PHISH IS FUCKING BACK!!!!!!

[Marmar]

exactly Mr M....that's all I'm doing....am I being super critical on them?...maybe...but only out of history repeating itself......

I'm just not into putting forth the effort if [they] aren't either.....know what I mean?.....I want them to be "fucking back" more than anyone else on this board prolly......it's just like after you've caught yer g/f cheatin on ya for the 2nd time.....well, here we are....Post-Hiatus Phish v3.0....I love it, she just better not cheat on me again and work at making it work.....

[Mr Minor]

exactly Mr M....that's all I'm doing....am I being super critical on them?...maybe...but only out of history repeating itself......

I'm just not into putting forth the effort if [they] aren't either.....know what I mean?.....I want them to be "fucking back" more than anyone else on this board prolly......it's just like after you've caught yer g/f cheatin on ya for the 2nd time.....well, here we are....Post-Hiatus Phish v3.0....I love it, she just better not cheat on me again and work at making it work.....

:lol:

[Marmar]

well...tell me Phish isn't the biggest slut out there!

[rowjimmy]

They are putting forth the effort. Relax and allow it to be revealed to you over the summer.

These shows had a lot that will need adjustment, including Trey nailing the 'Landlady' segment of 'PYITE'.
Kuroda missed a couple obvious cues.
The LP mix sucks differently than before (not enough Fish!)
etc.

But it's all almost new again. The fact that they came out and did what they did shows determination to do more than coast. If they wanted to coast, we'd have had a 25 minute ASIHTOS opener. But no. They re-learned 80+ songs and played them pretty damn well over the course of 3 nights. That's not the work of a group on cruise control.

[Marmar]

true.....and only time will tell.....I'm just not about to sit around and listen to people say things like "that was tight" and all the other "hype" that we know we'll be hearing....

basically I'm just sayin that I'm not afraid to dole out a smackdown back to reality when I read some nonsense about stuff like that.....like I said, I'm prolly the one on here wanting them back more than ever, I'm just not prepared to hear things said that are nonsense.....like 4 dogs farting into trombones.....

[guyforget]

I only got in Sunday.  I did not enter expecting miracles.  I left satisfied with what I saw and believing that if the commitment continues this band can erase 03/04 and drop jaws. 

Its not gonna be 94/97/whatever your favorite year is.  93's not 98, and so on and so on.  We cant go back to a certain year of our liking.  Nothing was ever the same, anyway.  We cringe at sameness. 

Phish was always evolving (maybe devolving in some of y/our opinions) and will continue to do so.  If the commitment is there, there is always potential to talk about Phish3.0 in the same breaths as 94/97.  They are able to play as well if they are determined to do so.  Will they play the same?  I hope not. 

[cactusfan]

It was nice to hear the band execute Foam flawlessly, while driving I was thinking to myself, "holy s***, 2009 Foam!"

wait, foam? that was a disaster, wasn't it? trey was a mess on that one. or am i getting confused? guess i can listen again, but that stood out as one of the sloppiest, i thought.

Wrong.
Foam was on the $$$$.
If you consider it a disaster, you must hate phish :roll: :-P
or you MUST be confused.

hmm, strange. i just listened to foam again. trey screws up plenty in the beginning, and even when he's playing the right notes, it's all a bit forced. once they get to the jam, it gets good.

not that this really matters, there were any number of songs they played 'correctly' without really getting inside of them.

and many songs that kicked ass, like My Friend, which i just listened to and which fucking smokes.

it's kind of hilarious in this thread how even the most cautious mention of a song not being the best ever is jumped on as evidence of a PHISH HATER!

there seems to be a very simple and predictable divide-- those at the shows, and those listening at home. with the exception of marmar, i think it's safe to say that every one of we home listeners would have loved more than anything to have seen the shows and hung out with the rest of you. as ALL have said, the shows are filled with great promise and huge energy and joy, and allayed fears of another '04 disaster.

but being at the shows, the experience must have been far grander than just hearing the recordings. so come on, fellas-- you saw the shows! you're the luckiest of the lucky. just because the unlucky are noting that the shows weren't flawless works of genius doesn't diminish your experience. we'll still be forever envious, okay? promise.

[Ri©h]

well...tell me Phish isn't the biggest slut out there!

Phish isn't the biggest slut out there.

[Hicks]

I just listened to the Foam and there were a couple sour notes in the beginning but other than it sounded pretty spot on to me, made for an enjoyable lunch break in mi coche.

I think the ability to listen critically is one of the coolest things about the Phish community, so I for one am glad to see that tradition continuing, regardless of what everyone's individual opinions may be.

