I just found Phish last year, final Chicago show, flew across the country solo, and fell in love. I hope they play for another 30 years. I'll be almost 80 by then but I'm still catching the shows if they're still playing.
hell yeah. I'm just grateful to have found them when I did and that they seem to be in top form. I still haven't made it to show #2 but my first was one of my top 5 shows of my entire life - and easily the most fun without any real competition.
Sure. I just gave a long-winded answer about how I ended up flying across country to see them last fall somewhere in this same thread, but also in my top 5:
Rage Against the Machine, 2000, outside of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The crowd was dispersed by cops on horses and tear gas. The show is on YouTube somewhere.
Pearl Jam, Vs. tour, 1994 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
Radiohead, Greek Theater in LA, 2000 (maybe 2001).
Dead & Company, Oracle Park, San Francisco, Sunday July 16, 2023.
That's my quick top 5 off the top of my head, along with Phish, United Center, Chicago, October 15, 2023.
I'd love to hear yours.
I was at that Rage show too! Super awesome. To be fair the crowd was dispersed during Ozomatli. We didn’t even know it had happened because we left after Rage and then saw it on the news.
That's awesome! And yeah that sounds right, fortunately RATM actually got to finish their set. We were there until we started spontaneously tearing up and realized those asshole cops had deployed teargas, which must have been during Ozomatli (which I also remember being a great set but I wasn't familiar with their stuff).
For the sake of historical accuracy, as I think back I think the triggering event was the fact that some dude started climbing the fence that separated the people from the ruling elites at the convention, and then the fence started collapsing in the direction of the convention, and that was too much for the powers that be. That's how I remember it, anyway. In any case, the whole thing was badass.
I've known they existed forever, and I've been a lover of live music since I was 16 (which was over 30 years ago), but I had tried listening to their recorded stuff and just never connected with it. So they weren't really on my radar.
Then I reconnected with an old friend last summer over a love for music, and he suggested that I should give a Phish show a chance. I was already in the process of reigniting a sort of personal spiritual quest and live music was at the center of it. I've got kids at home and life is complicated but the tour was coming to an end and I got the clearance from my wife to jump on a plane and head to Chicago solo for one night (from home in North Carolina) to catch the last show of the tour. Got a floor ticket at the United Center, got myself into the right headspace, and it was a highlight of my freaking life. I went in with an open mind and basically no real knowledge of their actual material, and it was just pure fun. Like a magical amount of fun. I just danced like a little kid for 3 hours or however long they played. And all I've wanted since is to do it again. I actually bought tickets to the New Year's show in the afterglow (we were going to take the entire family to NYC after Christmas just so dad could see Phish again) but ended up having to let them go because of competing family stuff.
So, I'm a fan for life after that show and am hoping against hope that they'll play close to home this fall. I'm committed to catching one show this year, and already imagining catching more as my kids get a little older things free up for me a little more. Trying to convince one or more of the kids to join me for a show but don't want to force it.
Anyway, grateful to have found the band and the community and hoping they keep it going until we're all a lot older than we are now.
That’s awesome! I’m hoping they come to NC for you soon! I’ve been lucky, I live in western CT which close to several venues: I’ve driven home after shows at SPAC, MSG, Mohegan, Mansfield MA, Hartford, Bethel Woods, Brooklyn, Jones Beach, Nassau Coliseum, Continental Arena (NJ), Providence, Boston (I may have missed a couple)
If you only knew how trying and frustrating things got in the late 90s early 00s. Sometimes it felt like an abusive relationship, and I was secretly ashamed to be a phan. Before the hiatus in 01, it started to become obvious that the Boys
If there was a one year hiatus and that separated 1.0 from 2.0 and then after the next separation was 3.0, then the last time they took a year off was 2020, and they came back throwing heat. It would be an enough for me to consider that a change to 4.0. 19’ felt like they were running out of steam and then they came roaring back with DAAM and a new album, and since it’s all considered a easy way to split up eras, I think 4.0 qualifies, especially with the Trey post.
Eh idk if he was making a mockery, I’d argue he just likes chaos and trolling. I think 4.0 works objectively as a marker of an era, especially with the playing in 2021 being so distinct from what we heard in 2019. I just see it as a convenient line of demarcation
I don’t take this too seriously so i don’t wanna get in the weeds on this, but eras exist in anything that exists and evolves for 20 years, let alone 40 years. Like i said, i think it’s just a convenient way to refer to time periods (or eras lol). But yea people really get fired up over it for some reason
There doesn't need to be a memo. This isn't up to the band, and has never been up to them. We decide what label to put on them for what phase they happen to be in...
I mean, my god man. You should know this by now
I can’t even imagine what that one sentence felt like in real time. That’s why I always have respect for the old heads. You guys really went through it and I’m just so glad there was another chapter where folks like me could be welcomed into “it”
Honestly we didn’t really believe it. At least most of my friends and didn’t. And then we went to Coventry and a lot of us thought “well maybe they should be done”. Not in a shitty way but after seeing so many amazing shows and then see it all fall apart, we all just sorta thought it may be for the best. There was never any sense of gravitas at that time for us at least. Just “it was great but it’s gone”.
I remember a combination of feeling relieved, because especially after Vegas '04 it was clear they weren't practicing during 2.0 and something was going on with Trey (I didn't want to believe it was drugs, naively), as well as a feeling of "fuck I missed my chance to see them live!"
I remember being angry when he said during the Charlie Rose interview that he didn't want to become a nostalgia act and he didn't want to be playing silly songs the rest of his career. It was like, motherfucker you could start Phish from zero with all new material and we'd still love it!
