[We would like to thank Michael Lowe of the Monumental Brass Quintet, Timbermike on dot net and @MikeLoweTPT on twitter, for this piece. Phish's Tiny Desk Concert was performed on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, but did not air until Wednesday, July 17. -Ed.]

Well it all started with a phone call from my sister-in-law Daniela on Sunday night asking if we’d like to join her at the tiny desk on Tuesday. I was immediately in a state of shock and excitement, a familiar feeling I’ve experienced many times over the years I’ve been going to see my fav band.

There’s a history here in that I met Fishman for the first time at JazzFest in 2000 to watch King Sunny Ade and Fish was just like every other music lover there. Then later that year I met Fish again in fall 2000 under very similar circumstances, in that my wife and I got a last minute call from Daniela wondering if we'd like to join them for King Crimson at the 9:30 Club. I was also fortunate enough to play with Fish in September '22 at Daniela’s wedding with my long-time friends, including Andrew Hitz aka DrewPhish, when Fish sat in for a few tunes.

Showing up at NPR on Tuesday at 11:30a felt so strange because, as an avid NPR listener, this experience was a convergence of two things that have been present in my life for decades. Up the elevator to the 4th floor, where we walked on the cat-walk-like hallways above the newsroom, and around the corner to the NPR music area. The band was already playing YEM as we walked in. Immediately I realized how intimate and unique this was going to be, and then realized this was only the soundcheck. They went through YEM again, and it was really impeccably played by all, with the band playing in a very cool quasi-acoustic setup. It reminded me of the Trey and Page Duo playing on the deck during the pandemic, with the expansion of bass and drums, with little or muted effects.

Trey then described how they wanted to walk through the crowd at the end of the vocal jam, and I could sense the hesitation from the producer. But Trey explained these people know what to do and it works every time. There was also no amplification other than from the monitors (no vocal mics), and so the vocals we were listening to weren't amplified at all. Things got even better when my wife and son arrived from the airport in time to catch the end of soundcheck. My son had been stuck in Houston (on his first solo trip!) because of the hurricane, and didn’t know until after he'd landed that he was heading straight to the tiny desk to see Phish play there for the first time. [Trey played the tiny desk in 2015.]

They finally opened the doors shortly before 1, and everyone else streamed-in to the corner. I can’t stress enough how intimate this was and the band was about 6-8 feet away from me. I don’t seek out the rail at shows so looking them in the eye as they played was a new experience. "Sigma Oasis" was a perfect choice for the opener, and Trey had a little NPR-chime tease in the jam, and that was my wife’s highlight as Trey was singing one her favorites right at her. Turned out, that was as close to "All Things Reconsidered" as we were going to get!

"Evolve" came next, and Page reciprocated with the NPR-chime tease. I was a little blown away that they were singing somewhat complicated four-part harmony so well. YEM closed the mini-set and yes, Trey and Mike did get on tramps and do the whole routine, despite the cramped space. Let me add that this was a YEM for the tiny desk, in that they played the entire song but sections were compressed given the time restrictions of the show. Upon concluding the vocal jam they left the stage and walked right by me, processing off down the hall, and yes Trey was correct. I felt like that was it but the crowd was excited and cheered like hell. Phish came back out and played "Sample in a Jar" and "Chalk Dust Torture" as an "encore."

After the set was over, I realized that we hadn’t been kicked out of the area and the band was headed back in to hang and chat. My son was super excited about this, and got a chance to meet each member of the band. In my prior experiences going backstage, we'd always hang out and chat with Fish. This particular time, though, Trey was there, too, so having an opportunity to chat with him about Wolf Trap, the band’s cool acoustic mix, and how I had better go to Mondegreen, was incredible!

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