ATTENDANCE BIAS PODCAST REVISITS PHIL LESH AND PHRIENDS AT THE WARFIELD, APRIL 15-16-17, 1999
IT has been twenty-five years since April 1999, a musically awe-inspiring month for Bay Area fans of improvisational rock. Those who loved the Grateful Dead, Phish, Steve Kimock (and Zero and KVHW, among the greatest improvisational rock bands in history imnsfho), and Carlos Santana couldn’t be happier. That's because in addition to the three Warfield PhilSH shows mid-month---which you can (re)listen to here or on Archive.Org or even watch video of on YouTube---April 1999 began with two legendary KVHW shows at the Great American Music Hall. The month also featured two Zero shows at the Maritime Hall the weekend of April 9; three Santana Fillmore shows, the third of which on April 18 featured Trey and Page on a few tunes (my review of it on this site is at phish.net/review-archive/shows/4-18-99.html; a stealth-taped fob-daud of this show used to circulate on DAT, CDR and cassette but I can't find it online today); two Jazz Is Dead shows at the Maritime Hall with Kimock on April 23 and 24; and then a Kimock, Vega, Hertz and (Jimmy) Herring (“KVHH”) show on April 30 up 101 north in Petaluma! This was certainly among the greatest months of music in my life and the lives of many others.
The magnificent, transcendent music of the April 1999 Phil Lesh and Friends Warfield shows, featuring Phil on bass, Steve Kimock and Trey on rhythm and lead guitars, Page McConnell on keyboards, and John Molo on drums, has been exhaustively discussed by many, including in detailed reviews posted in the glow of the events 25 years ago. The shows continue to be among the greatest improvisational musical performances I have ever seen, and you'll hear more from me about that than you ever needed or wanted to know if you listen to the Attendance Bias podcast episode about these shows with host Brian Weinstein; you can listen to it wherever you listen to your podcasts.
SURRENDER TO THE FLOW #82: LAS VEGAS 2024
[This post is courtesy of Christy Articola. -Ed.]
This issue is full of good stuff for you! It includes information about this year's Vegas run including where to eat, things to do, and lots of information about this new and exciting venue.
PHISHNET WAS BORN JUNE 22, 1991
PHISH archivist Kevin Shapiro recently---and graciously---tweeted HAPPY 34th BIRTHDAY to PhishNet, because for a very long time we believed PhishNet began thirty-four years ago in March 1990, as indicated in the old dot net "timeline," this News item, and this Jambands article from 2008 when Phish received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jammys.
But a few years ago, PhishNet's founder Matt Laurence found his first email to the new PhishNet email list and sent it to us:
DIVIDED SKY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2024 FUN(D) RUN AND MUSIC FEST
[Text courtesy of Alex of the Divided Sky Foundation. -Ed.]
For the third year, the Divided Sky Foundation has partnered with the Antelope Running Club to host a charity 5K run in Ludlow, Vermont. This event will occur on May 18th and will help raise awareness about addiction recovery and treatment, and support the recently opened Divided Sky Recovery Center, as well as the Turning Point Centers of Rutland and Springfield, Vermont. We're also excited this year to partner with The Phoenix to organize a post-run Mountain Music Festival, featuring Anders Osbourne, Dogs in a Pile and Saints & Liars.
THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT: ATTENDANCE BIAS PODCAST CELEBRATES 15 YEARS SINCE HAMPTON 2009
In case you've missed it, the Attendance Bias podcast with host Brian Weinstein, for the previous two weeks and episodes, has been reminiscing about and revisiting Phish history during the 2000 pre-hiatus and 2001-2002 hiatus period, and the 2.0 and break-up period, with members of Phish.net and The Mockingbird Foundation, Scott Marks and Charlie Dirksen.
REPRISE PHISH TRIBUTE DEBUT STREAMING FREE FROM NECTAR'S
REPRISE is a band that formed to reprise the Phish experience. At each of their shows, a concert from Phish’s history will be played in its entirety. The band is made up of Cal Kehoe (Pink Talking Fish), Adrian Tramontano (Twiddle, Kung Fu and The Breakfast), Chris DeAngelis (The Machine, Kung Fu and The Breakfast), and Scott Chasolen (The Machine). This weekend they'll be playing at Nectar's in Burlington, and both shows will be streamed live from Volume.