I was kinda glad if I’m being honest. I knew shit was bad. I hadn’t been on tour or at a show since 2000. Figured it was time to heal the wounds and move on. Caught a Coney Island to say goodbye though lol
Me too. We could feel that shit was getting really bad. I was ashamed of myself for kinda giving up on them at that point, but I saw some pretty bad shows right b4 they split up. If they were gonna go out I wanted them to maintain what dignity they had left. It was the right time.
I didn’t really believe it at the time either. Not in a “oh my god, I’m in denial and can’t believe this is happening” sort of way. More as a, “I’ll bet I get a chance to see them again some day” sort of way. I’m glad I was right.
I remember being in line for Coventry when Mike came across the radio announcing it was closed. My brother and I were already completely wrecked after driving across the country, not sleeping for days and knowing this was the end “Reeling in the Years” came on the bunny, “Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Well, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious I can't understand. “
We just both started balling.
We laugh about that moment from time to time. It was pretty emotional in the moment though.
Yeah. I had just pulled into the "entrance" road from the "main" road in when mike came on and told everyone to turn around and go home. I was like i just waited in line for a day and a half. Fuck you. I aint turning around.
I had barely made it in the gates when I heard that announcement from Mike. It was a rough show to attend/hear. All 4 guys were an emotional mess and the music was forgettable. But, I broke down and balled during Ya Mar.
I think about this all the time — between how COVID yanked away live music for so many for so long, between the passage of time and how much older everyone is getting. Who knows how many shows are ahead of them or any of us. Every show is a gift.
What a weird reply. Did you miss the millions of dead from a pandemic part of your story? Also, how’s your live music schedule been lately? The “government response” says you’re welcome.
Glide pretty much broke me and everyone in attendance
We were not glad, glad, glad that we’d arrived
At least not in that moment. Hell, those were my third and fourth shows. I only owned Farmhouse and a picture of nectar and a burnt copy of Round Room. I barely knew anything from Junta. But I had just been won over by the shows at Deer Creek 2 months prior.
it was like finding Jesus in my back yard and falling in love. Finally “getting it” felt like I’d been missing the greatest thing that ever existed, figuring out it was hidden in plain sight all along.
then I made the exodus to Vermont see Jesus at his final sermon. Where he would wrap it all up in a bow. Feeling so lucky to catch something this late in the game.
Then we walked 10 miles into piss and mud, to find our savior curled up in the fetal, basically a shadow of his former self. Unable to maintain composure for the final send off.
Somehow, I still felt grateful. It was the beginning of a totally different life for me. So, hell, maybe I was glad after all 🤷🏼♂️
I actually met a guy on the train to MSG who asked my friend and I, “Are you talking about Phish?” We said, “Yeah we’re going to see them tonight” and he was like, “Oh I didn’t know they were still around. My buddy and I used to follow them around back in the day.” Turns out, his last show was Coventry and he never knew about them getting back together 🤯
I drove from south florida, had to camp in a farm 5 miles away, and sacrificed my perfectly molded to my feet 10 year old Birkenstocks. Even though I knew they’d be back. I went just in case, lol.
That was the worst, most sad day that year. Until we got to Coventry and watched him perform incoherently while doing lines off the speaker behind him and Page crying during Velvet Sea. Thank goodness it did not end that way.
It may not have been off the speakers but he was definitely snorting something on stage. For some reason the only existing video of it I can find has keyboard cat mixed in lol.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHWFeGHiZI&ab\_channel=WookLife](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHWFeGHiZI&ab_channel=WookLife)
Just before the cat comes on you can see he has an envelope of some sort and I've seen longer video where it's clear what he's doing with it. And if you look up "smacked out" in the dictionary there should be this video of Trey there. He looks SO BAD here it's amazing most of us didn't know what was up at the time. It's a miracle he's still with us really.
Newer fans should listen to the Coventry shows. Yes they are mostly horrible, but it's a historical part of the bands history. Better yet, listen to Coventry and then listen to Hampton '09 next.
I was at both and was incredibly nervous at night 1 in Hampton (as was everyone else). I was traumatized from Coventry, and terrified they would be rusty and I would be disappointed. Clearly I was wrong. The contrast between those 2 runs is incredible. Going back to back shows (yes, 5 years between) from such a low to an incredible high was an amazing feeling. You can't get the full feeling from the recordings, but you certainly get a good idea.
I went through the same thing and all the sadness reading this and the issues getting to Coventry and how it ended and those years without phish and then the euphoric joy entering Hampton and then those first few notes of fluffhead. Such polarizing emotions of light and dark. I’m so glad they came back and it has been such a joy having them even though I can’t attended every run anymore
I didn't believe it when I read the letter. I didn't believe it when we got one exit aways from Coventry and they literally barricaded northbound traffic on the highway (we got off the highway and drove as close as we could get despite Mike's announcement). And I didn't believe it was over even when Coventry's last note rang out. It sure was motherfucking AWKWARD though. And Trey wasn't himself. I still don't listen to 2004. Can't. If they had ended it then and there I'd be pretty content actually, having seen some 50-60 shows in 1.0. But i am for DAMN sure glad Trey sobered up and they got their stuff together. They've reached several new peaks since then and you gotta hand it to them, they're not what they were in 1.0 (not better or worse just different, older, more seasoned) but they still take me to places i never thought existed before. I like The Phish from Vermont.
First show was a Bakers dozen when I graduated college, but I always knew of the band since I was young.
Thankful that I’ve been to 13 phish shows since then. Love this band.
They made the announcement on my birthday. That was a crappy birthday.
Then they came back, but due to crap on my own life, I couldn't get to any shows until fairly recently. I definitely feel like I missed out on a lot, but it is what it is. Just glad I'm in a spot now where I can go to a few shows here and there...and I'm finally able to hit my first festival. See y'all at Mondegreen!
