would have made for some very angry fans. Given the fact that it was the last Phish show, and many of the fans had travelled very long distances, it was heartbreaking.
The show itself was an emotional experience. The band gave away their trampolines at the conclusion of "You Enjoy Myself." Tears were shed by everyone, the band, their family, the crew, and, of course, the fans. They played three sets each night, and the final show closed out with "The Curtain Within."
With Phish broken up, the band worked on numerous projects and tours. Each member released solo material, and they all also collaborated with other musicians. Questions about a reunion were asked frequently, but always shot down. For the band, the decision to end Phish was final. In the years following the breakup, not only did the band not work together, some members didn't even keep in very close contact. It appeared that Phish was done for good.
A turning point during the breakup happened in December of 2006. Trey was pulled over early in the morning, and police found a variety of prescription drugs that were not prescribed to him. The arrest forced Trey to deal with his drug problem, and he was allowed to enter into an intensive drug court program in lieu of jail. Trey's process of getting clean went a long way in helping him put Phish into perspective. In a 2007 interview, while not saying that there were any plans for a reunion, Trey said that, if he was on stage with Phish he "would be the happiest person in the world."
In May of 2008, Phish received the Jammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This was the first time that the four members had been on stage together since Coventry. Later that month, Trey announced that he would perform for the first time since his arrest, a solo set at the inaugural Rothbury Music Festival. Fans were quick to realize that both Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman were on the Rothbury bill. Rumors began circling of a reunion. Page addressed the rumors by saying that a reunion is something that he "takes seriously" but that nothing had been decided. At Rothbury, Mike joined Trey on stage for three songs, including two new ones. When introducing Mike, Trey said "If only we could find a drummer and keyboard player. But it's got to start with the songs, so you can be our test audience." Both Trey and Fish also joined Mike Gordon for a song during his set. These appearances immediately kicked the reunion rumors into high gear.
It turned out that reunion rumors were true, although they didn't come together immediately. In 2007, the band initially discussed simply doing an album together, but that morphed into discussions of a full reunion and tour. The Rothbury semi-reunion helped grease the wheels, and, in October 2008, the band announced the beginnings of their reunion tour. After the fiasco (both musically and logistically) of Coventry, the band decided that, if they were going to get back together, they were going to do it in a way that would allow them to be in it for the long haul. They decided it was important to be well rehearsed, and, as such, spent a significant amount of time practicing and preparing for their tour. They also decided that they wouldn't burn out this time.
2009 has been a great return year for the band. Joy was a huge success for the band, and the single "Backwards Down the Number Line" even got some mainstream radio play. Every show on their reunion tour sold out well in advance, and they headlined Bonnaroo along with Bruce Springsteen. Looking forward, the band has a fall tour prepared, and their next festival, simply called Festival 8, will be held in California over Halloween weekend.
It's almost impossible to overstate Phish's influence and importance to jam music. They have been the face of the jam-band scene since the mid-90's, and their success has come entirely due to their ability to play live. They developed their fan base through hard work and fan accessibility. Their festivals were the model that festivals like Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, and Rothbury have built upon. The Grateful Dead were a once-in-a-generation type of band, and Phish has built upon their model for this generation.
From Coventry, here's "Wading in the Velvet Sea," one of the most emotional moments from the show
And, from their reunion, here's "Run Like an Antelope"
Here's "Meatstick" from Jones Beach this year
I wanted to throw out a few odd Phish videos this week. The first is Phish with Kid Rock (believe it or not) doing "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "We're an American Band." Not something you'd expect from Phish, but they definitely love the surprises.
And, Phish shares the stage with Jay-Z. I don't know which video is more surprising…
Here's Phish with Wynonna Judd doing "Freebird"
Phish: And then there were 48
More albums were eliminated this week as Phish narrows down their selection choices for Halloween. Instead of listing the fatalities, here are the 48 remaining choices:
AC/DC | Back In Black
Beastie Boys | Hello Nasty
Black Sabbath | Paranoid
Blind Faith | Blind Faith
Bob Dylan | Blood On the Tracks
Boston | Boston
Brian Eno | Before And After Science
Bruce Springsteen | Born To Run
Chicago | The Chicago Transit Authority
Curtis Mayfield | Superfly Soundtrack
David Bowie | Hunky Dory
David Bowie | Ziggy Stardust
Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Frank Zappa | Apostrophe
Frank Zappa | Hot Rats
Genesis | The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Guns & Roses | Appetite For Destruction
Jimi Hendrix | Are You Experienced?