2024 Summer Tour Announced By The Phish
PHISH has announced a summer tour that begins with three shows at Great Woods on July 19, 20 and 21, and then continues at the Mohegun Sun on July 23 and 24, Alpine Valley on July 26, 27 and 28, St. Louis on July 30 and 31, Deer Creek on August 2, 3, and 4, the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on August 6 and 7, Bethel Woods on August 9, 10, and 11, the previously announced Mondegreen festival in Delaware August 15th through the 18th, and finally four shows at Dicks from August 29th through September 1st. Tickets through the Phish Tickets lottery process for everything except Mondegreen are available now through Monday, March 11th, at noon e.t. Public onsale begins Friday, March 15th, at 10am e.t. For more information, visit Phish's website.
MEXICO4 RECAP: MEET THE NEW PHISH, SAME AS THE OLD PHISH
[We would like to thank user @Scissortail (Matt) for this recap. -Ed.]
“If you’re gonna take a risk, sometimes you’re gonna play shit. … But I don’t think our fans do happily lap it up. I think what happens is they get on the internet and talk about how it was a bad show.” – Trey Anastasio, circa 1996
Trey said the above in the documentary “Bittersweet Motel,” in response to a review that said he could urinate in our ears and call it music, and we would be there happily with tape recorders to capture the moment. I bring it up here because I take some exception to the general premise of Trey’s response.
I think the majority of Phish fans can be quite forgiving of a risk gone bad. What we don’t easily forgive is when Phish isn’t taking any risks at all.
.jpg)
MEXICO3 RECAP: THEN CAME THE SOUND
[We would like to thank user @Laudanum (Jon Allison) for this recap. -Ed.]
The normal mix of anxiousness and anticipation surrounding a Phish show gets dialed up a notch or two when you know you’re going to be recapping it. Moreso when it’s your first time. Will I get a dud and be forced to trash my favorite band? A middling show with nothing much to say about it either way? Or a good to great show, easy to write about, but carrying some small measure of responsibility to capture it for the ages?
.jpg)
MEXICO2 RECAP: NEVER-ENDING WAVE OF HOPE
[We would like to thank John Montague (.net @mazegue) for providing this recap. -Ed.]
How did I get here? I like my Phish a little grimy. I like it indoors, because I like the energy bouncing off the walls. If I could, I’d get teleported to The Colonial Theater in the early '90s, or perhaps pick up some broke and dirty hitchhikers en route to Dane County Coliseum. I want the full Phish experience. I want the parking lot. I want Shakedown Street. I want my dose of American culture at its very best. That said, I am here in Mexico for whatever Gamehendge has in store. Two of my best friends are turning 50 this week, and this is how they want to celebrate. I can’t think of a better reason to be here.
I just saw a good dark and stormy, grimy Phish show in Mexico, in the least grimy of venues. It was a deep show, layered with complexity, light dancing with dark on Black and White night.
MEXICO1 RECAP: MEXICO GETS MANGOED
[We would like to thank Kelly Wilson (.net @kellynicu) for providing this recap. -Ed.]
Night one of Phish at Riveria Maya began with a mild yet refreshing mist of rain before the band took the stage at 9:15 to a sea of eager fans. They kicked off with an upbeat “Back On The Train” to get the party started while Kuroda’s purple and blue lights made even the palm trees dance and glow. After an extended jam, Trey, as always, graciously welcomed us before breaking into “Moma Dance,” which included three random samples of the words “three orange whips.”
Phish Announces Festival Mondegreen
PHISH's next festival, MONDEGREEN, will involve four days of shows (so perhaps more than four shows) on August 15-18, 2024, at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware. For more information about the event, please click here. Although passes for the festival go on sale this Friday, January 19, at 11am e.t., through AXS (create a fan account, or update your current AXS info (perhaps with a New Device) for a smooth purchase experience), travel packages go on sale this Thursday, January 18, at 11am e.t. For more information about mondegreens, there's a YouTube video here, an entertaining New Yorker piece from nearly a decade ago "The Science of Misheard Lyrics" here, and, of course, lest one e'er forget, heaven's just a funky moose.
