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Members Trey Anastasio on vocals and guitar, Jon Fishman on drums, guitarist Jeff Holdsworth formed the band in 1983 whilst attending the University of Vermont. Noted for playing mainly Grateful Dead songs, in 1985 Page McConnell joined the band on keyboard and for a show for WRUV Radio Burlington, U.S. In 1986 Holdsworth departed from the group and the remaining line-up has continued to play to the day.
Towards the tail-end of the 1980s Phish released a number of experimental self-titled cassettes before their debut album “Junta” in 1988 and its follow-up “Lawn Boy” in 1989, the latter got a rerelease from independent label Absolute A-Go-Go in 1990. With the collapse of Rough Trade and Absolute A-Go-Go Phish signed with Elektra in 1992, released the full-length “A Picture of Nectar” and embarked on an extensive North American tour.
Due to the rerelease of previous material Phish began to expand on their listenership and procure a devoted following. Phish’s fourth album “Rift” was released in 1993, was followed by “Hoist” their highest selling album to date in 1994, which featured the single “Down with Disease” their first single to receive airplay on MTV and appeared on the TV show “Beavis and Butthead”.
In 1995 Phish released a two-disc live album titled “A Live One” which attempted to encapsulate the band's notoriously impressive live show defined by the laudable improvisation, and which album became Phish’s first album to be certified gold. A year later in 1996 the band released “Billy Breathes” and which has often been dubbed as Phish’s crowning album achievement, with featured track “Free” reaching No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Chart.
Phish went on to host a two-day festival at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, Florida, U.S. where the band took the stage at 11:35 on December 31, 1999 and played for eight hours through to the new millennium. The band announced a break-up in October 2000 during which time the members pursued many musical projects including Anastasio’s solo work, work on Tenancious D’s first LP, a collaboration with Police drummer on the project Oysterhead and work with Gov’t Mule.
After an appearance on the Simpsons and a huge release of live and previous material, and a surge of popularity and appreciation, Phish returned with a year and a half of touring and the album “Undermind” in 2004. The return was short lived and following the release Phish announced they would once again break-up with a emotional final gig in Coventry, Vermont, U.S.
In 2008 the band won the Jammys Lifetime Achievement Award and released a number of tour dates playing alongside acts of a certain distinguished pedigree including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Beastie Boys and Nine Inch Nails. On September 8, 2009 Phish released their fourteenth studio album “Joy” followed by a number of tour dates, and in 2012 headlined Bonnaroo Festival with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Radiohead. In 2014 the band released their fifteenth studio album entitled “Fuego”.
What can you say about Phish that hasn't already been said a thousand times? Although they are virtually unheard-of in the UK and rarely mentioned in the established Music 'news' media, there is a big online community of fans that debate the band's current and past performances in the most vibrant, articulate, knowledgeable and downright loving way.
More than any other band, their music rewards an investment in time and consideration. It's not obvious, in fact on first hearing it can be bewildering to understand why they can have such a devoted following, and their repertoire is so vast compared to other bands that it can be hit-or-miss as to what you hear first and so form an impression on. It can take quite a while before the 'now I get it' moment occurs but when/if it does, the reward is huge.
If you like music, and you like the live music experience, and you want to have that experience in cool surroundings, with 20,000 others who feel the same way you do, and not know what you're gonna get except that at the very least it will be unique and you will be one of the privileged not-that-many that experienced it, and at best you will be the witness of something transcendental, then you've got to experience a Phish show.
In fact, even if the music passed you by, the light show itself is worth the price of entry (which by the way is lower than just about anyone else that can fill arenas and hold 3-day festivals at which they are the only band). There really is nothing else quite like it and words don't really do it justice. How to adequately describe 4 passionate musicians who have played and practised together for 31 years until their almost telepathic and can pretty much play any style of music at the drop of a hat?
And from a statistical point of view there really is no comparison in the history of rock to date. As a short article in the Boston Herald put it recently "Phish has played some 1,500 shows. They have never. Not once. Not ever. Played the same set list. Never the same songs in the same order. Oh, and in 1,500 shows they've played something like 800 different songs." Who else could do that. Who else has ever done that. These guys have taken live music somewhere that no other band has been. Ever. Yes, they've played 1,500 shows but that's over about 25 years (a couple of breaks since their conception in 1983) and less than 30 of those have been outside North America. So every single opportunity you get to see them you just gotta take it because a) who knows if you'll ever get that chance again and if you don't take it then one day you're going to be kicking yourself, and b) you're just guaranteed a great show. There's always a way to get a ticket. Do it.
buckd
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