“PhanArt” – A Record of Us
The Phish Community - 8.9.04 Hampton
Beyond the musical masterpieces and vibrant fantasy lands that comprise Phish tour, there is a community; a people who have defined the cultural significance of Phish as much as the band’s music, itself. Phish fans play an integral role in the energy flow to and from the band every singe night, and it is this dynamic interplay that separates the live Phish experience from that of most other bands and their fans.
But this exchange of energy and creativity overflows beyond the confines of arena and amphitheatres, and into the lot. The Phish lot, taking its cue from The Grateful Dead’s, has been a traveling psychedelic bazaar of artists and merchants- a revised throwback to the Renaissance days of atria and bartering. People vend, congregate, drink, negotiate, share smokes, and celebrate- like an ancient rite that has been passed down through generations- creating a living, breathing community. In this nomadic open-air market, art created by fans has long been a centerpiece of creativity, expression, and transaction; the collective art of us.
Phanart: The Art of the Fans of Phish
This art represents the intersection of musical inspiration, individual creativity, and the communal experience- and this is where the book “PhanArt: The Art of Phish Fans” comes in. In a sprawling visual epic, editor Pete Mason has compiled a definitive history of the Phish community. Combining fan contributions, memoirs, historical writing, interviews and anecdotes with a visual archive that will blow your mind, “PhanArt” is a trip through Phish lots of yore, and an essential piece of recorded history for our largely underrepresented sub-culture.
PhanArt
“PhanArt” was first conceived by Mason and friends as they drove away from Coventry, coming to the realization that IT was really over. But beyond the somber truth, they felt a need to record what had happened, to document the community and phenomenon that lived around the music of Phish. Mason had the idea to collect relics from lot- those nuggets of Phishy culture that we would never see again- the stickers, the t-shirts, the posters, the artwork- the expression of fans through the years. Within weeks of conception, a Gmail account was setup and word began to spread for submissions. The goal of 1400 items was reached in 2006, and Mason began to edit and compile this mass of memories. What resulted is an overwhelmingly comprehensive and entertaining tomb that Phish fans of any age- but particularly ones that have been around- will enjoy for hours on end.
PhanArt
Combining the writings of community members and chronicling the art of so many people you know, recognize, or have bought something from, “PhanArt” is a vibrant record of we have created. With every piece of lot regalia you’ve ever seen- and many that you haven’t- this book will definitely bring you back, while reminding you of some shirts you lost along the way. This book-based museum contains amusing sections, including a compilation of the eternally-popular “corporate-logo-turned-Phish-song” art and an archive of Simpsons / Phish mash-ups, as well as fan-artist profiles with samples of their work.
PhanArt
Mason is the first person to take the time to chronicle the artistic offshoots of this circus act we call Phish tour. With all net profits going directly to The Mockingbird Foundation, Mason has truly done a selfless service for all fans, providing an external hard drive of memories to compensate for those lost over time. A joy to read and a legitimate archive of Phish tour, I highly recommend picking one up. And, if you were wondering, I am not getting anything to write this- it’s really that good.
PICK UP YOUR OWN COPY NOW BY CLICKING HERE!
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Guess the Halloween Album – Win Money While Saving Antelope!
Speaking of fan artwork and community participation, over at “Antelope Gatefree Paradise,” they are running a “Guess the Halloween Album 50/50 Raffle,” with half the proceeds going to the winner and half going to the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge out west. While you are there, you can also pick up some classic Antelope T-shirts for the second leg of tour.
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Jam of the Day:
“Twist > Piper” 7.5.97 Como, Italy
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This “Twist” was an offshore highlight from the Summer of ’97. Part of their funk explorations through Europe in June and July, this jam sprouted in the middle of a free, single-set, outdoor show in Italy. Seamlessly jamming in and out of Deee Lite’s “Groove Is In the Heart,” this one is a great piece of improv you may of never heard. Segueing unfinished into “Piper,” this was an early incarnation of the oft-combined songs.
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
6.20.97 Prague Poster
6.20.97 Divaldo Archa,Prague, CZ ^TORRENT
6.20.97 Divaldo Archa,Prague, CZ ^MEGAUPLOAD
Taking it from Italy over to Prague, we have another chapter of the funk-laden story that was Europe ’97.
I: Taste, jam > Cities, Horn, Ain’t Love Funny,* Limb By Limb > I Don’t Care > Run Like an Antelope
II: David Bowie, Ghost, Bye Bye Foot, Ginseng Sullivan, Cavern, Twist, Bouncing Around the Room, Julius
E: When the Circus Comes, Rocky Top
**First time player, J.J. Cale cover
Source: Schoeps cmc6/mk4 > Sonosax SX-M2 > DA-P1
Tags: Culture
@Stupendous, interesting point. I actually had a discussion with some folks about this very subject. I think as phans we have a tendency to get so overly analytical, that we discount our own personal experience. I understand the need to discuss the details of every show ad nauseum, but I think it kind of sucks that people fall out of love with a wonderful experience like a Phish show just because they didn’t hear the Trey fuckup during Stash the first time.
