When we meet up with our favorite band tomorrow at The Garden, they will be coming off the most significant offseason since they emerged after a five-month break to start the year, in Bethel, New York. Though the band has likely been practicing for its year-end bash, one has to wonder if the 28th will be a “warm up show” or if they will bring the fire from night one. The extended break certainly didn’t slow the band’s output at Bethel, as they cranked out two of the defining nights of early-summer to open the tour. The Gorge’s opening night—after only a month off—proved to be one of the best shows of the year. And as we sit on the precipice of the first Phish show if quite a while, the question begs—what will it hold?
12.4.09 (W.Rogell)
If I had to make a wager, I’d bet the band will open with a relatively straightforward set with a ‘Gin” or a “Stash” as the opening jam of the run, and then they come out on fire after the break. But how great would it be if they came out—a la 2003—and threw down a huge opening set to kick start the run? 2011 has been quite the year for the band, and—for some reason—I don’t think they are gonna’ drop the ball now. But one has to wonder if things will click when they step on stage together for the first time in months. Might it be one of those shows that has its “highlights,” or will the show or second set, itself, be the highlight? Looking back at 28ths past, these shows have more often leaned towards the former than the latter, but what the past has little to do with now. Either way, tomorrow, we are going to the Phish show.
The Garden
Meeting at the renovated Garden, tomorrow will also serve as a scouting mission for the rest of the run. Where are the new spots going to be, as many of the old ones have vanished into seats and sky boxes. This opening show will be a return to home, but a home that will be just a little bit different—and less roomy—than before. I hear its great for sports, and many show-goers have given mixed reviews, but how will the new Garden (only in the early stages of an overhaul) hold the Phish? The experience though familiar, will be surreal, and the iconic retro vibe of the venue may be distinctly gone. But when the lights drop and Trey hits that first note, something tells me that things will fall into place. With four nights to end a year that has seen the return of the psychedelic juggernauts of lore, Phish steps to the Big Apple for their first four-night stand since the same nights in 1998. And what will happen is history waiting to be written…
When we meet up with our favorite band tomorrow at The Garden, they will be coming off the most significant offseason since they emerged after a five-month break to start the year, in Bethel, New York. Though the band has likely been practicing for its year-end bash, one has to wonder if the 28th will …
With New Year’s Run just around the corner, artist and printmaker, AJ Masthay, has been hard at work designing his hotly-anticipated MSG edition. Last year, AJ wowed Phish poster collectors with an awesome triptych that portrayed the inside of Madison Square Garden as an aquarium, playing off the band’s 1993 Holiday Run band’s stage set back in 1993. This year, AJ has created an unprecedented quadtych (four individual posters that combine to from one image) that vividly illustrates a scene of the imagination outside The Garden—”The MSG Rapture. I recently caught up with AJ to discuss his work in progress. (Click images to enlarge)
MM: You’ve had a great summer of Phish printmaking! Fans are really beginning to value your work more than ever—congratulations! Did you see an increase in demand for your prints this summer?
AJM: Thanks! I’ve absolutely seen an increase in demand this summer, especially for the UIC triptychs. I made 125 sets of those and all of them sold at Da Mock Show poster expo in Chicago. It’s always humbling for me to have my artwork in such high demand. I really do appreciate the fact that people enjoy my work. It still blows my mind sometimes when I’m packing orders that are being shipped all over the country and internationally.
Lake Tahoe (Masthay)
MM: Funny you should mention the UIC prints; I really dug that triptych with so much Chicago history woven into the artwork and the unique color scheme that you used. Did you have a favorite of Summer Leg II print, and if so, why?
AJM: Though I love them all, I’d say I had the most fun creating the Tahoe edition. Folks that have followed my work know that I have a love for skulls and bones that goes way back to my college days and my early influences of Georgia O’Keeffe. It’s totally not a death-thing, it’s a beauty-thing. I find the organic shapes and intricacies of the form just fascinating. The Tahoe print was also a return to working from “real life” for me, I actually had that deer skull set up and lit in my studio and managed to get my hands on an old single action revolver to draw from. Reference photos are great, but there’s nothing like having the real thing in front of you to work from.
Have you ever done a quadtych before this MSG run? Did the process pose unique issues or challenges that other triptychs and diptychs haven’t?