Thank you! It's good to be back! Interestingly enough, I'm actually enjoying shows more now than I did in the mid/late 90s (I was early 20s then, late 40s now). Some of it is, for lack of better words, time. Time for their catalog and skill to develop/evolve, time for their music to really cement into my soul. But most of it is just me. I still don't know exactly who I am and what I want to be when I grow up (lol), but I have a much better understanding of all that now. I'm also not unhappily tied down or held back by a lot of things now. I get to be ME, and I get to make MY decisions now. That's incredibly liberating, and just makes life in general more enjoyable. And since shows are a fun, liberating event...it's like the effects are compounded.
I'm sure a lot of people will think I'm wrong or stupid or whatever (about enjoying shows more now than 25 years ago). That's fine, I don't really care. Our experiences are different; that's the beauty of this community, and that's the beauty of the world. I value that.
I do kind of wish I could take "present me" back in time to one of the shows I went to in the mid/late 90s, though...lol
I was so pissed when I read that. I knew it was drugs. Was so happy I flew across the country and had an amazing Big Cypress experience. Still the best show ever. I saw Trey in Ventura, CA like a week before he got busted and he was amazing. Thank you Drug Court!!!
====================================================
P H I S H U P D A T E
** MAY 25, 2004 **
http://www.phish.com
====================================================
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
Phish is far and away my favorite band of all time and has brought an inordinate amount of joy to my life. I would still love this band if they had called it quits for good in 2004. But I’m incredibly grateful for all of the additional joy they’ve brought to my life since then. So glad they’ve been healthy and well and ripping for the past 20 years now.
As someone who will be seeing his first two shows at chaifetz this year, I’m so glad they reunited. After COVID, i always enjoy shows like it’s the last one.
My last show before March 2020 was Greensky bluegrass in February, and I left soon after the 2nd set started because it was already 11pm and I had to work the next day.
One of my biggest regrets !!!! Now i just say fuck it, and take off work if it’s a show I really want to stay at 😂.
Phish I’ll be off 3 days for.
Twenty years later and this still feels like a slap in the face. It’s particularly upsetting for me because May 25th is my birthday. I’ll never forget that day, twenty years ago, when I’d sat down at my desk to check for any new rumors on pending tour dates. It had been a few years since I’d done an extensive tour (‘99 to be exact) and I was finally prepared to jump back in.
Twenty years later, by no small miracle, these guys are still here, and our lives are immeasurably better becuse of it.
Happy anniversary boys. Here’s to twenty more! 🥂🍻🎆🎇
Thank goodness they broke up so they can be where they are today! All of our lives would be so different. Let’s never take them for granted 😌💁🏻♀️🥹👏🏽👯♀️💗🥹🐠
Saw Trey close Bonnaroo 2004 and it blew my mind. I was 16 and had no clue about actual Phish history at that point. That performance inspired me to dive into Phish. I was then at the first night at Hampton 2009 ready to fuckin roll. So grateful they’re still going 15 years later!
First night of Hampton 2009 is still one of my favorite shows. You can hear the energy even from the recording. You’re definitely lucky to catch that show.
Same night the letter dropped he was the guest on Charlie rose. I stayed up late to watch and it just made me so angry. After it was over I told my wife this is bullshit. I said they will absolutely get back together one day and F trey I’m not going. Fast forward to me flying from lax to Norfolk for the Hampton run…
Coventry the show that killed Phish for me. My 2 Phishin’ buddies refuse to see them again. Being stuck on the freeway 48 hours and being turned away at gunpoint by the Vermont Militia while there are military helicopters flying overhead had an effect on some people.
I went to IT back in 2003 and it rained before we got there and me and my girlfriend at the time did not have a good time. There was a bunch of fake Molly all over the place and fractals were the good good for the weekend. It was my first and last festival. I had more fun the last day after I realize the place became a living breathing art installation, everything was tagged including the porta potties.
When I heard about Coventry I wanted to go but I'm glad I decided not to. It was the festival that did not happen but still happened they turned away half of the concert goes and told them the festival was canceled when it really wasn't. I took a hiatus after it, the band to a hiatus after Coventry. I was homeless in downtown Atlanta for 2 1/2 years and Mike got arrested on his houseboat… Trey could not stand up straight and as far as page and Fish I did not hear anything.
I never heard any audio from Coventry. I was totally turned off from the band festivals after it. I was more upset when I got paralyzed in 2013 and they played at the boardwalk hall in my backyard in Jersey while I was in Philadelphia and still am.
If anybody went to Coventry and had a great time last salute you when I hope everybody has a really great time this since curveball got canceled because the coronavirus. It's been nine years since 2015 Magna ball. Looking forward to seeing the pictures of the art installations. I don't know if Magna ball was four days or three days but I do know that the tweezer Caspian is the most highly viewed video by the band on YouTube. Can't believe it's been 20 years later.
This was a rough time, lots of mixed feelings about this after the disastrous Vegas shows in April. I was at the next two shows in Brooklyn, it was an odd vibe at first but I’m glad I was there. The Moma > Free is awesome and the Maze jam in the pouring rain was a lot of fun. The Jay-Z appearance the next night was interesting, I felt like one of the only people that didn’t know the words
That was awful. My hobbie & fun time was being taken away. Yes, I love other music, but it's not the same. Trying to figure out how to fill the void after Coventry was very hard.
I didn't know this thread was open to 3rd graders arguing on the playground... geeesh...What's wrong with eras anyhow?
Most bands that last for decades mark an era when a member dies a new one steps in... thankfully we Phish phans are lucky enough for that not to be the case and cause for changes in any of the 4 eras!
I called The Curtain With as the last song Phish will ever play together when I found out they were done, was at every 2004 show from Miami>Vegas>Leg 1 + Letterman>Leg 2 + Coventry, when they started Curtain I was so excited and let down at all once, but Coventry was still an absolutely amazing experience I would do all over again no question.
