As an Oregonian and who went to college near Vermont I am uniquely qualified to comment on Phish's strengths and weaknesses. THe verdict: Phish sucks ballz. I actually went to one of the first Phish shows outside of Vermont. They played in the Red Barn at Hampshire College in Dec. 1988. Of course the show was a benefit for NORML (National Org to Reform Marijuana Laws). Shit was intensely boring (though that David Bowie song was kind of funny). But the hippies went wild for the next few weeks. Talkinbout "those guys are unbelievable musicians". To which I always responded, "What about the fact that their music sucks?" and this is from a big Dead fan.b,121b,121A few years later they played the gym at Hampshire, by then things had changed and the hordes descended upon campus, sleeping in rugs and wiping out all the Ben and Jerry's at the student store. Thank god it rained the day after, washing the smell away. I saw them again when they played at UMass Spring Fling 92 (I was there to see the Beastie Boys and Fishbone). I just kept thinking about Spinal Tap and the whole Jazz Odyssey scene cause that's what it sounded like to me.
b,121i mean if you are white,from vermont or some other middle class caucasian infested enviorn ,semi educated,liberal,non thuggish,lazy,a peaceful soul,a weed smoker and a "non conformist"aside from cypress hill,or bob marley where else could you honestly pledge your allegence?
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font class="post"1b,121b,121The Brattleboro/Northampton free folk community.
b,121some of my friends are hardcore into widespread panic, whats the soulstrut consensus on that ish?
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font class="post"1b,121b,121I'm friends with the guys in Panic and count myself as a fan. My wife isn't completely convinced though. b,121b,121As far as Phish goes I never got it. I went to over 50 Dead shows and still listen to the occasional live Dead tape/CD. I saw exactly one Phish show and was bored to tears. If I was 15 years younger and had grown up without Dead tours would I have been into Phish? Unlikely.
I always thought that the Grateful Dead/Phish comparisons were unfair, thanks to the trustafarian, hop in the VW and travel around getting high and selling peanut butter sandwiches crowd.b,121b,121Flies like ice cream AND dogshit, but (hopefully) you'd only ever eat the first one...
b,121I always thought that the Grateful Dead/Phish comparisons were unfair, thanks to the trustafarian, hop in the VW and travel around getting high and selling peanut butter sandwiches crowd.
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font class="post"1b,121I'm not a fan of either but the Dead started a genre/movement, and did it well with talent and creativity. Then came douches like Phish, who just want to wank on stage and now the Crap Matthews Band who wants to wank on stage AND get played on the radio. My brother keeps telling me, "I think you'd like Dave Matthews, they're really good musicians." Blah, for me, I'd rather listen to shitty musicians make good music than good musicians make terrible music.
b,121now the Crap Matthews Band who wants to wank on stage AND get played on the radio. My brother keeps telling me, "I think you'd like Dave Matthews, they're really good musicians."
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font class="post"1b,121b,121Are you posting from 1998?
b,121now the Crap Matthews Band who wants to wank on stage AND get played on the radio. My brother keeps telling me, "I think you'd like Dave Matthews, they're really good musicians."
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b,121Are you posting from 1998?
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font class="post"1b,121b,121Ha, sorry, not up on the current shitty jam bands, if there are any.
the best thing about Phish was being able to buy all the Nitrous balloons and liquid acid you wanted, but that was 6 years ago. I'm 30 now and have no need for those guys , not to mention most of the people that go to see them haven't taken a shower since the last time it rained and the chicks have hairy underarms.b,121b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ehhzu7.gif" alt="" /1b,121b,121i know people that left career jobs to follow those fools around. img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/weaksauce.gif" alt="" /1
There is serious talent there as far as playing ability goes, as is the same with most jam bands.b,121b,121I spend probably much too much time at festivals or in hippy circuits and I always wonder to myself what it would be like if these dudes were forced to put a song together for a 45. Some hard ass producer gets on their ass, you got 3:50 long hairs!b,121b,121I loved the grateful dead before they started spending 30 minutes of every song twiddling their wa wa's.b,121b,121Garcia and Grisham tapes are a whole other story. I ride completely.
b,121b,121grabbed an bootleg I had of them (the only) and pressed record on audacity for a minute, 11.25.92 Kenswich Theatre;b,121b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/595.gif" alt="" /1 a href="http://www.divshare.com/download/5501685-b18" target="_blank"1DivShare File - kenswick theatre.wav/a1
b,121just because they CAN doesnt mean they SHOULD
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font class="post"1b,121b,121b,121Unfortunately isn't that the motto of the Me generation? If you want to hear a good jam band throw on "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" off the Allman's Live at Fillmore East LP. Ten Beautiful minutes of music, not 4 hrs of crap.
b,121just because they CAN doesnt mean they SHOULD
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b,121Unfortunately isn't that the motto of the Me generation? If you want to hear a good jam band throw on "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" off the Allman's Live at Fillmore East LP. Ten Beautiful minutes of music, not 4 hrs of crap.
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font class="post"1b,121b,121Sorry, never got into the Allmans, either.b,121b,121Jamming is good on funk records, because there's always a groove, but in straight-up rock? img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/weaksauce.gif" alt="" /1 Even Chuck Berry & Bo Diddley, on that one album they did together, couldn't pull it off.b,121b,121This is one of the few "jamming" rock albums I can ride for, and even then the playing is rooted in real songs:b,121b,121img src="http://www.connollyco.com/discography/stephen_stills/super_hi.jpg"1
font class="post"1b,121b,121Alot of artists can "Jam", but somewhere in the 80's the idea/culture of jam bands seem to be more about being in the circuit vs enjoying the music.b,121b,121Cats leaving their job to follow a band seems to be more of a lifestyle thang vs I wanna hear the music done live at different venues.b,121b,121Feel free to think its all about the music, but all those Smooth Jazz festival fans dont leave thier jobs, wear costumes, or submerge themselves too far.b,121b,121I always though Phish was for kids that missed the Grateful Dead boat.
eddie harris, sonny rollins, john coltrane, and james brown were known to jam too. i can get with that.b,121b,121b/w i think it's unfair to say that phish sucks. you may not like their music (understandable for sure). BUT- to say that they suck is to imply that they cannot play their instruments well- which is false unless you are talking about singing.
b,121I always though Phish was for kids that missed the Grateful Dead boat.
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b,121weren't the Dead still around when Phish first showed up?
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font class="post"1b,121b,121b,121Yes, and toward the end there was a lot of crowd crossover, i.e. parking lot rats who were more interested in doing whip-its than the music itself.
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