Lack of updates

I know, I know... They are back on the road.  I underwent eye surgery on Thursday and still can't see too well yet.  I'm one-eyeing it right now just to post this and I still can't read what I am typing.  My peepers should be good to go before I hit the bricks Chicago bound for the UIC run next week though.  I'll update when I can

2 Night Tahoe Webcast - Live -

LivePhish will be streaming the sold out 2 night Tahoe run live next Tuesday and Wednesday.  It will be available in a 2 day pass and also by individual night.  $24.99 for the two and $14.99 for either one.  You can pre-order now over at livephish.com

Hollywood Bowl ticket re-release right now

A small amount of tickets to the Hollywood Bowl show on August 08th have just been put back up on ticketmaster this morning.  There are still some left if you hurry.  Not bad seats either.

Click here to get yours.

New album next year? And fall TAB!

I know we have all been hearing these stories for a little while now, but it's nice to see something physical. It was mentioned in the recent Rolling Stone magazine that they have been talking about starting on a new album this winter with much less active touring plans next year.  It's just a short little blurb but here is an image.













Also Trey just announced a short fall tour starting this October.  It's more of a run than a tour, consisting of only 7 shows.  Kicking off @ Langerado and ending on Oct. 9th and ending @ Bear Creek on Nov. 12th.


2011 TREY ANASTASIO BAND FALL RUN

10/9 - Langerado Music Festival, Sunrise, FL

10/12 - Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ

10/13 - Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD

10/14 - Fillmore, Charlotte, NC

10/15 - nTelos Wireless Pavilion, Charlottesville, VA

11/11 - The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA

11/12 - Bear Creek Music & Arts Festival, Live Oak, FL"


The run will mark the return of the septet that debuted on his 2010 winter tour, featuring Russ Lawton (drums), Tony Markellis (bass), Ray Paczkowski (keyboards), Russell Remington (tenor saxophone and flute), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet and vocals) and Natalie Cressman (trombone and vocals).


Tickets for the two festivals are on sale now and the presales for the remaining shows will start later this week.  For more venue/ticketing information check here.

The Art of Improvisation - Page McConnell

I'm sure a lot of you have already read this. I also think that there a probably a lot who haven't. This was Page McConnell's senior thesis from Goddard College. It really is a great read and ver interesting to hear his thoughts on the subject. It's way too long to post here on the blog so I will just include this link to where it has been posted, in its entirety, over at rec.music.phish
(yes, rec.music.phish is still alive... and active)

This weeks pick - 1994/06/18, UIC Pavilion

Decided that I am going to start a little weekly review of sorts and Saturday seemed as good a day as any.

So in anticipation of the UIC Pavilion shows coming up next month I decided to go with this one this week. Saturday, June 18th 1994. 1994 is one of my favorite years is phishtory. An immense amount of extraordinary music came from this summer tour, along with plenty of the crazy antics we've all fallen in love with (the previous night's show at the Eagle's Ballroom was the famous O.J. Show) . They were producing some very high energy and precise music and really sinking their feet into musical ground at this point. The previous year they had started to headline major amphitheaters and had just released their 5th major album, Hoist. They had made a music video for MTV for "Down With Disease" to help promote the album.

This show would be very hard pressed to disappoint anyone I think. It is classic definitive early/mid 90s Phish. Trey even mentions this particular Divided Sky in that Charlie Rose interview he did back in 2004. Here is what he had to say about it.

"We were at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. And we were playing “Divided Sky,” and we got down to this quiet part where it gets silent. And we were getting quieter and quieter, and then became silence. And I had my eyes closed, and I could feel the crowd, and I started to — because improvising is, you`re trying to translate the — what`s out there already, greater pattern of things. And sometimes it feels like it`s coming through the hole, and you couldn`t play a wrong note if you tried; you`re just floating. And at that moment, you are in the middle of it, and I started to see those colors, like I`m not kidding, floating around there, and I realized that I could almost — it was silent, but I could see what we were translating. And as soon as I could see them, I started improvising, but I didn`t play anything. I did everything in the sense of improvisation, except for the actual notes, and as soon as I did it, the whole place erupted. It was like, whoa, and just tears started rolling down my face, and it was at that moment that I knew that it was truly bigger than me. It. You know what I mean? "

Most of the songs in this 1st set don't get stretched very far out into the improvisational abyss but they are all great versions in their own right.  They kick things off with a Wilson, Rift, AC/DC Bag trio that lets everyone there know that they are ready drop into this one running.  After the composed chaos of Maze they lighten the mood a bit with The Mango Song before kicking things back into gear with the fan favorite Down With Disease.  This one doesn't go out there very far but like the rest of the show it is played really well.  Fish really lets it out towards the end.  Now into one of my personal favorite Phish songs, It's Ice.  I can go as far to say that this is also one of my favorite versions of this song also.  Right off the bat I like what they are doing here.  Especially Mike and Fish.  There is even a little early funkyness going on here towards the middle section and a great Page throw down. This, IMO, is how this song should be played... every time.  They mellow things out with a sweet Dog Faced Boy before ending the set with a great Divided Sky and a short but to the point set closer Sample.