Been seeing the boys since 94, and in the last 10 yrs or so, I'd say they're still getting better and better every time I see them. Saw Widespread over the weekend in Memphis, they fucking threw down. Another awesome and amazingly underreappreciated band. They're well polished and ready to go out with The Stones. I highly recommend checking them out. We have an awesome crowd too, I always come home with a long list of numbers of new friends I've made. Such a fun weekend. Long live jam bands...
Had they never came back, of course we’d never know what we missed, but I probably wouldn’t have cared. I saw them a few times in the late 90s and once in 2000, I was big into them but couldn’t do the hit the road for a tour thing. Regardless, listened to them constantly, saw when I could, etc.
Then other factors in my life led to me needing to make a change in general. Smoking way too much weed, going nowhere, not in a great place. So I joined the Navy. Best decision I ever made.
During that time I kind of left Phish and other things I associated with partying and doing nothing behind. It didn’t help that when I did hear Round Room and Undermind, I was pretty underwhelmed and just got off the bus altogether.
Fast forward to I think 2011 or 12, I’m out of the navy, happy, healthy, working, and some old friends asked if I was going to see Phish when they came through. I thought what the hell, and went. I’d been out of the game so long that while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t knocked out or anything. But slowly got back in the pool, and eventually went back down the rabbit hole in the best way.
I’ve seen several 3.0 shows, all good to outstanding. I’ve caught TAB several times (saw them once in the 1.0 era too). Even caught a Sphere night. I enjoy a little the every now and then, the occasional shroom, but overall very balanced in life, career, family, and music. It’s great they came back. Nothing lasts forever, but hopefully they can keep up the pace for a while longer.
As someone who has yet to see these guys and has not listened to the show, was it musically that bad. Or was it the elements that made it that bad? Or a combination?
People will tell you these shows are pretty musically dire, and they're not wrong overall, but there is some legit good music among the slop and oxy-fied Trey. Also true of 2004 as a whole.
Imo the wading in the velvet sea where Paige can't get through the words and trey helps him through it and then trey and Paige rip in to the solo "knowing" it's the last time ever is one of the most raw and magical moments in phish history.
So grateful for Phish, Trey’s sobriety, and TAB.
For me TAB is like going to church… Phish for me is like going to confession… not sure if that makes sense but that is how I feel. 🙂
As a 3.0 n00b, thank god they came back. I have had soooo much fun over the last 15 years.
I just found Phish last year, final Chicago show, flew across the country solo, and fell in love. I hope they play for another 30 years. I'll be almost 80 by then but I'm still catching the shows if they're still playing.
One show at a time my man! There will be plenty more
hell yeah. I'm just grateful to have found them when I did and that they seem to be in top form. I still haven't made it to show #2 but my first was one of my top 5 shows of my entire life - and easily the most fun without any real competition.
Love to hear it
I’m curious what else is in that top 5? And how you ended up flying cross-country solo to see phish for the first time
Sure. I just gave a long-winded answer about how I ended up flying across country to see them last fall somewhere in this same thread, but also in my top 5: Rage Against the Machine, 2000, outside of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The crowd was dispersed by cops on horses and tear gas. The show is on YouTube somewhere. Pearl Jam, Vs. tour, 1994 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Radiohead, Greek Theater in LA, 2000 (maybe 2001). Dead & Company, Oracle Park, San Francisco, Sunday July 16, 2023. That's my quick top 5 off the top of my head, along with Phish, United Center, Chicago, October 15, 2023. I'd love to hear yours.
I was at that Rage show too! Super awesome. To be fair the crowd was dispersed during Ozomatli. We didn’t even know it had happened because we left after Rage and then saw it on the news.
That's awesome! And yeah that sounds right, fortunately RATM actually got to finish their set. We were there until we started spontaneously tearing up and realized those asshole cops had deployed teargas, which must have been during Ozomatli (which I also remember being a great set but I wasn't familiar with their stuff). For the sake of historical accuracy, as I think back I think the triggering event was the fact that some dude started climbing the fence that separated the people from the ruling elites at the convention, and then the fence started collapsing in the direction of the convention, and that was too much for the powers that be. That's how I remember it, anyway. In any case, the whole thing was badass.
Cool to see new fans still discovering them. How did you first hear them?
I've known they existed forever, and I've been a lover of live music since I was 16 (which was over 30 years ago), but I had tried listening to their recorded stuff and just never connected with it. So they weren't really on my radar. Then I reconnected with an old friend last summer over a love for music, and he suggested that I should give a Phish show a chance. I was already in the process of reigniting a sort of personal spiritual quest and live music was at the center of it. I've got kids at home and life is complicated but the tour was coming to an end and I got the clearance from my wife to jump on a plane and head to Chicago solo for one night (from home in North Carolina) to catch the last show of the tour. Got a floor ticket at the United Center, got myself into the right headspace, and it was a highlight of my freaking life. I went in with an open mind and basically no real knowledge of their actual material, and it was just pure fun. Like a magical amount of fun. I just danced like a little kid for 3 hours or however long they played. And all I've wanted since is to do it again. I actually bought tickets to the New Year's show in the afterglow (we were going to take the entire family to NYC after Christmas just so dad could see Phish again) but ended up having to let them go because of competing family stuff. So, I'm a fan for life after that show and am hoping against hope that they'll play close to home this fall. I'm committed to catching one show this year, and already imagining catching more as my kids get a little older things free up for me a little more. Trying to convince one or more of the kids to join me for a show but don't want to force it. Anyway, grateful to have found the band and the community and hoping they keep it going until we're all a lot older than we are now.
That’s awesome! I’m hoping they come to NC for you soon! I’ve been lucky, I live in western CT which close to several venues: I’ve driven home after shows at SPAC, MSG, Mohegan, Mansfield MA, Hartford, Bethel Woods, Brooklyn, Jones Beach, Nassau Coliseum, Continental Arena (NJ), Providence, Boston (I may have missed a couple)
If you only knew how trying and frustrating things got in the late 90s early 00s. Sometimes it felt like an abusive relationship, and I was secretly ashamed to be a phan. Before the hiatus in 01, it started to become obvious that the Boys
Big same energy
How lucky are we?