[susep]

I think the ability to listen critically is one of the coolest things about the Phish community, so I for one am glad to see that tradition continuing, regardless of what everyone's individual opinions may be.

qft

[Alumni]

I only got in Sunday.  I did not enter expecting miracles.  I left satisfied with what I saw and believing that if the commitment continues this band can erase 03/04 and drop jaws. 

Hey all,

I didn't get into any of the three, but having listened to the mp3s, I'm with rj and guyforget. Phish is back because - it seems to me - their commitment to "Phish" is back. Judged only on their own merits, I wouldn't describe any of the three shows as more than average. Maybe a bit below? But that's by Phish's own incredible standards. Honestly, I wasn't sure they'd pull it off as successfully as they did. It certainly beat my expectations.

Let them get back into musical shape before demanding more improv. I'm all for "jamming," but length is secondary to execution. No point in playing a song for half an hour just to say you did it.

Last - after spending some serious time with the Ball DVDs and having spent some time on Youtube...CK just went nuts this weekend, lighting songs like a fan. That's cool, and I'm glad his timing was so sharp. I just kind of hope that it doesn't become a crutch for the band.

$.03

[sls.stormyrider]

But it's all almost new again. The fact that they came out and did what they did shows determination to do more than coast. If they wanted to coast, we'd have had a 25 minute ASIHTOS opener. But no. They re-learned 80+ songs and played them pretty damn well over the course of 3 nights. That's not the work of a group on cruise control.

I didn't get into any of the three, but having listened to the mp3s, I'm with rj and guyforget. Phish is back because - it seems to me - their commitment to "Phish" is back. Judged only on their own merits, I wouldn't describe any of the three shows as more than average. Maybe a bit below? But that's by Phish's own incredible standards. Honestly, I wasn't sure they'd pull it off as successfully as they did. It certainly beat my expectations.

QFT

welcome back, Alumni

[Play_It_Leo]

I still have only made it through nights 1 and 2. So far, here are some of my observations:

1) Some scripted passages are off. Chalk it up to 4.5 years off, though and not lack of effort. And I'm guessing they'll actually care about the fact that they were off and work to improve on it.

2) As someone else has stated (rj maybe) the fact that they "re-learned" 80 songs for a 3 night stand and played them pretty well overall is quite impressive. It shows a renewed dedication that we should all be excited about.

3) Page and Mike rocked the weekend. I felt Phish 2.0 too often became Trey-centered, especially with some of the TAB songs that they adopted. That was not the case at all this weekend.  Whether it was by design or because Trey was the most rusty of everyone, I really enjoyed a bit of a change to the overall feel.

4) Jams were good, true improv was lacking. I don't think we should've expected differently.

Take this from a different viewpoint too, not just a band getting back together. I'm a lifetime runner, but with work and 2 kids now, I can only run 2 days a week max. Expecting v3.0 to be anywhere near 94 or 97 is as unreasonable as asking me to run a 10K as fast as I did in college. But with practice time and dedication, I could return to some semblance of that. I expect the same from  . If they are as dedicated to making music together as they appear to be, it's just a matter of time til the jams and improv take off.

[Alumni]

Take this from a different viewpoint too, not just a band getting back together. I'm a lifetime runner, but with work and 2 kids now, I can only run 2 days a week max. Expecting v3.0 to be anywhere near 94 or 97 is as unreasonable as asking me to run a 10K as fast as I did in college. But with practice time and dedication, I could return to some semblance of that. I expect the same from  . If they are as dedicated to making music together as they appear to be, it's just a matter of time til the jams and improv take off.

I used almost the same analogy in describing my take on the weekend. I used to cycle. A lot. But it's probably been about 5 years since I did it with any regularity. I've done a few things to try and stay in shape, but not consistently. If you gave me a road bike tomorrow and said, "Okay, AG, here you go. Now go out and do a century." Let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. I'd be ok for the first few miles, but I'd be just about ready for death by 100 (if it hadn't happened already).

Thanks slsbs. Good to be back.  Don't know that I'll be posting as much as I used to. I definitely won't be doing anything as ambitious or stupid (or both) as holding a jam vehicle "tournament." :-) But this weekend + Ball DVDs were enough to make me forget about "being over" that Phish band.

[sls.stormyrider]

If this was any other band - Stones, U2, E Street, doing a 3 show run after a long layoff, the songs wouldn't have been as intricate / technically challenging, and the setlists would have been at least 75% the same for all 3 nights.

but,  aren't just any other band.

they seem committed, they have something to prove again.
looking forward to hearing them prove it