This will be my first quadtych ever. The biggest challenge is really the scale of the whole project. Even though the quad as a whole is broken down into individual panels, each color needs to be printed at basically the same time to ensure consistency in the inks. In essence and edition of 150 prints is really an edition of 600 with carving of 4 plates in between each printing. The scale, however, also provides me with a huge canvas to create an expansive composition. I’m always trying to draw the viewer into my images, and having more space actually makes that easier since there are more opportunities for depth and detail.
Talk a little bit about your inspiration for “The MSG Rapture?”
12.31 Sketch (Masthay)
I started out without much of a concept in mind other than I knew I wanted to use an exterior image of MSG to compliment the interior view from last year’s triptych. I also knew I wanted to bring back the image of the gas mask from the Hampton ’09 “Bass Bomb.” I love working on images for venues that I’ve been to numerous times and I try to draw from personal experience whenever possible. My first time at MSG, not for Phish, but for the Grateful Dead—I think it was ’93—I was young and in college and, honestly, don’t remember much detail from the experience, but I do remember lots of mounted police outside the venue. They were cool, not hassling anyone, just “keeping the peace.” I have a vivid memory of going up and saying hello to one of them and asking if I could pet his horse, which he had no problem with. I know it’s an odd association, but ever since I’ve always had a connection between horses and MSG.
The second half of the concept came from wanting to visually represent how for those four days, MSG is truly the center of the universe for fans, hence the burning sun and rings of planets orbiting the New Year’s Eve panel of the quad. There’s a lot more to it, but I think I’ll leave the rest up to the viewer.
I love the color palette for these prints, especially the sky or outer space. How do you choose the colors you are going to work with in prints? What about this one?
12.28 Sketch (Masthay)
Colors are always tough decisions since it’s just as much about making sure the colors will print correctly as it is about how the colors work in the image. Over the years, I think I’ve developed a “signature” color palette that you will see repeating through many of my works. Using undiluted primary colors against rich blacks and pastel pinks or mauves makes each previous color pop. Another factor that doesn’t translate unless you’re viewing the actual print is the sheen of the ink. I exclusively use oil-based inks, as layers of this ink build up on the paper it develops a gloss that very few artists in the poster world take advantage of. Think of the difference between a photograph printed on regular copy paper versus one printed on high gloss photo paper, the color on the glossy one is going to appear much richer and deeper.
I love how each print in the quadtych can stand alone as a poster for that night. How hard is it to make each print both a standalone piece and part of a whole? For this series? For triptychs in general?
Therein lies the real challenge when composing these multi-night images. I always intend for the pieces to be viewed together as a whole, but I also know that may not always be possible and each panel does need to work on its own. I usually start with the overall composition of all the panels and once that flow is generally in place I’ll work on the composition of each panel individually.
For this quadtych, in particular, some of the small details really pull the individual panels together. Take the streamers for example, without those elements I don’t think the individual panels would be successful, but with them, the flow all of a sudden works.
12.30 Sketch (Masthay)
When do these prints go on sale? Because I have a feeling they are gonna’ fly off your site!
The MSG sets will go up for sale this Friday, November 18th [in two days] at 12 noon EST on my website. I will also be blogging the entire creation process for this edition at . This way anyone who decides to purchase a set can follow along and literally watch their prints being made.
This vastly underrated Denver ’97 highlight has always lived in the shadow of the band’s monstrous show the following night. But this “Timber” jam—from 14 years ago today—is the bees knees; a filthy combination of groove and psychedelia. The band emerges from the extreme darkness with gorgeous segment of melodic resolution that carries them through dramatic segue into “Simple.”
With New Year’s Run just around the corner, artist and printmaker, AJ Masthay, has been hard at work designing his hotly-anticipated MSG edition. Last year, AJ wowed Phish poster collectors with an awesome triptych that portrayed the inside of Madison Square Garden as an aquarium, playing off the band’s 1993 Holiday Run band’s stage set …
This year’s highly anticipated New Year’s Run represents more than just another four Phish shows. Not only will MSG be the culmination of the band’s progression from 2009 to now—a triumphant re-growth process that has landed them in a Golden Age—it will also be a celebration of the joy that permeates the Phish community again—a community dispersed by Coventry, divided in their confidence when the band returned, and finally united by the musical lightning of 2011. And now we have four days in New York City to party!