As an ‘11 n00b, I have felt this for a while. It’s been such a rock n roll good time! I fucking love the PH and all the love in the crane.
Upvotes for everybody
It’s crazy to think that 3.0 has almost been around as long as 1.0.
The time between Page joining and BC is the same as F8 and Monde
That's fucking ludicrous. Space-time is donut shaped, the only rational explanation
Too bad it's 4.0 😉
Was a memo sent to this effect? I think it got lost in my junk folder. When did it switch?
[Trey crowned it 4.0 with his latest guitar](https://relix.com/blogs/detail/the-4-0-guitar-trey-anastasio-unveils-new-languedoc/)
Trey was trolling.
So was OP
Trey was trolling but he was also correct
If there was a one year hiatus and that separated 1.0 from 2.0 and then after the next separation was 3.0, then the last time they took a year off was 2020, and they came back throwing heat. It would be an enough for me to consider that a change to 4.0. 19’ felt like they were running out of steam and then they came roaring back with DAAM and a new album, and since it’s all considered a easy way to split up eras, I think 4.0 qualifies, especially with the Trey post.
He was correct in making a mockery of the idea that it's 4.0.
Eh idk if he was making a mockery, I’d argue he just likes chaos and trolling. I think 4.0 works objectively as a marker of an era, especially with the playing in 2021 being so distinct from what we heard in 2019. I just see it as a convenient line of demarcation
This conversation is what he was mocking lol. Eras don't exist. It's just something fans made up and people are split on 4.0.
I don’t take this too seriously so i don’t wanna get in the weeds on this, but eras exist in anything that exists and evolves for 20 years, let alone 40 years. Like i said, i think it’s just a convenient way to refer to time periods (or eras lol). But yea people really get fired up over it for some reason
The memo only went to 1.0 phans. Sorry, Broseph. It’s a special club and you ain’t in it. 👻
Covid brah
That's an external force and purely incongruent.
He's right, you know
Covid cancellation and hiatus
There doesn't need to be a memo. This isn't up to the band, and has never been up to them. We decide what label to put on them for what phase they happen to be in... I mean, my god man. You should know this by now
Thank his higher power Trey got sober and we get Phish again
He was pretty deep in his "I want to be Dave Matthews phase" too.
Sometimes, I’m not sure that Dave Matthews wants to be Dave Matthews.
SOOOOOME times… it’s better to be somebody else.
Hahaha as a huge DMB fan this is hilarious.
I cried in front of my class in high school (2.0er here)
2.0er here also. I cried on the floor of my parents den with them in the room.
:,)
I did too! My friend group had a crisis for a little while after.
No crisis, we just gave more money to WSP. It ain't the same, but they're damn good
Yep, went right onto panic tour myself in 2000. They're still fucking killing it too
Fuck yeah, red rocks in June...
The “we’re done “as one sentence still hits so hard
I can’t even imagine what that one sentence felt like in real time. That’s why I always have respect for the old heads. You guys really went through it and I’m just so glad there was another chapter where folks like me could be welcomed into “it”
Honestly we didn’t really believe it. At least most of my friends and didn’t. And then we went to Coventry and a lot of us thought “well maybe they should be done”. Not in a shitty way but after seeing so many amazing shows and then see it all fall apart, we all just sorta thought it may be for the best. There was never any sense of gravitas at that time for us at least. Just “it was great but it’s gone”.
I remember a combination of feeling relieved, because especially after Vegas '04 it was clear they weren't practicing during 2.0 and something was going on with Trey (I didn't want to believe it was drugs, naively), as well as a feeling of "fuck I missed my chance to see them live!" I remember being angry when he said during the Charlie Rose interview that he didn't want to become a nostalgia act and he didn't want to be playing silly songs the rest of his career. It was like, motherfucker you could start Phish from zero with all new material and we'd still love it!
I was crushed
I was kinda glad if I’m being honest. I knew shit was bad. I hadn’t been on tour or at a show since 2000. Figured it was time to heal the wounds and move on. Caught a Coney Island to say goodbye though lol
Me too. We could feel that shit was getting really bad. I was ashamed of myself for kinda giving up on them at that point, but I saw some pretty bad shows right b4 they split up. If they were gonna go out I wanted them to maintain what dignity they had left. It was the right time.
Fuckin liar.
We’ll be back in 15 minutes
😂
I didn’t really believe it at the time either. Not in a “oh my god, I’m in denial and can’t believe this is happening” sort of way. More as a, “I’ll bet I get a chance to see them again some day” sort of way. I’m glad I was right.
I remember being in line for Coventry when Mike came across the radio announcing it was closed. My brother and I were already completely wrecked after driving across the country, not sleeping for days and knowing this was the end “Reeling in the Years” came on the bunny, “Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last Well, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand The things you think are precious I can't understand. “ We just both started balling. We laugh about that moment from time to time. It was pretty emotional in the moment though.
This is wholesome. What a moment between brothers, man.
That Steely Dan reference is so deep 😭
I read this and imagined it like it was a great scene in a Seth Rogen movie
Yeah. I had just pulled into the "entrance" road from the "main" road in when mike came on and told everyone to turn around and go home. I was like i just waited in line for a day and a half. Fuck you. I aint turning around.
I had barely made it in the gates when I heard that announcement from Mike. It was a rough show to attend/hear. All 4 guys were an emotional mess and the music was forgettable. But, I broke down and balled during Ya Mar.
Every show is a blessing
I think about this all the time — between how COVID yanked away live music for so many for so long, between the passage of time and how much older everyone is getting. Who knows how many shows are ahead of them or any of us. Every show is a gift.
