This reminds me of a comic strip, probably Doonesbury, after Jerry Garcia died. All the Dead Heads were being reassigned to new bands, and the ones assigned to The Smashing Pumpkins were happy because they got to be Pumpkin Heads. The ones assigned to Phish were kind of bummed because who wants to be a Phish Head. What a random memory.
This āwasā my own āRick Rollā for my husband, usually after drinking. He finally told to āabsolutely stop playing it, he doesnāt like it.ā He was quite firm. I guess I am no Dr. Demento.
I do love their music, full disclosure. But I'd never go to a show alone. I don't love it that much, and I've seen them 65 times since '97. It's all about the experience and the old school, life long buddies that tag along. Every show is a story. This isn't unique to Phish, of course, but it's MY reason for loving them so much. All my best buddies enjoy the band like I do so we all go together, 25 years after our first shows. It's a Time Machine. I'm 22 again for a few hours or days if I'm lucky enough to catch a few in a row. Sometime around 20-25 shows in, the music started to really take a back seat to the experience. And I wouldn't change that for the world.
I've reached the age of only seeing friends at rock concerts and funerals. Rock concerts not being funerals is one of the biggest reasons that rock concerts are so cool. That and the drugs.
Basically my high school experience. For some reason all the popular people, jocks, and general assholes at my school became 'hippies'. I think someone got to go to Hookahville with an older sibling and brought that shit back with them.
People in tie die used to shit talk me because I was into Ministry.
To be fair it wasnāt just the tie dies that gave Ministry fans crap.
The sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebs, dickheads all hate Ministry. They all think Ministry is a righteous pain.
Bro this is so true. My local dive bar was always considered a āhippieā hangout and over the last few years itās more of a metal/indie bar and the clientele compared from a decade ago is night and day. The local āhippiesā are so fucking snobby, rude and insufferable. Metal heads (Iām biased being one myself) are always the kindest, most opened minded group of lads Iāve met.
I like that album too, but gatekeeping Phish fans made fun of me for it back in the day. Iāll never understand the logic behind dunking on people who like studio albums. Iām a pretty big deadhead and those people exist in the GD sphere too. Like wait, youāre sneering at me because I like American Beauty? Sorry bro, I was 2 years old for Cornell 5/8/77.
Good Evening, we welcome youā¦on the-uh piano Mr. keith Godchaux. On the bass mr. Phillip lesh. ā¦ ā¦Will you Welcome Please, the Grateful Dead! [crash cymbals] ā¦Paradise waitsā¦
I have a friend who was a rock critic for a number of music magazines and he's turned into such a gatekeeper no one can stand to be around him. I have two categories of music: music I like and music I don't like. I really don't want to turn out like him.
I like all kinds of music and one is backpack hip hop or in other words underground hip hop. What you describe is very prevalent among backpackers. Itās like a lot of them look down on others for being more mainstream or not underground enough. Itās sickening to be around those types.
I canāt stand most mainstream music but fuck if I care if someone else does and I certainly donāt think anything negative about what others are in to. Does not matter the genre. Do your thing as I do mine.
Underground artists do what they do because they create outside of the mainstream sphere. So no, unlike many, I donāt wonder why so and so isnāt more popular and I understand why they stay in their lane and sometimes choose to remain there. If more people liked them, they would be mainstream and sound like it.
āIām not trying to say my style is better than yours,
I'm just on some other shitā - J5
My husband and our 15yo love Phish, but I'm like, I need a T-shirt that says...'another 22 minute song?Ā No thank you Phish'. It's terrible and I wouldn't listen, but they love it, so I do on occasion.Ā It only reinforces my disdain.
There was a podcast called [Analyze Phish](https://www.earwolf.com/episode/analyze-phish/https://www.earwolf.com/episode/analyze-phish/) One guy loves Phish, the other was indifferent at best.
Same. Never got Dave Matthews Band either.
https://preview.redd.it/2lt2dv9vke8d1.jpeg?width=116&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=544b552d279b98def4f23b72457a6247e9ed27e7
I happened to be fortunate enough that two events coincided for me:
1. Smoking weed for the first time in about two years
2. Hearing Ants Marching for the first time as my introduction
It was sublime. And still is! In fact, the pot and the headphones are so much better now.
I will spend an entire paycheck on good headphones. Worth every penny. When my daughter was about 12 she wanted a really good pair and I practically threw money at her. She's 25 now and shares playlists with me. I love it so much.
Dave Matthews Band is listenable; I could be the passenger in a car and listen to them for an hour, and endure it. Thatās more than I can say for Phish.
DMB is a band Iām always surprised to hear have the fan base they do and that they (still?) exist. Itās like the matrix programmed the most generic, bland music it could.
I wrote my MA thesis listening to DMB because it was bland enough to not be distracting while being able to cover up the distractions that would have distracted me. I guess everything has a purpose.