Jimi Hendrix | Electric Ladyland
KISS | Alive II
King Crimson | Larks' Tongues In Aspic
Led Zeppelin | Zeppelin I
Love | Forever Changes
Metallica | Master Of Puppets
MGMT | Oracular Spectacular
Michael Jackson | Thiller
Miles Davis | A Tribute To Jack Johnson
Minutemen | Double Nickels On The Dime
Modern Lovers | The Modern Lovers
Neil Young | Tonight's The Night
Nirvana | Nevermind
Pink Floyd | The Wall
Pixies | Come On Pilgrim
Prince | Purple Rain
Radiohead | Kid A
Rage Agaist The Machine | Evil Empire
Rolling Stones | Exile on Main Street
Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers
Rush | Moving Pictures
Steely Dan | Pretzel Logic
T.Rex | Electric Warrior
Television | Marquee Moon
The Band | The Band (aka Brown Album)
The Clash | London Calling
The Police | Ghost In The Machine
Van Halen | Van Halen
Van Morrison | Astral Week
Yes | The Yes Album
Both Rolling Stones albums are alive, along with Van Halen, The Wall, both Zappa albums, and Thriller. So, as of right now, most of my picks are looking good. Rumors have been circulating that there will be 8 choices left come Festival 8. This is a story that I'll be following here over the next few weeks.
Bonnaroo 2009 DVD announced
Just in time for Christmas, the track listing for the Bonnaroo 2009 DVD was announced earlier this week. It should be no surprise that Bruce Springsteen and Phish both make appearances. Other bands on the DVD include The Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and Elvis Costello. As far as I know, Nine Inch Nails did not get on the DVD. The DVD will hit stores on December 15.
moe. cancels shows
moe. has announced that, do to a death in the "moe. family" (don't know who), their upcoming shows in Columbus, Ohio, Bowling Green, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky have been canceled. They're not rescheduling the shows, and tickets can be refunded at the point of purchase. The band won't be returning until their Halloween show in Albany NY, and the second leg of their tour will continue as planned.
moe. has also announced that they will not be performing a New Years Eve show this year. They're gearing up for their 20th anniversary show, so hopefully we'll get more details on that soon.
New Lesh/Weir project Further announces NYE shows
The new Phil Lesh/Bob Weir band, Further, will be at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco for a pair of shows on December 30 and 31. The band also features members of RatDog and Dark Star Orchestra. Further has a handful of shows lined up on the east coast earlier that month. No word yet on any sort of album from the band.
Umphrey's first S2 event in Milwaukee
Umphrey's McGee hosted their first Stew Art Series show on October 3 in Milwaukee. The hour-long performance was completely improvisational, and was "directed" in part by audience members sending text messages for the band to use as inspiration for their jams. The event was limited to 50 fans who paid $99 for tickets. Fans also got to participate in a Q&A with the band, received a recording of the show, and some other goodies from Umphrey's. The next S2 event will be held in Portland on October 24.
Samantha Farrell releases Luminous, last project from LeRoi Moore
The new Samantha Farrell album, Luminous was released on ITunes this week. The album was the final project that the late LeRoi Moore worked on. He produced the album, and the album was finished using notes that Moore took in the hospital. Due to his accident, LeRoi was unable to appear on the album, but John D'earth and Bobby Read provide the horns in Moore's place.
So, after 6 weeks of Phish, I have to say, I'm pretty Phished-out. I'm going to avoid Phish videos in the near future, although I'll obviously still post what's going on in the Phish universe in my news section. I do hope you enjoyed this look at the members and the band as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'll be back next week with a new band (for the first time in over a month!) Hope you're having a great weekend, and, until next time, jam on!