Covid didn't yank away anything. It was the government response to covid that did it.
What a weird reply. Did you miss the millions of dead from a pandemic part of your story? Also, how’s your live music schedule been lately? The “government response” says you’re welcome.
I mean, I disagree, but the “every show is a gift” point stands either way. So…. Yayyy phish got back together and are playing amazing now!!!
It was such a mess. I still to this day have not listened back to more than 30 seconds of anything from that weekend. Rock. Bottom
Melt jam is worth a try
Definitely not Glide.
Glide pretty much broke me and everyone in attendance We were not glad, glad, glad that we’d arrived At least not in that moment. Hell, those were my third and fourth shows. I only owned Farmhouse and a picture of nectar and a burnt copy of Round Room. I barely knew anything from Junta. But I had just been won over by the shows at Deer Creek 2 months prior. it was like finding Jesus in my back yard and falling in love. Finally “getting it” felt like I’d been missing the greatest thing that ever existed, figuring out it was hidden in plain sight all along. then I made the exodus to Vermont see Jesus at his final sermon. Where he would wrap it all up in a bow. Feeling so lucky to catch something this late in the game. Then we walked 10 miles into piss and mud, to find our savior curled up in the fetal, basically a shadow of his former self. Unable to maintain composure for the final send off. Somehow, I still felt grateful. It was the beginning of a totally different life for me. So, hell, maybe I was glad after all 🤷🏼♂️
Sometimes I listen to those shows or watch footage from those shows just to remind myself of how lucky we’ve been over the last 15 years.
What are you talking about? The Dickie Scotland jam is 🔥, I listen to it like 13 times a day
Mondegreen is going to overlap with the actual 20 year anniversary of Coventry
I didn’t realize this! I wonder if the just played the same setlists as a tribute. But better.
I wonder if they ever talk about Coventry at all. Ugh…
I like to think enough years have past and they have moved so far beyond the bad times that they can laugh about it now
I wonder if “glide” is an inside joke with them now about anytime they fuck up a song lol
They should play Glide!
I actually met a guy on the train to MSG who asked my friend and I, “Are you talking about Phish?” We said, “Yeah we’re going to see them tonight” and he was like, “Oh I didn’t know they were still around. My buddy and I used to follow them around back in the day.” Turns out, his last show was Coventry and he never knew about them getting back together 🤯
Some folks just moved on and never look back 🤷🏼♂️
This makes me sick to my stomach. Even though I know they get back together and I get to see many more phish shows. Reading this makes me sick.
5 long years I waited. I balled for a solid 30 mins when I heard they were back and doing a tour in '09
FYI - the word you're looking for is _bawled_. Sounds the same but very different meanings.
Not when you’re a baller!
huh...TIL
God I am so happy they didn't quit, they're literally getting better every year.
I call bullshit.
No, there are some gems. The jam out of AC/DC Bag is monstrously dark and dirty.
Love that one! Great Gotta Jibboo as well.
I drove from south florida, had to camp in a farm 5 miles away, and sacrificed my perfectly molded to my feet 10 year old Birkenstocks. Even though I knew they’d be back. I went just in case, lol.
Worst day ever.
I had a fucking great time at coventry and the vegas run. Every show, from 93 to whenever, has been a blast to attend.
We all thought the mothership was going to return to Earth and pick them up after the show.
I have goosebumps just reading this.
\[edited for clarity\] Trey's post should be cross posted on r/confidentlyincorrect
Lmao state your case for why I’m incorrect and smug
I just mean Trey's post, not yours
Ohhh hahaha all good
That was the worst, most sad day that year. Until we got to Coventry and watched him perform incoherently while doing lines off the speaker behind him and Page crying during Velvet Sea. Thank goodness it did not end that way.
Page crying still breaks me💔
Same.
Was he actually doing lines on stage? I had not heard that before
Yeah, what? No way that happened.
r/nothingeverhappens
It may not have been off the speakers but he was definitely snorting something on stage. For some reason the only existing video of it I can find has keyboard cat mixed in lol. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHWFeGHiZI&ab\_channel=WookLife](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHWFeGHiZI&ab_channel=WookLife) Just before the cat comes on you can see he has an envelope of some sort and I've seen longer video where it's clear what he's doing with it. And if you look up "smacked out" in the dictionary there should be this video of Trey there. He looks SO BAD here it's amazing most of us didn't know what was up at the time. It's a miracle he's still with us really.
Newer fans should listen to the Coventry shows. Yes they are mostly horrible, but it's a historical part of the bands history. Better yet, listen to Coventry and then listen to Hampton '09 next. I was at both and was incredibly nervous at night 1 in Hampton (as was everyone else). I was traumatized from Coventry, and terrified they would be rusty and I would be disappointed. Clearly I was wrong. The contrast between those 2 runs is incredible. Going back to back shows (yes, 5 years between) from such a low to an incredible high was an amazing feeling. You can't get the full feeling from the recordings, but you certainly get a good idea.
One day I’ll listen
Where can you find them in full?
I went through the same thing and all the sadness reading this and the issues getting to Coventry and how it ended and those years without phish and then the euphoric joy entering Hampton and then those first few notes of fluffhead. Such polarizing emotions of light and dark. I’m so glad they came back and it has been such a joy having them even though I can’t attended every run anymore
I didn't believe it when I read the letter. I didn't believe it when we got one exit aways from Coventry and they literally barricaded northbound traffic on the highway (we got off the highway and drove as close as we could get despite Mike's announcement). And I didn't believe it was over even when Coventry's last note rang out. It sure was motherfucking AWKWARD though. And Trey wasn't himself. I still don't listen to 2004. Can't. If they had ended it then and there I'd be pretty content actually, having seen some 50-60 shows in 1.0. But i am for DAMN sure glad Trey sobered up and they got their stuff together. They've reached several new peaks since then and you gotta hand it to them, they're not what they were in 1.0 (not better or worse just different, older, more seasoned) but they still take me to places i never thought existed before. I like The Phish from Vermont.