Once you’ve settled into the city for a day, come on down to The Irish Times—one of the nicest bars in The Garden’s vicinity—to celebrate the release of Mr. Miner’s Phish Thoughts!Grab a pre-show drink in the shadow of The Garden, check out the new book and purchase one if you’d like. I will have a table set up for book signing and for anyone who just wants to say hello. (Obviously, no purchase is necessary to come and hang out!) In addition, a large video screen will feature a hand-picked “Four-Song Set” DVD highlight reel for enjoyment during the pre-game festivities. This will be a great place to meet-up with friends and get ready for another installment of Phish: December 29th. Since nobody wants to tote a hardcover book to MSG, a “book check” service will be provided to ensure the safety of all books during the Phish show. Then, once the encore is over, come on back to The Irish Times for more fun!
The Afterparty: Post-show – 3 am – FREE!
After the show’s final notes, don’t worry about grabbing a cab, come back across the street to The Irish Times for a post-show party! Without skipping a beat, Coltrane and Friends (funk, nu-disco, re-edit) will keep the grooves going for hours—and everyone is invited free of charge! With two floors, booths to sit and plenty of room in the bar, there will be ample to space to dance or chill, whichever your post-show selves prefer. Come and celebrate all that we, as a community, have to rejoice over at the end of an amazing year! Books will also be for sale throughout the after-party.
This year’s highly anticipated New Year’s Run represents more than just another four Phish shows. Not only will MSG be the culmination of the band’s progression from 2009 to now—a triumphant re-growth process that has landed them in a Golden Age—it will also be a celebration of the joy that permeates the Phish community again—a …
Confirming what fans had been assuming for some time, yesterday, Phish officially announced a four-night New Year’s Run at Madison Square Garden to close out 2011 in style! All other rumors had died out in recent weeks and it became a foregone conclusion that the band would return to the Big Apple, upping their career tally to 23 shows—all but 5 on holiday runs—at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Historically, Phish and MSG have made quite the combustible holiday combination. In 1994, the band first stopped at 33rd St and 8th Ave on December 30th, on their way to Boston for Tropical New Year’s Eve. The following year, 1995, Phish came back to The Garden for two nights to close the year, with 12.31.95 being the peak of an era and, arguably, the best show Phish has ever played in The Garden.
12.31.10 (G.Estreich)
Come 1996, Phish stopped at MSG for a two-night stand during the opening leg of Fall tour (10/21,10/22). Though the second show contained a well-crafted setlist and a couple legitimate highlights, the tour didn’t really pick up steam until after Halloween at The Omni. The band skipped The Garden on the Holiday Run in ’96, favoring two nights in both Philadelphia and Boston, before coming back for an unprecedented three nights to close out their stellar year of 1997.
Punctuating Phish’s transformational and creative year of ’97, these three shows—the first of which is one of the outstanding shows of the late ‘90s—made the bond between Phish and Madison Square Garden permanent and inseparable. But if three shows in one building set a new standard for a New Year’s Run, the following year the band returned to The Garden a four-night Holiday Run—a spectacular stand through and through, and the most accomplished Holiday Run since 1995. All four shows popped off in 1998, with the 30th lagging only a slight bit behind. For four straight nights, Phish ran shop at Madison Square Garden, finishing with 12.31.98—the band’s most impressive New Year’s Eve performance since ’95.
Madison Square Garden
Phish, however, wouldn’t return to the building in its last two years of pre-hiatus existence. But when they came back on New Year’s Eve in 2002, there was only one place to do it—The Garden. Though the show, musically, wasn’t all that special, the mere fact that Phish chose their New York home for their return added to the venue’s already storied legacy. But in their short second go-round, their comeback show would be the only 2.0 performance in the round room.
When the band returned for this era, they chose the only other venue that made any sense for the reunion—Hampton Coliseum. But it wouldn’t be long before Phish made it back to The Garden in 2009, for three high-quality shows in the Fall of ’09. Three more at the end of 2010 brings us to now.
It seems only fitting that Phish will return to MSG to celebrate the holidays at the end of their most accomplished year of this era. With no fall tour, these shows represent a standalone oasis amidst a lot of time off. The band has said that 2012 will be a light year of touring, thus nobody knows when the following shows will come. But with four nights in New York City to end the year, nothing could be finer in the world of Phish.