@Robear – yea my sat internet was givin me fits to, i spent about 40 minutes gettin bumped around, then drove to a coffee shop with free highspeed wifi , and got thru on first try. Our overpriced sat internet really blows donkey dick. I live in the country too, and its my only option, i guess i’m luck to have a coffee shop close by with high speed thou.
@ NK
Word-
Im still in love with the experience, just not as confident in recomending it as a great show… Had similar personal experience listening to this summer tour
at home, I loved certain shows, then go back and relisten and my thoughts at the time seem to exaggerate the true experience so on a re listen im often let down….Agrrrr…. I think that there so much joy involved in that first listen…its hard to replicate.
I’m having a tough time grasping the idea that I’m seeing my band live in 3 days.
I hear you, that makes sense. Musically, no one including yourself may ever hear what floored you while at the show. But that doesn’t make it a bad show. I think the most positive reaction is when you walk out all sweaty, scooping your jaw off the floor, legs feeling like rubber, and hi fiving total strangers.
Take Red Rocks or the Gorge. I’m sure there will be nights when people will see setlists or listen to SBD’s and say “meh, didn’t meet the hype”. But at venues like those, what and how the band played are only part of the experience.
@stupendous
Yeah but that experience is the most important one i think… because it is live, in the present moment, you’re there…
The listening you do at home is whole other story i think… you’re no longer there, you can’t replicate that experience, you listen to it with other ears but this music is meant to be lived i think, it’s a life lesson, to be in the moment…
The way it holds up to time is really personal afterwards…
I’ve been thinking more and more about that difference between the live experience and listening to a recording and I’m convinced now that they’re just two totally separate categories of experience and can’t really be explained in terms of each other. The former is completely subjective, the latter is at least plausibly objective. But applying objective criteria to a show while it’s happening is a fundamental error. Show stats, timings and such comparisons are for afterwards. IUf you’re doing that in the moment, you’re missing the moment.
Viewed objectively, there are two kinds of “crown jewels” songs – perfected, archetypical versions, and atypical, unique improvised moments. If you have 1000 shows on tape to listen to and you want to hear a (for example) Hood, you’ll pick a “best ever” candidate, or an oddball – right?
But live in the moment, even an average Hood might lift you up and give you a peak experience. Or not – it’s all about where your head is at. For example the Gorge ’97 Hood, with the lights turned off for the jam. Everyone I know who was there puts it high on the list of peak moments. But objectively it’s just another good/great Hood…
Do you ever skip Loving Cup on a CD or iTunes? I sometimes do, depending on my mood. Not always, sometimes it’s just what I want to hear. But live I’ve loved it every time I’ve heard it. It’s all about energy and doesn’t necessarily translate to tape as well as a jam, for instance…
There’s another distinction too: listening to a recording of a show you were at vs. one you did not attend. In that case it can recall the feeling, and you might get something out of the tape that someone that wasn’t there would be oblivious to…
“I’ve been thinking more and more about that difference between the live experience and listening to a recording and I’m convinced now that they’re just two totally separate categories of experience and can’t really be explained in terms of each other. The former is completely subjective, the latter is at least plausibly objective. But applying objective criteria to a show while it’s happening is a fundamental error. Show stats, timings and such comparisons are for afterwards. If you’re doing that in the moment, you’re missing the moment.”
^ I concur 100%….
its all about the experience….
@Stupendous – I’m pleased to find that I often have ended up underrating a lot of shows I was at because I thought I *must* be overrating them in memory – does that make any sense?
For instance 2-16-03 Vegas, we had a blast in that second set, but we were also flying very high. The first time I listened to it afterwards, I mostly heard the sloppy parts (the downside of the 03 thing). And at the time, no one I knew really was talking that show up. It kind of got passed over. Then in the last year I’ve gotten back into that show and I find that no, my original memory was basically right – the jams in that set are sick. Friday encore, though – sheesh!
That has happened to me many many times with Dead shows I saw since in a lot of cases it was a decade-plus before I got my hands on decent tapes. Occasionally I find that I remember something being better than it objectively was, but more often it goes the other way.
But if you had a great time at the show, for you it WAS a great show, and nothing you hear later on tape makes that wrong…
The experience is lost if you try to grab it. You must let it flow through you. If you manage to do that you have created a powerful memory. Making memories is what it;s all about.