Phish Releases Video Of 12/31/23 Gamehendge Production
PHISH released video today of its performance of Gamehendge on December 31, 2023, which spanned two of the show's three sets. This video not only contains footage that was broadcast to viewers of the webcast on New Year's Eve, but also previously unseen footage.
Mockingbird Announces Nye Tour Grants
In celebration of Phish’s four-show New Year's Eve run at Madison Square Garden (Dec 28, 29, 30, & 31), the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced that it is sending an unsolicited $1,000 Tour Grant to four music education programs nearby:
- P721X Stephen D. McSweeney OTC of Bronx, NY, for microphones (with cables and stands), an electric guitar, and an amp.
- NYCDOE of Far Rockaway, Queens, NY, for bongos, shakers, flutes, props, iPads, costumes, and other instruments
- P10X of Bronx, NY, for adapted instruments for students with fine and gross motor difficulties.
- Robert F Wagner Middle School 167 of New York, NY, for a Fender electric bass, strings, bow, and rosin.
This is the 26th round of unsolicited Tour Grants, an effort that now totals over $268,000, which is 11% of all disbursements made by the foundation. These grants are part of a long-standing effort to help support music education in the local communities that Phish touches. They follow Mockingbird's largest competitive grant round ever, and a total of 66 grants this past summer alone! Mockingbird has now made 661 grants in all 50 states, totaling more than $2.3M.
Phish 2023 Nye Run At Madison Square Garden
PHISH will perform at Madison Square Garden on December 28, 29, 30 and 31. The ticket request period for the phoi pholloi is underway at tickets.phish.com and will conclude on Monday, September 25th, at Noon eastern time. The public onsale begins Friday, September 29th, at Noon eastern time. A limited number of travel packages (hotel + tickets) will go on sale Wednesday, September 27th at Noon ET here.
Save The Date: Next Phish Festival Will Be August 15 - 18, 2024, In Dover, Delaware
The next Phish festival will be at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware, from August 15-18, 2024. More information will be published soon. Join the Phish Update to hear about it first (email + shiny new SMS list): phish.com/update.
First Annual Wingsuit Open!
We're excited about the upcoming First Annual Wingsuit Open, a charity disc golf tournament for Phish fans organized by Matt James. The event will be September 2nd in Aurora, CO, and benefits music education for children through the all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation. Complete rules, registration info, and a course map are at www.peacejames.co/wingsuitopen. There will also be a mini disc golf competition and a putting competition on site, as well as other contests, prizes, and limited edition gift items TBA.
Matt's hoping to grow the event to 180 players; you'll want to say that you were an OG, at the inaugural event. Also, the event is currently in the "middle registration" period, and the donation request jumps in 5 days to "late registration". (Those unable to attend can also register to get a player's pack shipped to them.) So, sign up soon, and start working out those throwing arms!
Note that this is the same day as the Eighth Annual Runaway Open charity golf tournament, for which there are still openings and which will now also include a virtual component. Three kinds of golf, to accomodate your preference and location, and bring us all together for some fun and fundraising. Register for one, or all three, today!
Golf With Phans For Charity
The all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation is hosting the 8th Annual Runaway Open charity golf tournament for Phish fans on Saturday September 2nd in Denver during the upcoming Dick's run. We'll have 120 players in a shotgun start, with coffee, lunch, cocktail, gift bag, raffles, and prizes, and we'd love to see you there. Register soon (mbird.org/8ro), while spots are still available - it fills up every year, and we can't go above 120.
(Audio is the ending of "Tweezer/Magilla" by Michael Ray and The Cosmic Krewe, from the Mockingbird Foundation's double-disc tribute, Sharin' in the Groove. Concert photo by Nate Cundy for Listen Up Denver, by permission of the photographer and website.)
Two Special Spac Shows To Benefit Vt And Ny Flood Recovery
PHISH has just announced that they will perform two shows at the Broadview Stage at SPAC on August 25 and 26 and that proceeds from the concerts will benefit Vermont and New York flood recovery efforts.
The ticket request period for these shows is only one (1) day, ending tomorrow, Wednesday July 26 at noon e.t. For more information and to request tickets just click here. Tickets to the general public will go on sale this Saturday July 29 at 10am e.t.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation