Countdown to Phish: Day 6

This is one of my very favorite video clips of Phish in the studio tracking Billy Breathes. This gorgeous album was recorded February-June in 1996 at the Bearsville Studios.

Check it out:

Countdown to Phish: Day 7

A week from now we'll be standing in line. Can you believe it? A week from today!

Page posted this on his Twitter page yesterday and I just know that they're gonna play like never before. I have a feeling there might be a big surprise in the works.

"(Page_McConnell)... is absolutely amazed, exhausted and exhilarated, but it'll all be worth it! We promise."

Countdown to Phish: Day 8

I'd like to welcome a guest contributor to today's countdown post: hooray for Kale Kaposhilin, my awesome husband!

Kale has also endured the weeks of frustration in playing The Ticket Game: Phish 3.0. I can't remember a day in the past 5 months that we haven't been searching, trading, and (eternally gratefully) getting miracled by a friend with better lotto luck than we to find full sets of Hampton tickets for our crew. Not easy. Advanced Phish for sure. "The hottest tickets on the planet" I've been told time and time again.

But whew, now we can finally relax and start packing the car. With a week and a day to go before the big night, I am elated to announce that our Ticket Game for this run is finally over. It had its twists and its turns, great highs and sad lows, and lemme tell you, it's gonna feel damn good to scan these puppies in at the gate.

For those of you who are either still playing The Ticket Game, or have been "Locked Out" as this phan so eloquently describes, my heart goes out to you sincerely. As cool as The Mothership is, I still wish Phish had played their comeback gig in a gigantic grassy field where everyone who wanted to go could pay $50 and see the damn thing, especially given the state of the economy. How about "let's try Coventry again, do it right, and keep on playing shows afterwards"? That would have been my preference, but hey, no complaints! It's gonna be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a very small number of people, considering the size and enthusiasm of Phish's fanbase, so if that's what they were going for to achieve their triumphant return, then so be it. I have a feeling there might be a few tricks up their sleeve that can only be unveiled in a venue like Hampton. We'll see.

So in response to the stress a dear friend of ours was experiencing while still waiting for his tickets up until yesterday without evidence that they even existed, Kale took this picture as proof of their arrival after signing the FedEx receipt this morning.

He writes: "These tickets seem to be the only color in our lives :)"

Nice work Kale:

Cash for your extra!! (just kidding)

Countdown to Phish: Day 9

Can You Feel The Excitement Building...?!

Countdown to Phish: Day 10

Got two words for today: TEN DAYS!

Here's a song Trey debuted acoustically with Mike at the Rothbury festival last summer: Backwards Down the Number Line. It's a beautiful birthday song that Trey also played a few times with the Classic TAB lineup later during their Northern Exposure Tour last October.

Tom Marshall wrote the lyrics to Trey in a letter for his birthday last year and true to their historic songwriting relationship, Trey set them to music. I sure hope the boys play this in Hampton -- can't wait to hear it evolve over the years if it becomes a part of the Phish rotation. This one's from the National Theater in Richmond on 10/25/08:

Countdown to Phish: Day 11

Ok Team: we're almost into the single digits here. I know it's been a long wait, so thanks for riding along. The weather for Hampton now shows up on the 10-day forecast. Re-confirmed hotel reservation. Car to the shop on Thursday for the tune-up. Trip to the beer store over the weekend to get the essential micro-brews that they may or may not vend in Virginia. Dog-sitting HAS been arranged so our beloved pet will not turn into a Lot Dog this time around (just kidding!) Last batch of tickets for the crew has been verified and will ship this week. Very important. Pretty much all there is left to do is sit around and try to predict to the answer of the most loaded question of possibly the past five years:

"What Song Will Phish Open With in Hampton?" (WSWPOWIH)

Until yesterday, I was betting my (non-existent) left nut on YEM. But then I dreamed about this one last night and I'm thinking it might work out, whaddya think about A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing?

Couldn't find any live vids of this on YouTube, but I absolutely love the natural syncing here of music & imagery, great job PureCoincidence:

Countdown to Phish: Day 12

Wow, we're really starting to get close now ladies & gents!!! In the spirit of counting down the final days until Phish rides again, I thought I'd talk about some other famous countdowns in Phish history -- perhaps culminating with my very favorite Phish countdown of all time: the 45 seconds leading up to the millenium on NYE at Big Cypress, absolutely among the best minutes of my entire life.

It ain't Big Cypress, but this little clip is pretty good at capturing the sheer explosiveness of another Phish countdown, this time from Miami on 12/31/03:

Countdown to Phish: Day 13

In a recent interview with Mike Gordon in one of my favorite music blogs, Hidden Track, Mike expressed his love for the Stanley Brothers' song "Going up Home to Live in Green Pastures".

Check out this absolutely gorgeous version of it covered by Alison Krauss:

Countdown to Phish: Day 14

Dear Everyone,

TWO WEEKS FROM RIGHT NOW PHISH WILL BE PLAYING THEIR SOUNDCHECK.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Countdown to Phish: Day 15

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON FISHMAN!

sweet hampton haikus
i can't take credit for them
swiped 'em from PT:

it's 5-7-5
maybe for hampton haiku
should be 3-6-9
--hippiehop

...it's time time time for
the last rewind, a broken
old man and a world...
--FutureCowboy

Languedoc is gone
please let there be Kuroda
Brad, you fucking tool
--BCdude

fifteen days to go
let's blow the roof off that place
don't jersey hampton
--four20man

veggie burritos
will now be seven bucks each
recession hits lot
-hippiehop

at the mothership
the hose will come out again
will be glorious
--Brett2113

these tickets are fake
no way brah they cost two g's
no fluffhead for you
--nol_13

i'm so excited
already on hampton lot
schwill cup is empty
--hippiehop

wooks will be trying
to gank tickets. i dare them
to try and gank mine.
--FutureCowboy

mothership lift off
taking a trip to the moon
moon rocks 2 4 5
--nol_13

tweeprise opener
trey mike page and jon are back
who's got my headies?
--groundscore420

chill brah, you know he's
not an undercover cuz
he's wearing tie-dye
--FutureCowboy

about two weeks left
before Phish melts my face off
counting down the days!
--lvnphish

fools, recognize this
the boyz will bring it old school
sober, Ross'd, ready!
--funkdr21

Countdown to Phish: Day 16

So I caught the dreaded stomach flu that's been goin' around and all I can think about is how glad I am it hit me this week instead of next!

One of my friends e-mailed me this, it's like a steaming bowl of virtual chicken soup. Many fans agree that Phish was playing at their very best in 1997, it was a hell of a year.

Check out this sweet clip from 2/16/97, Phish in Germany, Wartesaal, Koln:

Countdown to Phish: Day 17

The Ticket Game = The Faint of Heart Need Not Apply

Phish tickets. Wow. A lot has changed since those shows in the 80's when tickets were 5, 7, 10 dollars; venues were small theaters on college campuses or pizza joints in Burlington; crowds were small and innocent. By the time I was old enough to go, the demand for Phish tickets was just beginning to match the capacity of the venues they'd play. And that's when you have yourself a Ticket Game on your hands.

I'll never forget the first time I played about 15 years ago: sitting on the kitchen floor in my PJ's on a Saturday morning frantically dialing the TicketMaster digits over and over into my parents' brand new touch tone phone. Two hours later, I finally broke through the busy-signal barrier and scored a ticket to see Phish at the Boston Garden on NYE 1994-95!

I learned the ropes of mail-order just in time for the next tour. I'd follow every step to the letter, decorate my envelope in hopes of better seats, send it through the mail slot with a kiss for good luck. Mail-order was the sweetest ritual of tour with the most delightful reward at the end of a long wait: an envelope stacked full of crispy Phish tickets in all colors of the rainbow, their perforated stubs just waiting to be ripped at the gate of each venue. Inside of each mail-order return envelope were the keys to a treasure map; following it would determine the course of an entire summer rock and roll roadtrip.

Times have changed, Phish has grown exponentially, and the demand for tickets is on par with the hottest national acts. What makes The Ticket Game even more challenging is that Phish attracts their fans to multiple concerts -- people from all over the world are all competing for the same ticket in Long Island, and again in Asheville, again in St. Louis...location doesn't even matter. If the band is playing, 100,000 + people want to go, and it's a jungle out there!

As stressful as The Ticket Game is, I still enjoy the hours of planning and strategy that goes into it, and the rush on the actual day. Maybe it takes me back to that memory in my parents' kitchen, or maybe I enjoy the camaraderie of it all, making sure that all my friends get into the shows.

These Hampton shows sold out in a matter of seconds. Right now, according to Rolling Stone, it's the "hottest ticket on the planet". People are trading iPhones, cars, drugs, posh hotel rooms, SUV's, sexual favors, vacation rentals, you name it. Auctions are peaking at $1500 a ticket on ebay, it's crazy!

Our crew is almost covered. As each ticket arrives in the mail, a wave of relief and excitement washes over me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the people who have helped us get Hampton tickets (you know who you are!) There is nothing like actually holding a colorful piece of cardstock that says Phish on it. Another key to a spectacular treasure box that we can open in 17 days....

Countdown to Phish: Day 18

"My glance is always darting, when I stroll the avenue
Avoiding all the obstacles that terrorize my view
If you are here with me, I trust you to lead the way
When you're not I follow you, and always go astray

You're silent in the morning, suspended in the trees
Lunch time comes you've found your voice, it brings me to my knees
The volume just increases, the resounding echoes grow
Till once again I bask in morning stillness, I love so

The target that I shoot for seems to move with every breath
I tighten all my arteries and make one last request
Divine creation hears me, and he squashes me with fear
I think that this exact thing happened to me, just last year

Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to
Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to
Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to my knees

I will not dismiss you, shelter you, speak with you
Smile at you, trust in me, he'd like to brush you off, and I'd agree..."

Countdown to Phish: Day 19

The Clifford Ball: the first of seven two-day festivals hosted by Phish. Imagine a rock and roll sleepover party with 70,000 of your friends and 6+ live sets of your favorite band with all sorts of colrful activities, installations, and treats thrown into the mix. Good times.

Phish hosted the Clifford Ball on a decommissioned air force base in Plattsburgh NY on August 16th and 17th of 1996. The shows were strong & the entire weekend was a vibrant music marathon to close out the band's solid summer tour.

Phish recently announced the completion of a 7-disc DVD box set which documents the festival in it's entirety including footage of the epic late-night "flatbed jam". That was one cool surprise: in the middle of the night, Phish cruised through the campgrounds jamming on top of a flatbed trailer -- I remember dancing in my PJ's...

The DVD won't be released until March 3rd, but while we're waiting I thought this might help tide us over:

Countdown to Phish: Day 20

Here's one of Phish's beautiful love songs to celebrate Valentine's Day: a romantic ballad with a build called "Waste". This version is from 4/02/98 during the Island Tour -- a highly-acclaimed run of four shows: two nights on Long Island at Nassau Coliseum and two nights in Rhode Island at the Providence Civic Center. The soundboard recordings of this historic batch of shows was re-mastered and officially released by the band. The set is a an essential component to any Phish lover's collection, although I've always enjoyed the warm sound of the Island Tour audience recordings just as much.

Of course there are many ways to interpret the lyrics of Waste. Over the years, I've come to know it as a love song from the band to us, the audience, the thousands of people who travel night after night to experience the true love that is live music.

I guess what I mean is that if a song itself could write a love song, it would say: "So if I'm inside your head, don't believe what you might have read, you'll see what I might have said, to hear it..."