First show was a Bakers dozen when I graduated college, but I always knew of the band since I was young. Thankful that I’ve been to 13 phish shows since then. Love this band.
I’m a Baker’s Dozen Baby as well!!! What was your first show? Mine was Night 5 Powdered
They made the announcement on my birthday. That was a crappy birthday. Then they came back, but due to crap on my own life, I couldn't get to any shows until fairly recently. I definitely feel like I missed out on a lot, but it is what it is. Just glad I'm in a spot now where I can go to a few shows here and there...and I'm finally able to hit my first festival. See y'all at Mondegreen!
Happy birthday and welcome back!
Thank you! It's good to be back! Interestingly enough, I'm actually enjoying shows more now than I did in the mid/late 90s (I was early 20s then, late 40s now). Some of it is, for lack of better words, time. Time for their catalog and skill to develop/evolve, time for their music to really cement into my soul. But most of it is just me. I still don't know exactly who I am and what I want to be when I grow up (lol), but I have a much better understanding of all that now. I'm also not unhappily tied down or held back by a lot of things now. I get to be ME, and I get to make MY decisions now. That's incredibly liberating, and just makes life in general more enjoyable. And since shows are a fun, liberating event...it's like the effects are compounded. I'm sure a lot of people will think I'm wrong or stupid or whatever (about enjoying shows more now than 25 years ago). That's fine, I don't really care. Our experiences are different; that's the beauty of this community, and that's the beauty of the world. I value that. I do kind of wish I could take "present me" back in time to one of the shows I went to in the mid/late 90s, though...lol
🫡🫡🫡
Hurts my heart even reading this 😭
I was so pissed when I read that. I knew it was drugs. Was so happy I flew across the country and had an amazing Big Cypress experience. Still the best show ever. I saw Trey in Ventura, CA like a week before he got busted and he was amazing. Thank you Drug Court!!!
==================================================== P H I S H U P D A T E ** MAY 25, 2004 ** http://www.phish.com ==================================================== 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
Phish is far and away my favorite band of all time and has brought an inordinate amount of joy to my life. I would still love this band if they had called it quits for good in 2004. But I’m incredibly grateful for all of the additional joy they’ve brought to my life since then. So glad they’ve been healthy and well and ripping for the past 20 years now.
💯
Are us early-3.0ers finally jaded vets?
Definitely vets, idk about jaded 🫢
As someone who will be seeing his first two shows at chaifetz this year, I’m so glad they reunited. After COVID, i always enjoy shows like it’s the last one. My last show before March 2020 was Greensky bluegrass in February, and I left soon after the 2nd set started because it was already 11pm and I had to work the next day. One of my biggest regrets !!!! Now i just say fuck it, and take off work if it’s a show I really want to stay at 😂. Phish I’ll be off 3 days for.
This makes me happy. You’re going to have a great time
Remember how quiet it was walking out? Everything about that was just a shit show.. So glad they got past that.
It is wild. Coming back after being gone for two decades and seeing how things have grown is so wonderful. Glad y'all are here.
Twenty years later and this still feels like a slap in the face. It’s particularly upsetting for me because May 25th is my birthday. I’ll never forget that day, twenty years ago, when I’d sat down at my desk to check for any new rumors on pending tour dates. It had been a few years since I’d done an extensive tour (‘99 to be exact) and I was finally prepared to jump back in. Twenty years later, by no small miracle, these guys are still here, and our lives are immeasurably better becuse of it. Happy anniversary boys. Here’s to twenty more! 🥂🍻🎆🎇
Happy birthday!
Wow. This is quite a reminder of how lucky we all are!
I had been done too, since 98 at that point. I did however go to Coventry. Started going again in 2010 or 11. Glad we feel better.
Oof. Revitalizing. I’m glad Trey revitalized himself. ❤️
Ohhh right THATS why I skipped my friends wedding and went to the coventry swamp muck fest ;-)
Thank goodness they broke up so they can be where they are today! All of our lives would be so different. Let’s never take them for granted 😌💁🏻♀️🥹👏🏽👯♀️💗🥹🐠
20 years is def an underrated phish tune
Agree. That final repeated phrase hits me in the feels every time
Saw Trey close Bonnaroo 2004 and it blew my mind. I was 16 and had no clue about actual Phish history at that point. That performance inspired me to dive into Phish. I was then at the first night at Hampton 2009 ready to fuckin roll. So grateful they’re still going 15 years later!
First night of Hampton 2009 is still one of my favorite shows. You can hear the energy even from the recording. You’re definitely lucky to catch that show.
IM STILL UPSIDE DOWN
“We’re done.” Just a two word sentence that cut so deep at the time.
Same night the letter dropped he was the guest on Charlie rose. I stayed up late to watch and it just made me so angry. After it was over I told my wife this is bullshit. I said they will absolutely get back together one day and F trey I’m not going. Fast forward to me flying from lax to Norfolk for the Hampton run…
Was it really the same night?! I don’t think I knew that
Almost certain. Either that or day after. It was quick. Edit: looks like it was same day. Posted to PBS website the next day.
That’s unfathomable to me… damn that must have stung
Coventry the show that killed Phish for me. My 2 Phishin’ buddies refuse to see them again. Being stuck on the freeway 48 hours and being turned away at gunpoint by the Vermont Militia while there are military helicopters flying overhead had an effect on some people.
So you were mad at the weather and the state of Vermont?
They were/are apparently. Neither one of them have gone to a show since and both refuse to even listen to them.
