YOU haven’t been listening to Phish much in recent years. You figured back in October 2000, or in August 2004, that the band had called it quits and, like them, you moved on. Or, perhaps, you didn’t. You still listened to some Phish now and then, some of your favorite sets and jams, some killer Live Phish releases, or even the occasional studio track or two, perhaps from Junta, Rift, Hoist, or Undermind — assuming you even picked it up in 2004. But you were at best a casual listener, and not the true believer or fan you once were.
And then you heard that Phish had regrouped, and that they were going to play three shows in Hampton in March 2009. You knew it would be impossible to get tickets, so you didn’t give much thought to going. After all, you hadn’t really listened to Phish, or even liked their music all that much, since Coventry, or Fall 2000 – or since the Albany “YEM” in December 1995.
The Phish you fell in love with is back. Are they the same band that you fell in love with? Of course not. They aren’t the same as they were in the past. But they sound remarkably familiar.
First, the songs are back. Your favorite Phish songs? They are still playing all or almost all of them, and they are even playing most of them – even the complex ones like “Divided Sky” and “Fluffhead” — quite well. Your least favorite Phish songs? Yes, they are probably playing these, too. Phish has even played a number of rarities this year, including “Mustang Sally” at Bonnaroo (6/14/09) with Bruce Springsteen, and “Destiny Unbound” and “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” at the Summer tour opener at Fenway Park (5/31/09). They also, thankfully, have not lost their sense of humor, as the “Bike” with Fish on vacuum and the vocal jam of “YEM” at Burgettstown (6/18/09) attest.
Phish is also performing several wonderful new tunes this year, and their new album, Joy, is due out on September 8. It is worth your time and trouble to hear some of the finer live versions of these new tunes, such as the gritty “Stealin’ Time from the Faulty Plan” at Bonnaroo (6/12/09), the rockers “Backwards Down the Number Line” and “Kill Devil Falls” at Asheville (6/9/09), the sultry, slowed-down-46-Days-like “Ocelot” at Jones Beach (6/4/09), and the prog-rock opus “Time Turns Elastic” at Fenway (5/31/09). The Alpine Valley (6/21/09) version of Phish’s fragile new ballad, “Joy,” is worth a listen as well. It was apparently written by Trey for his sister, Kristy Manning, who was fighting neuroendocrine cancer at the time; sadly, Ms. Manning died on April 29. Mike’s excellent new tune, “Sugar Shack,” has appeared only once so far this year, at Camden (6/7/09), but this may be due to its complexity and the need for the band to practice it more. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Mike’s other songs, you should hear this intriguing new tune.
The tight, percussive, thrilling “Rock-Star-Trey” jams are back, too. For example, during the ten hours of music at Hampton, all of the Phish songs typically performed in a straight-ahead, rock-n-roll manner — songs like “Chalk Dust Torture,” “Character Zero,” “Sample,” “Possum,” “Loving Cup,” etc. – were played well. And this practice continued during the Summer tour, which even featured a few surprisingly good versions of certain tunes, like the “Gotta Jibboo” and set-closing “Prince Caspian” from Great Woods (6/6/09), the “Undermind” from Knoxville (6/10/09), that featured a funked-up bass solo from Mike, and the “First Tube” from Bonnaroo (6/14/09). There have been no versions of Phish standards this year that rank among the elite in Phish history. But I believe this is because Phish has set the bar quite high. The “must hear” versions will come again.
Speculation has abounded that Phish intentionally set out this year to focus on playing their songs well, to master the art of “tension and release” jamming again, and to improvise without taking too much risk. In other words, no Providence Bowies, no Orlando Stashes, no Bozeman Tweezers, no Albany YEMs. There is certainly evidence for this, such as when the gorgeous “Bathtub Gin” at Hampton – which could easily have become legendary – ended in under 11 minutes. In fact, at the Summer tour opener at Fenway Park, for the first time ever, Phish performed “Tweezer,” “Bathtub Gin,” “David Bowie,” and “YEM” in the same set, yet not one version of these jamming tunes exceeded its customary length. Although length is never solely an indication of greatness, it is nevertheless a measure of the volume of improvisation that most likely occurred during a song. Having heard every show this year, I believe that the vast majority of songs performed by Phish in 2009 fall within 60 seconds of their customary length.