The ticket request period is now open until October 24th. Best of luck in the lottery!
I: 1999* > Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Ghost -> Ha Ha Ha > Cavern
12.31.98
II: NICU, Character Zero > Tweezer -> Cities > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope > Frankenstein
III: Runaway Jim -> Auld Lang Syne -> Simple, Harry Hood > Tweezer Reprise, Llama
E: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
*debut, Prince
Source: Schoeps mk41v’s(DIN)>kc5>m222>nt222>744t
Confirming what fans had been assuming for some time, yesterday, Phish officially announced a four-night New Year’s Run at Madison Square Garden to close out 2011 in style! All other rumors had died out in recent weeks and it became a foregone conclusion that the band would return to the Big Apple, upping their career …
After such an extensive summer of Phish music, I haven’t been keeping up with Trey tour as usual. I haven’t listened to a full show or many jams, but reports have been solid all around. The most interesting aspect of Trey tour for me, however, has always been its proving ground for new songs and the potential they may hold for Phish. Trey’s larger band slayed 33 shows over the summer while debuting exactly one new original, thus I would imagine that on the first tour of 2012—whenever that may be—we’ll hear a batch of new songs. With work on an album forthcoming as well, one has to wonder what new Trey debuts might crossover to the Phish stage. With more than half his tour left, we may see Trey unveil more pieces yet, but for now, lets look at his first four debuts.
Trey’s most recent debut, “The Land of Nod”—first played in the encore of the Myrtle Beach show—is my favorite and the most original of his new pieces. Written by Trey, alone, the song begins with a heavy, bass-driven groove and when the horns come in over this rhythm, the piece resembles genuine Israeli gyspy-dub (a la Balkan Beat Box.) With ridiculously danceable rhythms, Phish could slaughter this piece if they could adapt the horn lines to the quartet. The middle of the song moves into an uplifting and melodic passage with the refrain, “I was asleep for so long…”— a total juxtaposition of styles within the piece. When the song moves back into gypsy-dub stylings, TAB winds it down, though this is where Phish could just get going. Then again, this is one tune that could be tailor made for his solo project.
The first Anastasio/Marshall composition of tour was debuted late in the second set of Higher Ground’s opening show, and that is exactly where I can see it fitting in a Phish show as well. Though the piece has already been pegged as Trey cheese by many fans, but I actually enjoy it quite a bit. While the lyrics are bit over the top about the Winter Queen and the Prince of Music, the guitar melodies and sparse supporting textures are both ethereal and cerebral. Trey and Tom usually write songs for one band and one band only, so I wouldn’t be surprised “Glacier” in the bigger pond at some point.
Inspired by a dream had by the Dude of Life in which Trey’s thumb was a snake’s head, this debut came in the first set of the first show at Higher Ground. A slow and filthy groove, “Snake Head Thumb” illustrates how 2010’s Halloween cover of Little Feat has influenced Trey’s songwriting. Crafted in collaboration with the Dude of Life, the chorus makes way for a slow and infectious groove that methodically moves to dirtier and dirtier places. The only debut that had included a jam, Trey unleashed his compressed growl over heavy organ swells in this percussive piece. A jam that Phish could take to sinister realms, this could be the second new-school Anastasio/Pollack contribution to the rotation (with “Show of Life”).
Beginning with beautiful vocal harmonies, this song’s opening gives way to a minimalist and chilled out groove, allowing its focus to remain on Tom Marshall’s lyrics. “Frost,” the second Anastasio/Marshall debut of tour could easily translate to a powerful Phish ballad. Containing the refrain of “Maybe you could sail away,” this section seems tailor-made for big-time Phish catharsis. Though more straightforward than many of Trey and Tom’s playful numbers, the more I hear this one, the more I like it.
2.19.10 – Chicago (M.Stein)
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
MINER’S PICKS: Summer 2011 – Denver/VT
Here are the final download links for the Summer 2011 Miner’s Picks series—all with the best sources available. Thanks again to Chris Keiner of Phish Listening Room for all the hard work!
After such an extensive summer of Phish music, I haven’t been keeping up with Trey tour as usual. I haven’t listened to a full show or many jams, but reports have been solid all around. The most interesting aspect of Trey tour for me, however, has always been its proving ground for new songs and …