Countdown to Phish: Day 21

This is one of my favorite places on the planet:

Countdown to Phish: Day 22

Today I'll let Trey and Mike do the talking. This is the first segment of a 3 part interview by the folks at MTV in the summer of 1992. Phish was on H.O.R.D.E. tour, remember that?

Both Trey and Mike reply with insightful responses throughout the interview, and there's a humourous twinkle in all four of their eyes. I can even see it behind Mike's cool shades!

Things really heat up around the 3:44 mark with the synchronized beer-drinking leg-switches. So clever!

Countdown to Phish: Day 23

Phish loves to play on top of things: giant flying hot-dogs, air-traffic control towers, the Ed Sullivan Theater...you name it.

This was a cool day: A Monday morning, the first day of summer: June 21, 2004. We were feeling great after 2 nights in Brooklyn & an epic two-night run at SPAC (my favorite shows of Phish's '04 tour).

With 4 down and 4 ahead for the June run, we turned the car west towards breakfast and a leisurely drive out to Deer Creek. Wait, nope! Text message says "Detour: NYC for a taping of the Letterman Show!" Screeeeech, back on the thruway, let's hit it!

We followed those lines going south, raced through the city traffic, ditched the car, and sprinted through the mid-town sidewalks till we finally caught our breath at W 53rd St. We joined the impromptu audience filling up a solid block of Broadway across from the Ed Sullivan theater. Sure enough, Phish was ready to rock on top of the marquee, with Trey grinning down at us excitedly as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, why not?

They opened with the triumphant chord progression of Scents and Subtle Sounds (which aired later on the Late Show) and then continued on with a 25 minute set, what a treat.

Here's the evidence, play it Leo!

Countdown to Phish: Day 24

This is a special Phebruary 10th Birthday Edition of "Countdown to Phish" goin' out to my Dad who has always nurtured my deep love for music. He introduced me to his incredible record collection at an early age and has always been my favorite go-to guy for mix-tape advice.

I am so grateful to my parents for giving me such a rich musical upbringing. They played and booked the music for The Folkway all through my childhood. I remember my Mama constantly auditioning tapes (just like I do every day now) to research up and coming artists for The Folkway, and my Dad playing guitar daily. When I close my eyes I can literally HEAR my childhood memories: always music playing, live, at home, in the car, at concerts, always, still is...

In 1993 a dear friend introduced me to Phish. I started avidly collecting tapes and learning about the band on the old phish.net site. My encouraging parents added my ever-growing stash of bootlegs into our family rotation. I remember one specific moment we were in the car and Dad really "got" Phish. Possum was playing, and something just clicked for him. From that moment on he's been an avid fan, as my Mom had been right along from that first tape I ever traded.

I tried to find a sweet version of Possom for you today Dad but stumbled across this little beauty instead that I know you'll love. This is from an amazing show on April 29, 1990. Phish covers a Bill Monroe song "Uncle Pen" and the Soldier's Joy jam that kicks in around 2:15 just sounds so loving, festive, and sincere: just right for you Dad.

Happy BirthDave, I love you with all my heart!

Countdown to Phish: Day 25

Thanks to YouTube user "otuswerd" we have actual video coverage to give you a virtual sense of what it was like to experience the McLovins live at Revolution Hall to celebrate the release of PhanArt (see countdown to Phish: Day 26).

I've watched these young gents rise to YouTube stardom have always been impressed with their chops, but let me just say that when they took the stage Saturday night, no sooner than 30 seconds into "Linus and Lucy" I was totally blown away. My youngest brother may have put it best when he whispered "I'm going on McLovins tour!"

The Hartford, CT trio is Jake (Drumlovin), Jason (Basslovin), and Jeff (Axlovin). Jeff's still in middle school! They shredded & jammed with tight articulation and a natural sense of the groove. I cannot wait to see what these guys are up to in a few years. Extremely talented. While much of their popularity has grown from their epic Phish, Dead, and Weather Report covers, I gotta say, I absolutely LOVED their originals even more than the covers they played (Although Birdland and Cliffs of Dover are both on my desert island song list).