There are a host of exceptions, naturally, as one might expect from a band whose drummer can play a mean vacuum cleaner. The “Down with Disease” at Hampton (3/8/09) featured a melodic, enchanting improvisation that eventually segued into “Seven Below.” Although the “Harry Hood” performed at Jones Beach (6/2/09) contained some tragic missteps by Trey, it was nevertheless a bold version, containing a loosely-structured, naturalistic jam that focused more on harmony than melody. The jam out of “Drowned” at Jones Beach (6/4/09) quoted a bit from The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and raged quite well before segueing into “Meatstick.” The “Down with Disease” -> “Twist Around” > “Piper” that opened the second set of Jones Beach on June 5 also showed promise, what with the “Oye Como Va” jam in “Twist” and mesmerizing grooves in both “Down with Disease” and “Piper.”
Arguably the most impressive improvisation this year occurred at Camden (6/7/09) in the second-set-opening “Sand” and in the “Tweezer.” “Sand” contained a wide variety of jamming styles; intense, ferociously melodic playing, and also some loose-but-powerful grooves. The Camden “Tweezer” presented perhaps the most “old school” jam of the tour. Its jam segment was largely centered around a slowly-building, “Immigrant Song”-meets-“Oye Como Va” theme. It is short, but strong, and “must hear” for anyone doubting the credibility of Phish 3.0.
And there are more exceptions to the generalization that Phish has not taken musical risks this year. Like them or not, the “Down with Disease” and “Kill Devil Falls” from Bonnaroo (6/12/09) contained solid improvisation, and the latter even explored dangerously dirty territory despite its shiny new coat. The “Rock and Roll” at Bonnaroo (6/14/09), after rocking hard as it always does, eventually dissolved into a spacey, effect-heavy improvisation that segued into another new song, “Light,” which sounds at times like an inspired, “Piper”-like jam segment, with lyrics. (In case you missed it, Bruce Springsteen played with Phish on “Mustang Sally,” “Bobby Jean,” and “Glory Days,” to close the first set of this second Bonnaroo show.) The “Drowned” > “Twist Around” from Deer Creek (6/19/09) contained some terrific jamming, as did the “Crosseyed and Painless” -> “Down with Disease” from Alpine (6/21/09). Notably, the jam out of this Alpine “C&P” bears some resemblance to the jam out of “Rock and Roll” from Bonnaroo, in that both jams dissolved from straight-ahead rock into effect-crazy, “wall of sound”-like spacey haze.
All this is to say that “3.0” has not birthed a spectacular, hear-at-all-costs, elite version of any song yet. There has been no mind-melting “YEM” or “Mike’s Groove,” nor a “Boogie On” akin to the magnificent Alpine version from June 26, 2004. In Phish-fan parlance, there has been no “hose.” Nevertheless, as I hear it, Phish’s improvisation this year demonstrates that Phish is still at IT, and that the best is yet to come.
Recommended Listening:
03/08/09 Hampton: Bathtub Gin, Down with Disease
05/31/09 Boston: Destiny Unbound, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, Time Turns Elastic
06/02/09 Jones Beach: Harry Hood
06/04/09 Jones Beach: Ocelot, Drowned
06/05/09 Jones Beach: DWD > Twist Around > Piper
06/06/09 Great Woods: Gotta Jibboo, Prince Caspian, Seven Below
06/07/09 Camden: Sugar Shack, Sand, Tweezer
06/09/09 Asheville: Kill Devil Falls, Backwards Down the Number Line, Possum
06/10/09 Knoxville: Undermind, Waves
06/12/09 Bonnaroo: Stealin’ Time, DWD, Kill Devil Falls
06/14/09 Bonnaroo: Mustang Sally, Bobby Jean, Glory Days, Rock and Roll -> Light, First Tube
06/19/09 Deer Creek: Drowned > Twist Around
06/21/09 Alpine Valley: Joy, Crosseyed and Painless -> DWD
Charlie Dirksen is an officer and Board member with the all-volunteer, 501©(3) Mockingbird Foundation, which was founded by Phish fans and has raised over $600,000 for music education for children. Charlie first saw Phish at the Paradise in Boston on October 6, 1989. Assuming he has cell reception and is inspired, he will “tweet” from the upcoming Red Rocks and Shoreline shows(http://twitter.com/cdirksen).