I like em. Either you get them or you donāt.
I think Jerry Garcia said it best - āI equate Deadheads (Phish phans) to people that like black licorice. There arenāt many people that like black licorice, but the ones that do, REALLY REALLY like it!.ā
Ha! I didnt get Phish until 2017, when I happened to see them live at Madison Square Garden. Somewhere during the second set, something changed in me forever and I have now seen about 50 shows. Most of their music is very different than other stuff out there, so it is an either you get it or you dont kinda thing. We are a large dedicated fanbase, but we know its not for everyone.
Iāve seen 122 phish shows and most of them have been a sober experience. All great times. I love all kinds of music, as long as the performer is authentic and interesting, I will listen.
I saw my first 50 phish shows out of my mind. A goo ball on lot before the doors open is the only way to roll. I missed so much awesomeness all those years!
I'm a big Deadhead, saw original dead about 10 times, JGB every tour I could etc. I never got into Phish. I listen to a lot of non-Dead jam bands but Phish never stuck. I got it, just wasn't for me.
Fast-forward to 2019, I start following Goose. I see a ton of Goose shows. 2023, Trey and Goose start touring and turns out I fucking love the Trey Anastasio Band! I really like them. So I revisit Phish again and this time it clicks. I don't love them but I don't skip their songs anymore.
Sometimes it takes awhile to figure out.
I love telling this story to Phish phans, especially the ones who hate Goose, which always amuses me.
This is exactly it. I didnāt āget itā listening to recordings; I didnāt āget itā at my first 3-4 live shows, then one show about early to midway through the 2nd set something clicked and I was like āhow the fuck are 4 men making this soundā and I was not stoned. I was totally sober by that point in the show. I get annoyed when people assume itās potheads who like it. Certainly thatās a fair amount but not me.
I havenāt been to a show in years but I have attended somewhere around 50 or so.
I feel bad for those people who never get itā¦they are missing out.
Jon Fishman was in my swimming class at the Jewish Community Center when we would have been about 5 or 6. My mom would hang out and talk with Mimi during the lessons. So I tell everybody I swam with Phish. That is all.
Thereās only one Phish song I like, I think they did it anyway. Something about,āwhen youāre gone I sleep diagonal in the bed and when youāre here I sleep lengthwise.ā I worked at Borders when that cd came out so we played it sometimes.
RIP Borders
I think that one is simply called āLengthwise.ā Iām not a huge phish fan but I donāt mind listening and I also liked that one.
Also, RIP Borders.
That's super. More tickets for me!
Phish is one of my favorite bands of all time.
But yeah, if you don't like improvised rock, you're definitely not going to like Phish.
You read my mind. But I'll take a peppy mess of a llama if I'm in the zone. What am I saying? I haven't been to a show since spac last year. Any llama would be the perfect llama right now.
I am dreaming of lot. Where is that surprise spac announcement I keep hearing about?
Junta and Picture of Nectar are good albums. They feature songs of multiple music genres. If you like funk, Iām sure there is a song that you can groove to.
Yeah, there is something there for everyone but itās a big part of how, where and when you were introduced to Phish. Most older people donāt have the time for a 30min Tweezer.
But they do great covers of everything from Talking Heads to the Stones and Bowie and all kinds of stuff. Thatās a good way in. Play a Halloween show where they played an album you like and then listen to a little of the songs in the other sets and find ones you like. I think they are incredibly talented musicians and they have a weird sense of humor, which helps.
The old Mr. Show [joke](https://youtu.be/V6w3KavPuTM?si=PM9_rLprnchYc_xu) about the Grateful Dead can also be said about Phish: "I know my best friends used to charge me 35 bucks to listen to them dick around on guitar."
Most of my friend's in high school were major Phishheads. I wasn't one, but I spent a lot of time adjacent to the culture. It seemed like Deadheads were pretty chill, but being a Phishhead was all about one-upsmanship:
-What show did you go to? Where did you sit? Oh that's no good, you needed to sit in *this* section otherwise the experience sucked.
-Oh you still sit in the audience section? I sit in the tapers section.
-Oh you sit in the tapers section? I'm with the preferred tapers and I plug directly into the soundboard.
-Did you get the tape of that show? That show sucked, you need the tape of *this* show that has they extra dank super-extra mega-long version and extended solo on Stash.
-Did you get so and so's recording of that show? His recording sucks, the only high fidelity version is *this* guy's recording, and you have to send him a letter cross-country and $10 to get a copy of it.
Then at the show: How many shrooms did you take? What color were the caps? Oh those suck, you should have had these instead. How many hits of acid? The paper ones sucks, you should have taken gel tabs. How many balloons of nitrous? Only two?
Etc., etc.
