Permalink for Comment #1309192306 by Jackaroe
, comment by Jackaroe
I am not a newbie by any stretch of the imagination, but I was still fairly new in 1997 when I was blown away by what I was hearing and the vets around me were saying that they had lost a step since 93/94 and could never get it back (I tend to think that original fans were probably saying the same thing to newbies in 93/94). I couldn't believe it, I thought the music was out of this world and I labeled those vets as old, out-of-touch, self-agrandizing, etc. Then the whole ambient thing started to happen in the late '90s and suddenly I was that guy. People were talking about Type II jamming (still not sure what that is) and musical exploration (I love Miles and Trane and I didn't think this was it), but I just wasn't hearing what I had fallen in love with years before. That brings me to today and reading all of the complaints that Phish doesn't stretch out songs anymore (again, I thought every song had to be 25 minutes in the late 90s and I hated it). I went to the Pine Knob (Clarkston) show this summer and it occurred to me, in my wiser age, that I need not complain about anything Phish does. I didn't know what to expect, but what I got was out of this world. Wolfman's opener-had never seen that. Wedge to close a set-new to me as well. DWD-Fluffhead-Bowie to open a set-awesome (I loved the Love Supreme tease as well). The encore really opened my eyes, I had seen them play Good Times, Bad Times many, many times before, but this seemed like another level to me. The point of my rant here is that we all are looking for something from Phish and most of us look back very fondly on the style they were playing when we first were turned on to them. Looking back what I realized at Pine Knob is that Phish is outstanding every night, not the same every night, but definitely outstanding, and the worst thing you can do at a Phish show is waste your money on a ticket and come in with a pre-concieved notion of what you are going to see. One thing I have learned from them over the years is that good or bad, they will surprise you. Now I am excited about what is to come and I am excited about how it will continue to evolve and be different than what they have done before.
I am not a newbie by any stretch of the imagination, but I was still fairly new in 1997 when I was blown away by what I was hearing and the vets around me were saying that they had lost a step since 93/94 and could never get it back (I tend to think that original fans were probably saying the same thing to newbies in 93/94). I couldn't believe it, I thought the music was out of this world and I labeled those vets as old, out-of-touch, self-agrandizing, etc. Then the whole ambient thing started to happen in the late '90s and suddenly I was that guy. People were talking about Type II jamming (still not sure what that is) and musical exploration (I love Miles and Trane and I didn't think this was it), but I just wasn't hearing what I had fallen in love with years before. That brings me to today and reading all of the complaints that Phish doesn't stretch out songs anymore (again, I thought every song had to be 25 minutes in the late 90s and I hated it). I went to the Pine Knob (Clarkston) show this summer and it occurred to me, in my wiser age, that I need not complain about anything Phish does. I didn't know what to expect, but what I got was out of this world. Wolfman's opener-had never seen that. Wedge to close a set-new to me as well. DWD-Fluffhead-Bowie to open a set-awesome (I loved the Love Supreme tease as well). The encore really opened my eyes, I had seen them play Good Times, Bad Times many, many times before, but this seemed like another level to me. The point of my rant here is that we all are looking for something from Phish and most of us look back very fondly on the style they were playing when we first were turned on to them. Looking back what I realized at Pine Knob is that Phish is outstanding every night, not the same every night, but definitely outstanding, and the worst thing you can do at a Phish show is waste your money on a ticket and come in with a pre-concieved notion of what you are going to see. One thing I have learned from them over the years is that good or bad, they will surprise you. Now I am excited about what is to come and I am excited about how it will continue to evolve and be different than what they have done before.
The Mockingbird Foundation