The 2nd set starts off perfect with Peaches en Regalia.  Who doesn't love a good Peaches, and this one is good.  After this they delve into the abyss... reaching in deep and pulling out a massive Bowie->Mind Left Body jam->Bowie.  Trey displays some excellent guitar work early on in this before getting downright nasty.  This also contains teases galore.  Three Blind Mice, Dave's Energy Guide, Voodoo Child and Purple Haze to be exact.  They slow things down a little bit after this, perhaps for a collective breather with a nice rendition of Horn and a fun McGrupp (another opportunity for Page to shine).  Now  they let everyone in the building know that the little mid 2nd set chill-out is done with a ripping Tweezer full of razor sharp guitar licks and bass bombs.  After Tweezer they go into Lifeboy.  I have always liked this combo.  Apparently they did too around this time (94-95), doing it quite often.  I'd like to see them bring this > back someday soon.  This is a good Lifeboy too with a fine Page showcase.  Of course it wouldn't be a classic Phish show without the staple You Enjoy Myself.  Lets face it.  Phish without YEM is like the food pyramid without fruit.  And for good reason.  The song just works.  Intricate and bizarre at the same time.  This one delivers everything.  Melodic guitar riffs and soaring solos.  Mike's funky bass lines with Fish laying down the beats.  There is also Frankenstein and How Many More Times teases thrown in for good measure.  To top it off the vocal jam had some Monty Python quirkiness .  They close out the 2nd set with a balls to the wall Chalk Dust Torture.  Not much to say here about this one except that it just rocks and is perfect to leave everyone in the crowd waiting on baited breath for more.

The encore of this show consisted of two tunes.  Bouncing and Tweeprize.  Now say what you want about Bouncing Around The Room.  The song gets a lot of misguided hate I think.  Personally I like it and is as quintessential Phish as YEM or Divided Sky.  There isn't anything to write home about this one, as with almost any of them.  It's just a nice song to squeeze into things before getting the rest of their led out in the Tweeprize.

This show is a fine example of a Phish that isn't afraid of taking risks.  Knowing no limits and reaping the rewards or humbling in their failures.  Taking that step off of that ledge, not knowing exactly how far of a drop was in store and finding out side-by-side with everyone in the audience.

I hope that everyone enjoys this pick as much as I've enjoyed listening and reviewing it.

I uploaded the show in its entirety (mp3) for your listening pleasure.  You can download the .zip here. Information on the particular source that I used (I went with the SBD) can be found here at db.etree.org and even downloaded in it's lossless state here at bt.etree.org.  I will continue to seed that torrent for a little while to make sure that anyone wanting to do so, can.  There is also a decent sounding AKG sourced audience recording of this show that can be found, also at etree, here.

UIC Pavilion, Chicago IL
Soundcheck: All Things Reconsidered, How Many More Times

Set 1: Wilson, Rift, AC/DC Bag > Maze, The Mango Song > Down with Disease, It's Ice, Dog Faced Boy, The Divided Sky, Sample in a Jar

Set 2: Peaches en Regalia > David Bowie -> Mind Left Body Jam -> David Bowie^[1],Horn > McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters > Tweezer > Lifeboy, You Enjoy Myself^[2], Chalk Dust Torture^[3]

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer Reprise

[1] Three Blind Mice, Dave's Energy Guide, Voodoo Child, and Purple Haze teases.
[2] Frankenstein and How Many More Times teases; Monty Python "Spam" vocal jam. Vocal jam also contained Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque quote.
[3] Full band tease of How Many More Times.


Notes: Bowie (after the Mind Left Body Jam) included Three Blind Mice, Dave's Energy Guide, Voodoo Child, and Purple Haze teases. YEM included Frankenstein and How Many More Times teases, as well as a Monty Python “Spam” vocal jam. The vocal jam also contained a Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque quote. Chalk Dust subsequently contained a full band tease of How Many More Times.

Setlist provided by phish.net

Trey Anastasio Given Award By National Association Of Drug Court Professionals

Trey Anastasio speaking at the NADCP conference on Wednesday (Larry French/ Associated Press)

Last Friday I posted about Trey heading to D.C. to be a featured speaker at the 2011 Drug Court Conference.  Some other celeb speakers at the event were Martin Sheen and Mathew Perry.  Trey was also awarded the All Rise Ambassador award by the NADCP and a standing ovation.  Head on over to headcount for the entire write up and also some video of his speech.

