Tonight…and Beyond!
The Last Sunset of a Phishless World (B. Lee)
On the eve of Phish’s first show in five years, we finally got a glimpse into the band’s perspective of their comeback through an insightful feature in the New York Times. If the community’s excitement has built to the point of explosion over the past five months, hearing Trey’s view on the future of Phish sent everyone right over the top. In a case of perfect timing, the band and their fans seem to be on the same page moving into the next phase of our lives; a phase that seems here to stay.
In quite a revealing the expose, Trey commented that, “We’re trying to create a larger format to keep playing for a long time.” Have you ever heard sweeter words? As expected, this next verse of Phish’s lifelong song with not be one of nostalgia, it will be one of creativity and pushing the band’s ideas to new places. As Trey cited in the interview, the band has already recorded twenty demos of new songs for a forthcoming album, he also mentioned that most likely only “Backwards Down the Number Line”will be unveiled this weekend. Needless to say, whatever the band decides to bust out this weekend, the future seems brighter than ever.
Hampton Rehearsals (J.Paul)
In delving back into rehearsals, Phish attacked their catalog like a jaguar going for the jugular. Instead of warming up practicing “Heavy Things,” and “Gotta Jibboo,” the band stepped into The Barn earlier this year, with a renewed commitment to becoming the well-oiled machine that Phish was in the mid-’90s. In accord with this agreement, the band jumped right into their most intense compositions, such as the notoriously hard to play, “Foam.” (Can you say “Fluffhead, anyone?) The band has been staging full on rehearsals in the coliseum all week long, and in response to a “Stash” jam, Page, clearly impressed with the band’s playing, said, tongue in cheek, that it was “the best jam in five years.” This quotation, as well as every other indication in the Times article, illustrates a band that is as rejuvenated as we are to swan dive into chapter three.
Hampton Under Construction (B. Lee)
Interestingly, the most poignant part of the piece came when Trey reflected on Phish’s role in America’s present state of economic hardship. Citing an affinity for Depression-era swing bands- famous for providing respite from the dire times of the 1930s, Trey drew a parallel to today’s world. “For people in hard times, we can play long shows of pure physical pleasure. They come to dance and forget their troubles. It’s like a service commitment.” Placing Phish in today’s cultural milieu, Trey sees the band’s job not just as a money-making endeavor, but as a necessary piece to our mending our society’s plight. As much ego as been associated with Trey in the past, this statement reflects a selfless perspective that illustrates not just an artistic commitment not to music, but a social commitment to people. While we have always known that Phish tapped into forces far bigger than ourselves, put into this context, this has never been so literal.
Hampton Rehearsals (J.Paul)
The sets for this weekend have been negotiated and for the most part, written down, a process that wasn’t as easy as it sounds. The band had to narrow down their gargantuan catalog to a total of eighty possible songs that could be performed at Hampton. From there, Trey crafted the sets “like Tetris,” alluding to the popular game where every piece must be in the right place for ultimate success.
Hampton Rehearsals (J. Paul)
As we move into this long-awaited weekend, we could not have been accompanied by better news. Coming at just the right moment, we can enter Hampton understanding the band’s intentions and with a detailed perspective on the future. As Phish finalizes their preparation tonight, the entire community is quickly descending upon Hampton. As the band seems prepared to tear the roof off of The Mothership, our countdown has dwindled to less than 24 hours. Soon, we will until we bear witness to what we, and society, have missed over the past half-decade, launching our collective selves into the rest of our lives. Stay tuned!
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
7.30.97 Ventura Co. Fairgrounds, Ventura, CA RMSTR < LINK
Here is another gem from Phish Thought’s sonic engineer Paul Gwynne-Smith. This show needs no introduction as it can be summed up in three words,”Bowie > Cities > Bowie.” It was here that the old-school Talking Heads cover was revived for the first time in the US during the late-’90s, creating a jam for the ages. These are single-track Mediafire download files, like all of Paul’s other RMSTRs, so create a folder and download away! Look for No Spoilers tonight!