Funny you guys pose this question or whatever…I was thinking about it over the weekend. I did my stats on the zzyzx site on Saturday and began recalling comments from me and others about “best shows” or “best versions of a song”. Many of my bests are from shows I attended (many of which are solid shows otherwise). I think there’s CERTAINLY a personal experiential bias involved (what Frankie sez). When I listen back, I can usually categorize as 1) wow, it really was great; 2) pretty standard; or 3) had to have been there. And when I listen to shows/songs I didn’t see live but have heard raves about, I always try to use that as a jumping off platform and imagine what it may’ve been like live. Examples, I was at Asheville and Knoxville…I thought Asheville was the better show because of my personal experience…but K’ville was great and arguably a “better” setlist. And without being there, I tend to go to JB3 more than Camden…I like how the setlist played out and for some reason my mind conjures up a better experience than when I listen to Camden. But man oh man that Camden Sand…
So yeah, it’s very personal I think…and we’re all biased to the shows we attended.
Agree wholeheartedly on the discussion of experience. I don’t like to listen to a show again after being there until a bit of time has passed. The high of being there and hearing/seeing it all go down isn’t the same on tape. I like to hold onto the memory of being there as long as I can, and then when it’s not as fresh in my mind, I bust the recording out and try to relive the whole thing over again.
Stomach is all in knots. Can’t sleep. Can’t stop fidgeting. Damn, I am so excited for 8 sets at RR!!! Going to be making some permanent memories!!!
“The experience is lost if you try to grab it. You must let it flow through you. If you manage to do that you have created a powerful memory. Making memories is what it’s all about.”
^ perfectly said….
@Leo yeah – what if you’re at a “best ever” performance of a song you don’t like at all? Or a song you love but your friends all hate? Sticking with my same example, everyone (except my wife) I was with in Vegas though Anything But Me was a total buzzkill on 2-16, but I love that song and thought it was a perfect, heartfelt centerpiece for an otherwise raging set. 100% subjective, 0% objective difference.
My standard for “you had to be there” is the Roanoke 87 dead show I’ve mentioned before. If you were there, you know. When folks who were there hear tapes for the first time, they often literally cry with joy to re-live it. It was really that powerful a night. But if you weren’t there, and you listen to it, you’ll hear a mediocre recording of a high-energy but straightforward show…the only things that will stand out are a couple of setlist gems and the highest level of what we call “spontaneous woo” (synchronized crowd outbursts triggered by nothing obvious) of any tape in circulation…
I am 100% sure there are lots of Phish shows like that too. You had to be there….
“Stomach is all in knots. Can’t sleep. Can’t stop fidgeting.”
Sounds like a typical POST show if you ask me..
agreed Miner, very well said Jay. And interesting point @chalkdustin, not re-listening for awhile afterwards…hmmmm….
@ Weaver
I agree. I keep going back to the Great Woods show. Perhaps because I was there. Although the Fluffhead is killer!
However, I haven’t listened to the Fenway show that much, and as I was there.
Sometimes it is just a matter of what disc you happen to keep in your car, or which files are on your work laptop, or on your iPhone/iPod. I’ve listened to the Fox Theater show a lot only because the mp3 disc is in my car stereo. I can’t say it is a great show, but I’ve listened to it a bunch and I’ve grown accustomed to its hits and misses.
^that used to happen by default of not knowing tapers and a lack of digital files….now, with the shows available right after through No Spoilers / Live Phish, its honestly hard not to. I got to be careful, because if I write *just* based on experience, I may be making calls of a best-ever “Hood” or something.
(The funny thing is- it was EXACTLY one of those times you had to be there….)
Can’t wait to see my tour pals again. Been a little over 30 days since we hung out together. Going to spend 5 days and nights with them. Seeing 4 Phish shows, seeing Karl D one night, lots of brew pubs, setlist predicting, hugs and laughter and tears (of pure joy). What else is there? What I live for. No regrets.
@jay…right on
@chalkdustin, I try to put it off a while too, sometimes it takes some of the experiential bias out (or makes it a little hazier). I listened to the 09 NE run as no spoilers (well I’d spoiled it by looking at the setlists) the next day which was great. But with the ‘ville shows, I waited about a week (just couldn’t stand it any longer). Some shows I went to back in the day I’ve just given a listen and they sound strong and elicit those great experiential memories.
And mr. C…those hated best evers…ya just gotta love em! I can appreciate a best ever of a song I don’t like…gives me time to go grab another beer or get lost in my own headspace for a few.
We’re each the star of our own little movie aren’t we…
or miner you might end up pushing your bassist down a set of stairs and tell him to play motherfucker
interesting thoughts on the live vs on tape argument
^ Lol!