Tyler Stout Bethel poster lottery

Tyler Stout just mailed out the entry information for his upcoming lottery for the Bethel poster that he did for Phish this summer. I believe there will be about 40 posters available through the lottery and he will be drawing the winners after Wednesday, July 20th @ 12pm PST. So if you are interested get your entry in before then. Keep in mind that this is not a lottery to win a print. It is a lottery to win the opportunity to purchase a print. The price will be $50.

Go here for all entry information.

Trey goes to Washington

Next weekend Trey will be a featured speaker at the 2011 Drug Court Conference in Washington D.C. If you are unfamiliar with Drug Courts

Drug courts aim to treat drug abuse as more of a public health issue than a criminal justice issue. It's pretty simple, they send drug addicted people to treatment programs rather than simply locking them up.

I think that we can all appreciate something like that. Here is the full write up over at headcount.org along with a little video.

Chris Kuroda interview @ Relix Mag

Here is a nice little read. Jeff Waful, Umphrey’s McGee lighting director, got a chance to throw some questions at Kuroda. This was also printed in the "Ball Things Reconsidered" paper at Superball. It starts off with a little bit of lighting talk then around the second part it gets pretty personal for a little bit. Then towards the end it touches on some Superball stuff.

Part One
Part Two

Brand Spakin' New

A whole slew of venue specific shirts, along with a handful of limited edition posters from summer tour were just put up a little while ago over at DryGoods. If you're bummin' that you missed out on getting that tee from the show now is your chance.

The Believer - Great Trey interview

Here is a great interview with Trey on improvisation and touches on some other interesting things. Give it a read, you'll be glad that you did.

"Musicians come and go and they’re stewards of the music for a brief period of time. But once the music plays—it’s really between Beethoven and the listener at that point. The musicians are there to get their goddamn hands off of it. All that training! Thousands of hours! Sight-reading every day! All so they can get the hell out of the way because nobody gives a crap about them at all. The less you notice them, the better it sounds. I mean, it was the highest level of art in music that I’d ever seen, and it was performed by people who had spent countless hours of work just to be invisible."

Outside Lands Festival

Are you still thinking about making the trek to Outside Lands to catch Phish in Golden Gate Park? Well there is going to be a limited number of GA & VIP single day tickets for sale Wednesday morning at 10am PST here. But if I were you I would do the entire fest. There is a great diverse line-up for this one.

The Jim Pollock Superball Cars

As many of you know there was a set of collectable printed race cars for Superball by artist Jim Pollock. These could be obtained by making a small donation to the Waterwheel Foundation at the Waterwheel tent at the festival. If you stuck around a little while longer after getting them you could meet/greet with Jim and have him sign them as well. They are meant to be folded into the actual cars and are really cool when done so. I have heard that there was roughly 1500 of these made and some DID make it out of the festival still in the Waterwheel's hands so if you are looking, keep an eye open at some upcoming Phish shows.

Superball IX

... has come and gone and Phish has again provided it's fans with more fun than you can shake a stick at. A guesstimated 40,000 fans converged on the Watkins Glen International Raceway to celebrate the Nation's independence in the phishy fashion. The canvas for their 9th festival still couldn't compare to the lush landscape that hosted their previous festival at the Polo Grounds in Indio, but it was damn close. The infrastructure was there to make things very comfortable for everyone attending. Can you say flushing toilets? With showers... very nice. They also provided for the first time a VIP camping experience for about double the price of the normal general admission camping. This got you a nice camping spot within close proximity to the stage area and Ball Square along with private shower/bathroom houses. They also offered for the first time The Great Tent Rent. This was the option to rent a very large canvas tent already stocked with sleeping cots. They looked very comfy. You could also park your car right beside your rented tent which is a big luxury at a festival. This 9th festival also hosted the return of the Runaway Jim 5K race along with a newly instituted Wiffle Ball Tournament. There were many art installations around Ball Square to keep everyone gawking and a Pinball Lounge to keep all of the Pinball Wizard's fingers in tune. The Pinball Lounge was also ground zero for all night dance parties throughout the weekend.

As for the music, I don't think that anyone left with a bad taste in their mouths. They played 3 sets on Friday, 4 sets on Saturday and 2 more sets on Sunday. The 4th set on Saturday was a "secret" late night set that took place at the USA Storage installation in the middle of Ball Square. It was about an hour long jam with the band playing behind white semi-transparent screens, casting just their silhouettes and ambient sounds to the surrounding crowd outside.

You can view the setlists here at phish.net

They ended things on Sunday night with a satisfying fireworks display to ring in the 4th of July in style. All in all it seemed like the entire weekend went on without a hitch and most everyone was well behaved. So when and where is (insertnamehere)X ????

I'm still sifting through all of the photos taken during the weekend. They will be up soon, in a day or two. Here are a handful of Ball Square that i've cherry picked though for the time being.