I: NICU, Wolfman’s Brother, Chalk Dust Torture, Water in the Sky, Stash, Weigh, Piper, Cars Trucks Buses, Character Zero
II: Punch You in the Eye, Free, David Bowie > Cities > David Bowie, Bouncing Around the Room, Uncle Pen, Prince Caspian, Fire
E: My Soul
Tags: Comeback
It’s 7:47 am in the UK and I’ve been up all night just refreshing the “No Spoilers” page. I entered the pre-sale to no avail and would have found the air fare from somewhere, but hearing the show now is almost as good. The communal singing at the beginning moved me to tears…..
It’s going to be a great summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To coin a phrase;
THANK YOU MR MINER!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you guys!! The quality of this mp3 is great, and the boys sound super fresh. The Phish…is back!!
Robin Hood, the no spoilers page is at http://phishthoughts.com/nospoilers/
get lost you fucking noob.
just got back. good start. nothing too insane but tweezer had a new feel to it and was real hot. Stash and Taste solid jams. good old school based setlist, a few slower tunes took some moments down but they were older (except farmhouse)were played real well. vocals were excellent.
Okay just finished listening to Set I straight through…gonna take my own private set break and hope part II is waiting for me, when I get back in 15 minutes…don’t do anything I wouldn’t do……
Thank you very much. Please to the whole Universe to help Trey stay sober. It’s so lovely to hear his brain in time with the music again!!
peace
daniel
Could’nt of asked for anything better tonight. The Soundtrack of my life is back, and in full effect. Thank you miner. Cant wait for the soundboards tomorrow! It wouldnt want to be any where else in the universe than where we are today.
downloading. slowly..
SET 2 NO SPOILERS TORRENT LINK IS UP.
SBD’s available on livephish.com now.
Mr. Miner! You rule! Thankyouthankyouthankyou. Hope you and everyone had an amazing time tonight in the mothership!!
thanks for no spoilers, looking forward to the full story!!!
From all of us at the Carolina Live Music Society big UPS!! We have two of our archivist and many members at The Mothership this weekend and are sitting anxiously awaiting reports back from them. I personally am not a huge phan but understand and respect the magnitude of this weekend to so very many. Don’t hate me.. I’m more a Cheese kid (at 42) than a Phish Phan but I have to admit that I found myself excited with each text message I received from our members, every photo I found posted here, and was a part in keeping the entire Phantasy Tour site down most of the night in attempts to stay aprised of what was going down (yes I couldn’t resist). I jumped off the couch as if I had hundreds of shows under my belt when the set #1 fired up on my pc. I can only imagine what it must have been like for everyone, including Trey, Page, Mike, and Jon when they opened… thanks guys for accomplishing what you promised… now let me take a listen to that second set… epic piece of live music history last night for sure 😀
ENJOY THE ENTIRE SHOW @ phishthoughts.com/nospoilers
THANKS 1,000,000 to Mr. Miner and everyone who helped out with the no spoilers project. so effing awesome. staying up all night listening to Phish rulez 4 eva.
p.s. the boys are back in town.
Thank you!
Thanks for No Spoilers! This is a gem, and a celebration.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this happen, Mr. Miner & crew.
As corny as it sounds, words cannot adequately express my gratitude.
Triumphant.
UNREAL!!!! They were so ON!!!!
I invite you to visit my first post in English here:
http://dastneveshteh.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/first-post-in-english/
I would be glad having your comments 😀
Oh man they sound great!! The recording sounds great too! Thanks so much Mr. Miner & Co. You guys have really given an incredible gift to phans everywhere. Hopefully we’ll see you out on tour.
P.S.- ismateo & Thin Lizzy said it best “The Boys are Back in Town”!!
Thank you mr. miner, thank you mr. miner
after listening to all 3 shows in thier entirety 3 times, the limb x jam is imo the finest of jams over the 3 shows… a certain perfection and all that is good about phish happens hear…i was not thier but i know when i listen to limb, i am holloring and pounding my fist in unison as if i was thier…this jam is truly magical and all you phans know what i mean when i say” magical”…i know it’s not original but it’s the appropriate response here…”thank you, mr. miner”