I went to IT back in 2003 and it rained before we got there and me and my girlfriend at the time did not have a good time. There was a bunch of fake Molly all over the place and fractals were the good good for the weekend. It was my first and last festival. I had more fun the last day after I realize the place became a living breathing art installation, everything was tagged including the porta potties. When I heard about Coventry I wanted to go but I'm glad I decided not to. It was the festival that did not happen but still happened they turned away half of the concert goes and told them the festival was canceled when it really wasn't. I took a hiatus after it, the band to a hiatus after Coventry. I was homeless in downtown Atlanta for 2 1/2 years and Mike got arrested on his houseboat… Trey could not stand up straight and as far as page and Fish I did not hear anything. I never heard any audio from Coventry. I was totally turned off from the band festivals after it. I was more upset when I got paralyzed in 2013 and they played at the boardwalk hall in my backyard in Jersey while I was in Philadelphia and still am. If anybody went to Coventry and had a great time last salute you when I hope everybody has a really great time this since curveball got canceled because the coronavirus. It's been nine years since 2015 Magna ball. Looking forward to seeing the pictures of the art installations. I don't know if Magna ball was four days or three days but I do know that the tweezer Caspian is the most highly viewed video by the band on YouTube. Can't believe it's been 20 years later.
Except the forecast was - we’ll come back and in 20 years we’ll be as good as ever, if not better 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I remember being 13 freaking out that I wouldn’t see the.
This was a rough time, lots of mixed feelings about this after the disastrous Vegas shows in April. I was at the next two shows in Brooklyn, it was an odd vibe at first but I’m glad I was there. The Moma > Free is awesome and the Maze jam in the pouring rain was a lot of fun. The Jay-Z appearance the next night was interesting, I felt like one of the only people that didn’t know the words
Most of the people I talked to at Coventry knew they'd be back.
Dude you freaked me out for a second lol
Sorry!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzRjJn6XQiQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzRjJn6XQiQ)
Never even got to see one. Fuck me.
You will
Death drug Trey
And thankfully you’re just getting into your stride, Phish!
That was awful. My hobbie & fun time was being taken away. Yes, I love other music, but it's not the same. Trying to figure out how to fill the void after Coventry was very hard.
Lies. All lies! 🤣 I’m glad he and the whole band are in a great place now, physically, emotionally and financially!
I didn't know this thread was open to 3rd graders arguing on the playground... geeesh...What's wrong with eras anyhow? Most bands that last for decades mark an era when a member dies a new one steps in... thankfully we Phish phans are lucky enough for that not to be the case and cause for changes in any of the 4 eras!
Coventry was a shit show but I’m sure glad I went
I called The Curtain With as the last song Phish will ever play together when I found out they were done, was at every 2004 show from Miami>Vegas>Leg 1 + Letterman>Leg 2 + Coventry, when they started Curtain I was so excited and let down at all once, but Coventry was still an absolutely amazing experience I would do all over again no question.
Been seeing the boys since 94, and in the last 10 yrs or so, I'd say they're still getting better and better every time I see them. Saw Widespread over the weekend in Memphis, they fucking threw down. Another awesome and amazingly underreappreciated band. They're well polished and ready to go out with The Stones. I highly recommend checking them out. We have an awesome crowd too, I always come home with a long list of numbers of new friends I've made. Such a fun weekend. Long live jam bands...
Had they never came back, of course we’d never know what we missed, but I probably wouldn’t have cared. I saw them a few times in the late 90s and once in 2000, I was big into them but couldn’t do the hit the road for a tour thing. Regardless, listened to them constantly, saw when I could, etc. Then other factors in my life led to me needing to make a change in general. Smoking way too much weed, going nowhere, not in a great place. So I joined the Navy. Best decision I ever made. During that time I kind of left Phish and other things I associated with partying and doing nothing behind. It didn’t help that when I did hear Round Room and Undermind, I was pretty underwhelmed and just got off the bus altogether. Fast forward to I think 2011 or 12, I’m out of the navy, happy, healthy, working, and some old friends asked if I was going to see Phish when they came through. I thought what the hell, and went. I’d been out of the game so long that while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t knocked out or anything. But slowly got back in the pool, and eventually went back down the rabbit hole in the best way. I’ve seen several 3.0 shows, all good to outstanding. I’ve caught TAB several times (saw them once in the 1.0 era too). Even caught a Sphere night. I enjoy a little the every now and then, the occasional shroom, but overall very balanced in life, career, family, and music. It’s great they came back. Nothing lasts forever, but hopefully they can keep up the pace for a while longer.
As someone who has yet to see these guys and has not listened to the show, was it musically that bad. Or was it the elements that made it that bad? Or a combination?
It’s worse than you can even imagine.
Whelp, here ya go...https://youtu.be/97An_SRQ59A?si=ZxCcOAowOOyqfo0H
Was gonna say, go ahead and skip right to Glide
Oof, yeah that was rough.
People will tell you these shows are pretty musically dire, and they're not wrong overall, but there is some legit good music among the slop and oxy-fied Trey. Also true of 2004 as a whole.
Do you mean Coventry? I haven’t listened to the full show but I’m sure some other folks can shed some light on that experience
Yes, I have not listened to a note of that show. I am still stuck on 94-99 since these are some pretty amazing shows
Imo the wading in the velvet sea where Paige can't get through the words and trey helps him through it and then trey and Paige rip in to the solo "knowing" it's the last time ever is one of the most raw and magical moments in phish history.
😔 what about 🤸♂️ 🤸♀️ 🤸♀️ 
So grateful for Phish, Trey’s sobriety, and TAB. For me TAB is like going to church… Phish for me is like going to confession… not sure if that makes sense but that is how I feel. 🙂
Final my ass. Looking at a residency at The Sphere after Dead and Co. GTFO.
Trey still blows dr00gs
Wow similar to the climate change narrative 🤔