When they teased "Tweezer" about halfway through their own (amazing) song "Guillotine Machine" it sent shivers of excitement up my spine for the upcoming Hampton run. I had a quick flashback as the energy built and the crowd began to move together like an animal of its own. My need to dance kicked in the way it only does in the middle of the greatest of live jams.

Way to go McLovins, you totally rock! Here's a clip from the night which'll give you a taste of their YEM set-closer:

Countdown to Phish: Day 26

Last night I attended a wonderful Phish-related event to celebrate a collaborative effort spearheaded by Pete Mason: a book called Phanart: The Art of the Fans of Phish. Pete has jumped through many legal and logistical hoops to bring the project to life, and it's alive alright!

Last night hundreds of people gathered at one of my favorite venues, Revolution Hall in Troy NY for Phanart's publishing & release party. I bought a copy of the book and you should too. It's beautiful -- chock full of 1600+ images of Phish fan created art: stickers, t-shirts, posters, license plates, and essays which are now preserved in this comprehensive archive all inspired by the love of a band. Huge props to everyone involved in this project!

One of the best things about Phanart is that all of the proceeds benefit The Mockingbird Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to provide and enhance music education. Pete Mason is a teacher himself and mentioned in his speech last night that he'd love nothing more than to see this project which was created by a music-loving community return back to to children to inspire music for years to come.

I had a wonderful time last night celebrating this great achievement and especially the live set played by rising stars, The McLovins. More about them in tomorrow's countdown post, stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are two of my favorites of the hundreds of beautiful photos my husband Kale captured from the event:

Countdown to Phish: Day 27

Let's dial things back about 20 and a half year ago to 6/23/89, a summer night in Boston at the Paradise Theater. Phish played Fee about half-way through the first set that night, and someone captured a pretty sweet video. This was before the days when Trey would sing the lyrics through a megaphone:

Countdown to Phish: Day 28

I am a lover and listener to all types of music from country to death metal to classical and everything in between, but I gotta be honest when I say that above all music, I've been head-over-heels in love with Phish for more than half of my life.

The band played it's last show on August 15, 2004. That was a very sad day for me and a lot of other people. But, it gave us all a chance to do things like go to college or grad school, begin or return to careers, fall in love, start families, discover new bands, and dance in our living rooms to Phish DVD's wondering if and when we'd ever get a chance to do it in real life again.

Last fall on October 1st, a day after Trey's 44th birthday, we awoke to 3am text messages and 4am phone-calls: the whisper spread like wildfire into a worldwide cheer of pure jubilation, our band would play again! I felt like the 8 year old version of myself on Christmas morning hearing the news first from my brother and seeing the announcement for the first time on my computer. The servers that host phish.com were so jammed that day it was nearly impossible to play the video in its entirety, but the message was clear: game on.

These past 4 months have felt almost as long as the 4+ years we've waited to feel that feeling and now there's only one more month to go. Tickets have been bought, sold, birthday-miracled, traded, & gifted. Hotel rooms booked, days off requested, flights reserved. Phish is on, they're really gonna play, and we're gonna be there. I can't believe it!

Now it's time to start nailing down the final details: gotta tune-up the car, set meeting dates to re-connect with long lost friends, check the Hampton weather forecast daily, choose music for the roadtrip, dig out my old lucky show charm necklace, find those bouncy sneakers, and wait for that morning when I can wake up and drive south with my crew!

To celebrate, every day from now until we leave for Hampton on March 5th, I'm going to post a Phish-related story, song, or clip to document this incredible time (and to give me something to focus on so I don't totally self-implode with excitement in the meantime).

Let's start off with what brought this all on in the first place, the oh so long awaited... over-speculated... multi-rumored.... official.... ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!

stephaniesid

I've had this song in my head all week, it's called "cold cold" by stephaniesid: a lush and compelling indie-pop band out of Asheville. Awesome video too: