To me, it’s not a matter of new vs. old songs, or setlists. They need to practice more. It’s what made them great in the first place. I don’t think it’s asking much for musicians to be in top form for a show or a tour. It’d be similar to a baseball team skipping spring training and showing up on Opening Day expecting to win.
It is kinda weird that “warm-up” shows are just an accepted part of Phish tour. It’s not like the first shows of the tour are at a discounted price, like a preseason game. I don’t know if they have any restrictions on practicing, but they do have internal rules that prevent them from discussing shows, criticizing / praising each other, and playing more than 50 shows per year.
I can’t even imagine how many learning / growing opportunities they are missing by not being able to discuss the shows and give constructive criticism. I’m not saying I want it to go back to the way it was when Trey would admonish the others for screwing up while on the stage (Red Rocks 1996, Portland 1998), but I’d love it if Mike was allowed to say to Trey, “Hey man, you have to learn how to play my songs;” “Let’s not play Silent in the morning again until you have it down;” or “Let’s not play Pigtail again, until we have rehearsed it.”
Didn’t fans hate on songs like DWD and Fast Enough for You when they first came out? Seems like fans of anything will always have something to shit on, no?
Saturday Merriweather (where the first set was almost all 3.0 songs) reminded me a lot of 3rd set of 12/31/16. Personally, I think it takes a lot of balls to go on stage and play stuff ( which perhaps you know may be divisive) simply because you have faith in it and enjoy it. It’s like the band saying “This is what Phish is now”.
What we make of that is up to us.
100% agree. I think the rehearsal time has been diminished because of Trey’s and Mike’s touring schedules, and they know their primary focus is for the four of them to have fun with Phish. Mike is trying to really make his band a reliable band, whereas Trey just wants to play live all. the. time. It’s fascinating to me that Page and Fish don’t play out when they’re not touring with Phish.
Less than a week to go. If they don’t do Gamehendge I’m gonna be so disappointed.
^^Good observations.
It is obvious enough that as four accomplished musicians, they can appear together as Phish and make a pretty decent go of it, hitting some pretty hot strides together without the need to practice on a regular basis. But even Trey, who performs the most out of the four of them, is flubbing a lot more of the composed guitar parts of the earlier songs. They are pretty intricate compositions and require a dexterity that is lost if not played often or practiced regularly.
But they always seem to counterbalance what they lose from lack of practice in jamming that they are still able to make work for them as singularly unique more than any band. Like the gambler reinforced by the occasional win, I’ll continue to seek them out for those moments of jamming nirvana that is Phish. Yes, I miss the exactitude of the compositions, but I can live with that.
^check out how perfectly Trey renders YEM at Raleigh. I think that whole show is on YouTube.
I say this not to counter your point, (which btw is on point!!), but rather as consolation. Sometimes they still nail these things. Not like the 90s of course, but it’s sure better than it was 2.0, and even early 3.0, IMO.
In fact I admit, I hoped the Curveball cancellation would inspire a sharper game in general from them. But truthfully I believe it’s pretty good for where they are, comparable to so many other bands at similar career points.
Still, some nights you wonder if he’s actively avoiding practicin’ this shit. 
I think its quite likely they don’t practice the older material that much. They spend their time on other creative endeavors. I’m totally okay with that. I’m there largely for the jams anyway, and I think those have been particularly special this year.
Thank you Phish!
Thats all i have after Dicks…
Streamed all three nights. Day 3 was maybe a more “above average” show but the first two nights were phenomenal. I was so bummed I couldn’t be there but glad I could still listen. Hope you guys had a ball and hopefully I’ll not break something next year.
Sounds like you made the most of it^
I just realized my hopes of completing my LivePhish 1-20 collection aren’t looking all that good … I just realized that for the ones I do have, the paper inserts are still inside the evil plastic goo monsters … I pulled 'em all out today to find them all damaged to different degrees. Honestly not too big of a deal because the inserts weren’t great, and all my discs have been safe for years … but it just doesn’t bode well for existing used copies. I read today that the discs get totally ruined over time; that the goo eats right thru and destroys the audio.
I’ll find out when I get #6 in the mail this week. Taking a chance, but it was only like $11 plus shipping or something.
I pulled 'em all out today to find them all damaged to different degrees.
I’m kind of glad now…I keep all my CDs in multiple disc cases and put the actual CD cases in boxes. So all my Live Phish albums have been safely removed from potential danger for a while now. Thank goodness. (Though half of them are burned copies that I made from my friend’s originals…). I guess I could check the cases to see if they’re damaged but it seems like a chore to find them.
^^ I caught this about 6 months ago. Luckily for me there was no permanent damage to any of the discs. It would be cool if they would re-release the Live Phish (pre Live Phish Downloads) Series, but with the nugs.net style cardboard sleeves instead of the vinyl and goo sleeves.
Good deal on salvaging yours! I really like the box, and the concept, but it’s them pages that are wack. Although I do like those cardboard style ones too. I really dig the slimpack jewel case style that can fit three.
I got LP06 in the mail and I thought it was toast … but I cleaned it up and tried it out, and I’m happy to say discs 2 & 3 are totally functional. Disc 1 is toast, and it’s a horrible thing to behold.
But! I just landed an ebay auction last night, someone unloading the discs only, no artwork, and only disc 1 is solidly intact. Perfect supplement. Nine more to go, to collect 'em all.
I got my CurveBall refund and splurged a little, … so much used LivePhish flooding my mailbox. I got the Providence '98 Island tour shows and a nice used copy of the Roxy. Found an auction for $50 containing all the main releases Junta thru Joy, incl. ALO & SS&P - that one’s for the kid.
-
I’ve seen Fluffhead twice since I have last seen Divided Sky, YEM, Waves, Meatstick, It’s Ice, Bug, When The Circus Comes To Town, Meat, Sparkle, Mango Song, Mound, SOAMule, SOAMelt, and Farmhouse.
-
Remember when liking Kasvot Växt was cool? Now that Phish played their masterpiece í Rokk, everyone is on the Växt train. What bunch of posers. AMIRITE?
-
My 2018 Phish campaign is officially over. Nine shows in four cities broken up into three legs. I caught two of the best shows I’ve ever seen (Dick’s 1, Rosemont 1), met up with some great people, and got to explore some cool cities.
2) Remember when liking Kasvot Växt was cool? Now that Phish played their masterpiece í Rokk, everyone is on the Växt train.
I was into them when they were just Kasvot. Kind of sold out when they added the Vaxt name.
Was surprised at the lack of streams for the last two Vegas shows. Seems like the only streams were people ripping audio from the official stream and no one actually streaming from the show. Was able to use the JamOn channel on Sirius to check the last show. Felt like Trey really wanted to rock out on Saturday.
Are the Big Black Furry Creature from Mars and the Martian Monster two separate lifeforms or just different names for the same thing?
Are the Big Black Furry Creature from Mars and the Martian Monster two separate lifeforms or just different names for the same thing?
Yes, but, judging from the lyrics, the BBFCM lives a fairly contemporary life here on Earth with a psychotic spouse trying to kill it. Meanwhile, the Martian Monster lives on Mars and seems to be the one doing the killing.
Maybe they choose shows for Dinner and a Movie based on what unsold merch they have left.
Or maybe when you order a shirt Trey screen prints it at his place and sends it out personally.
Remain In Light was SO GOOD. Dinner and a Movie mix sounded great. What a treat.