The Phish Vacuum -- and how it connects to Dubya.

Hey all,

So, as I'm driving 23000 miles over the christmas break -- by myself, mind you, in my little S-10 pickup with no crew cab so the seats can never recline and I'm forced to sit upright like a electroshocked gazelle --, i had a lot of time to think and such, and rather than focus on really serious immediate issues, like family disintigration, financial ruin, and strange growths in hitherto unexplored crevices of my body, I thought about Phish.


That shouldn't come as much of a surprise. I think about and listen to Phish quite a bit and remain convinced that they will return. However, this drive I had no CD's except for the Coventry sets from 8.14.04 and my iPod. I listen to my iPod way too much when I drive. I know it's illegal and dangerous, but I rationalize it by saying that if I didn't listen to my iPod, I'd be playing music at hideous levels anyhow and so wouldn't be able to hear anything no matter. There. I feel better.

Anyhow, I was thinking about the vacuum in the jam band community that's existed ever since called it quits after the disastrous Coventry shows of August of '04. Of course, there are myriad jam bands constantly touring and some -- Panic, SCI, moe., Umphrey's McGee -- are quite good and have large followings. But there's no act out there that rivals what Phish was and what Phish promised to be in '95. Why?

Here're some thoughts. I'll start with musical reasons, then progress to social, and finally to socio-political because, as we all know, our esteemed president is responsible for the demise of many things bright and beautful, including much of the jam scene.

Thought 1: When Jerry Garcia died in August of '95, effectively ending the Grateful Dead's touring days, Phish was just starting to become nationally known. Their 95 album Hoist sold the most copies of any Phish studio album and both the jam band scene and much of the mainstream public liked or accepted Phish. Down With Disease was even an MTV video, if much maligned. Many older Deadheads dimmed away after the Dead dissolved, but a vast amount of the younger crowd gravitated towards Phish, anda why not? Here you had four musicians who could play the shit out of their instruments, who could jam a tune into a 30-minute opus, and who offered a concert expereience and love of their fans that no other band had ever done before. Phish clicked musically and socially at just the right time, and within five years would be playing the famous Big Cypress New Years 2000 shows to 80000 people (including an 8 hour set that saw in the new year).

Thought 2: Phish walked the line very carefully between the mindless self-indulgence that destroyed many of the prog rock and fusion bands of the seventies and virtuoso musicianship. Their songs could b e incredibly intricately orchestrated and rehearsed, but there was always room for improv and free-ranging. And, it was a challenge to watch Trey and the rest try to nail down those tight parts live.

Thought 3: We were in the midst of the Clinton era when Phish erupted. Peace, prosperity, no fear, optimism. I was in college for half the decade and in the workforce for the other half, and I could sense the optimism on both sides. The music and attitude reflected that mood. The Boston Garden Hot Dog ride of 94, the Glowstick War of 98, the Big Cypress of 2000 (and the Summer Festivals of Went, Clifford, Lemonwheel, and Oswego), the 80000 balloons in 96; these were all theatrical and grand acts that mirrored a time when it was okay to be grand and theatrical (this was also when Cirque du Soleil was starting to steamroll).

So, why haven't any other jam bands become now what Phish became in 95-96?

Reason 1: There's too much faction in the jam band scene. Jam bands are becoming more regional -- which is fine, of course. As someone on Phish Forum said, the era of the arena jam band is over. It may well be, but I'd prefer not to dwwell on that.

Reason 2: The millenium generation (ages 15-20 or so) hasn't been raised with the jam/improv mode of thinking. Songs are compressed into mp3's, music artists are more and more often corporate faces that simply use the music as a prop.

Reason 2.1: Many of the same generation has never had tread into uncharted waters. They have helicopter parents (parents who constantly hover over their children and micromanage their lives), they havev strict schedules, and, with cell phones, they've never had to problem solve or forage. Help and an answer is a phone call away at all times.

Reason 3: It's the Dubya years, and that means a climate of suspicion, fear, uncertainty, and control. This is not a particularly generous time for free-form improvisation, whether it be in music or in politics. I know this is a rather tenuous link, but i think it holds more water than it appears. I'd appreciate feedback on this, of course.

 

i agree that phish is virtually unrivaled and there probably wont ever be another band to match thier talent, communal spirit, and love for thier fans. as we are all (ex-)phish phallowers we are constantly searching with high hopes for another band to fill the need we have for that phishy pheeling. sure, we all go so widespread or cheese or umphreys or moe. (or even TAB). but none can compete (especially TAB) with the close-knit family that Phish was.

so why dont these bands compare with the mid-90s phish?

i agree it has something to do regionalism of these current jam bands. also, today's jam band is afraid to offer something different. phish reinvented thier sound with each album and tour. widespread has always sounded southern-rockish, cheese has always been newgrass and UM has always been progrock-jam.

as a musician, i am starting to realize the dwindling of musical ability in every genre of music, including our own. and the fans that go to shows or buy albums just so theyll have some background music to trip to allow that to happen.

finally, i think that we all hold phish to be this God-like entity. phish is on such a high pedastal that it cannot be reached by any other band or artist or musician etc... bands arent 90s phish because they ARENT 90s phish! we fail to look for the original sound that these guys put out there. instead were looking for how much this guy sounds like trey or which song sounds the most like YEM.

P.S. i didnt want to get into the political view-points mentioned in the previous post.

PPS i know i contradicted myself

 

some one read this shit its really profound haha

 

hey guys I havent posted in a while. its good to be back. this is a very interesting topic and I'm very happy that you brought this up. It really does seem that the scene is caving in on itself or desintegrating but in my mind this is a community that will never really be lost and will thrive again. maybe the current government does have something to do with it. time will tell. but there will come a time when a group of kids come together and bring us something new and fresh. these people will bring us back the wonder and amazement of the Grateful Dead of the mid-seventies and Phish of the mid-nineties. they will do things that Phish never dreamed of. believe me, it will happen sooner or later. and when it does the masses will converge. just think about the gap between when the Dead and Phish had their 'peaks'. we're due for another great awakening. Just two more years of the neo-cons left.

 

well said! i think that sums up the entire vibe of this whole damn scene right here and now.

 

agreed - but in the meantime though there might not be a jamband prophecy there is a lot of great music out there.

 

I dont know........ youd think the jam band scene, and the hippy scenes would become stronger with such a conservative era as the 2000s have been. plus with a war raging in the middle east, and alot of people in the US frustrated with our government, not getting our voices heard, etc, youd think jam bands and liberal focused music would get more popular..... just think, the dead became a high live act in the 80s, one of the most conservative times in our country, thanx to mr reagan..... in no way do I think phish got popular because clinton was president..... just a bunch of the kids from the then dead, dead needed something to flock to..... phish started that upwards climb in the early to mid 90s, so everyone flocked there...... plus the scenes are quite similair...... but in no way is the music similair other than that they play long extended jams