Photo Credit: Bill Kelly

Tonight, April 18, Phish’s will commence its much-anticipated run at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Prior to the group’s Sin City stint, guitarist Trey Anastasio spoke to the Associated Press and shared key details on the impending four-night run at one of the world’s techiest and most innovative live music venues, providing a tinge more clarity to the intentionally mystifying experience that awaits. 

Unlike Phish’s Sphere forefathers, U2, who amassed a whopping $2.3 billion during their 40-show Sphere residency, the Vermont foursome, Anastasio, Page McConnell, Mike Gordon, and John Fishman, ruled in favor of something a little more strategic, promising no-repeat plays, new and exciting visuals each night with Easter eggs parsed throughout, hinting at a larger theme that connects the totality of all four concerts.

“I love getting up in the morning and creatively thinking of another cool thing to blow people’s minds,” Anastasio told AP. The artist followed up, referencing the unique quality of the venue’s sound system as a compliment to their forthcoming live shows. Saying, “One of the things that we’ve tried to do is sculpt our show so that we can be the band that we always are and play to our strengths while simultaneously using the technology to kind of expand the elements of the show—like the adventure and the breaking free of boundaries.”

When asked about the planning process and what had gone into the making of the Sphere performances, Anastasio said it had been a daily operation. He also referenced the band’s decision to use a thematic narrative, which will course through all four nights. Deciding on a motif, the musician continued, “Then it was what songs we’re going to play, what the (visual) content was going to be, how literal we wanted to make it. The answer to that is not very literal. Our fans are really smart and really involved, and we wanted to take a night or so for people to figure out what we were doing, plant a lot of Easter eggs and things like that. But it’s a never-ending daily improvement.”

Whereas U2 and Dead & Company have stretched and expanded their initial slate of dates to accommodate fan demand and interest, Anastasio confesses it wasn’t the play for Phish, who went with a more strategized approach,  “There was a moment where we were discussing adding shows, because the tickets blew out pretty hard. And we decided as a team that they would be good, but not necessarily astounding — which is the level that we wanted to operate at — unless we just repeated the exact same show over again. The other thing is that Phish is such a wacky community that it kind of set up this scenario where a lot of people would probably want to come back. It’s just the way our fans are. It’s kind of like a big, giant rolling family or community or something like that.”

Praising his bandmates and referencing the band’s last Gamehendge epic, Anastasio said, “A good band is a family. It’s a team. It’s communication and listening and it’s hard to describe what a joy it is when you spend almost a year working on — like what we did last year (with a New Year’s Eve performance of the band’s epic set of “Gamehendge” songs, complete with stage actors and puppets). It’s like you feel like you’re alive. And the Sphere has been like that, too.”

As a final question, AP continued to poke at the potential for another Gamehendge, which Anastasio said he would like to improve, adding, “But then it was kind of like, if there is, it’s going to be better, or it’s going to be built upon. Sort of the way this one was built upon. The previous one, even though it was 30 years ago. I hope it’s not 30 years. I’d like to do it. In the Phish world, it’s like the second it’s over … the next morning you wake up like I start working on the Sphere. Go meet (co-creative director Abigail Rosen Holmes) downtown at a coffee shop with a laptop and start riffing. I mean, I’m here in Vegas, and yesterday morning I was on a call (about this summer’s Mondegreen festival) with the coolest, smartest people who are working on that. Oh my God.”

For those unable to attend Phish’s four-night Sphere experience, streaming options are available via SiriusXM’s Phish Radio. Scroll down for the complete schedule. 

And livestream the performances via LivePhish.com. 

Phish Radio In Vegas: Sphere Weekend

THURSDAY 4.18.24: PHISH RADIO FROM LAS VEGAS

12pm: 11.3.18 Las Vegas, NV

5pm ET: Trey Anastasio Interview@ SXM Wynn Las Vegas (premiere)

7pm ET: Headbands with Ari @ Wynn SXM Vegas

8pm ET: Page McConnell Interview @ Wynn SXM Las Vegas (premiere)

9pm ET: 10.30.21 Las Vegas, NV

FRIDAY 4.19.24: PHISH RADIO FROM LAS VEGAS

10am ET: Trey Anastasio Interview @ SXM Wynn Las Vegas

12pm ET: Last Night’s Sphere Show (N1 4.18.24 Las Vegas, NV)

4pm ET: Phish Radio Friday Listener Event @ Brooklyn Bowl

7pm ET: Sphere Standouts – top 3 moments from N1

8pm ET: The Bunny Goes To Vegas

9pm ET: 4.18.24 Las Vegas, NV

SATURDAY 4.20.24: PHISH RADIO FROM LAS VEGAS

9am ET: Sphere shaped Errant Path w/ Jonathan Fishman (replay)

12pm ET: Last Night’s Sphere Show (4.19.24 Las Vegas)

3pm ET: Headbands from Las Vegas (Sphere Weekend)

4pm ET: Phish Radio Saturday Listener Event @ Brooklyn Bowl

7pm ET: Sphere Standouts – top 3 moments from N2

8pm ET: Page McConnell Interview @ Wynn SXM Las Vegas

9pm ET: 4.19.24 Las Vegas, NV

SUNDAY 4.21.24: PHISH RADIO FROM LAS VEGAS

11am ET: Trey Anastasio Interview@ SXM Wynn Las Vegas

12pm ET: Last Night’s Sphere Show (N3 4.20.24 Las Vegas, NV)

3pm ET: The Bunny Goes To Vegas

4pm ET: SXM Vegas Highlights (Trey Wynn interview, listener events, etc)

7pm ET: Sphere Standouts – top 3 moments from N3

10pm ET: PHISH FINALE LIVE @ THE LAS VEGAS SPHERE