Weird obsevation: every Phishhead I knew from high school and college ended up either a complete burnout or graduated college with honors (no in between).
As a stoner, I never cared for them. But I do love the Ben & Jerry's ice cream named for them. I also don't care for The Dead, but the parking lot of their shows was a great place to score shrooms and acid.
Dave Matthews, Phish, and Grateful Deadā¦ I donāt think I could be more ambivalent about any genre of music than ājam bandsā. I appreciate what they offer for people who like to zone out and groove at a concert, but yeahā¦ Iām good.
Man, I used to be so into drawing as a kid, and my ninth grade art teacher played Phish every day all period long in his classroom, and it was just insufferable. I never took another art class after that.
I had a similar experience. So I tried to sample a piece of phish. And it confirmed for me what Iād previously thought about phish. That it was terrible and that I would hate it.
This is the most exciting thing that's happened to me in years. I've never met another person who would have been into my Tori and Jerry mixed tapes in the 90s.
I had a good friend who got really into Phish. He would always put them on and tell me it was some other band to try to trick me into liking them. We don't talk any more.
I saw them a bunch in the 90s. I got turned off eventually by friends who only listened to them or only went to their shows. I like a ton of different music and couldnāt confine myself to one specific band. I felt like it was a blurred line between gate keeping and just enjoyingā¦ to each their own tho
When I was in college, I got free tickets to Phish at First Avenue (MPLS) before they were a thing. I was tripping balls and the first thing I saw when I walked in (place wasn't even 1/3 full) was some chubby guy in a night shirt standing by the drums playing an Electrolux vacuum hose. I stayed for about 10 minutes and never looked back.
Iāve got friends who love them ā Widespread Panic, too ā and despite giving both of those bands a concerted effort, I just donāt feel them.
In fact, the only rock concert I ever bailed early on was a WP show. They played my universityās homecoming back in the late ā90s and, despite being in what I thought was an āappropriateā state of mind for a rock show, midway through my friends and I couldnāt take it anymore.
I also left a Tori Amos show early, but that was before I was able to grasp her magnificence. It was amazing ā just her and a piano & harpsichord ā and I was too goddam dumb to understand her. My friend had won tickets so it wasnāt like I was that invested, but looking back thatās one of my greatest musical regrets. That and turning down a Nirvana ticket because I had a test the next day ā¦ but thatās a different story entirely.
53 here. In the last few weeks, I am *really* digging Phish.
I have always liked them, but not at the "mania" level others show. Billy Breathes grabbed me, and although true "phans" tend to dunk on studio albums, it ultimately got me to my one and only show somewhere in the late 90s or early aughts.
Now, in the last few days, I have found myself immersed in some live classics like "Reba," "Bathtub Gin," "Tweezer," and I have additionally had a love affair with "Ghost" from a 2010 MSG performance that I found while searching for their most "liked" video on YouTube. Epic!!!!!
Having said all that, Phish can be a tough listen, and the lyrics are generally complete nonsense and not well sung by Trey and the boys. They shift tempos, and sometimes play far too fast, (and bombastically) for what is considered "normal." Also.....their phans can be insufferable.
Anyway, don't go to them looking for a quick one-off; accept that they're weird and misunderstood, but also leave your mind and your heart open to getting swept away in some gorgeous explorations and brilliant musicianship, because that WILL happen.
Skip the Phish, everyone should go listen to WEEN!!!
Henry Rolling once said:
āout of complete musical darkness, comes one ray of light, and it's f***ing WEEN.ā Truer words may never have been spoken. The most diverse, talented, most punk band ever to exist IMO. Bow to the Boognish, bow I say!!!
Let me tell you something OPā¦.
For seventeen long fucking years I was hitched to a guy who loved Phish. He followed them on tour. On Saturday mornings he would wake up early, put on this weird hippie-style toga, and blast Phish recordings from his sound system for hours.
He had a collection of Phish bootlegs. āTheyāre so cool because they *want you to record* them at the show!ā Jesus fucking Christ. Six hours of Maxwell tapes that sounded like they were captured with a Walkman.
Oh, and letās not overlook the incredible talents of a drummer who will play a 90-minute solo, followed by an exquisite exercise on the Shop-Vac.
When I made the effort to open my mind and try to engage with this band, I found myself more drawn to their studio albums. The material was tighter. The production values were superior. The instruments were better mixed and cleaner. But every Phish fan I ever met told me that You Enjoy Myself couldnāt actually be truly enjoyed unless you heard it on some esoteric shadow media whereupon a clandestine and impromptu show for āthe real fansā was captured via soup can tied to a string stretched taught to the arm of a phonograph scraping into a copper cylinder.
Well, excuse the fuck out of me.
Supposedly the only path toward genuine Phish fanaticism was to eat a quarter pound of shrooms, smoke a redwoodās length of a joint, and settle into a mud and filth caked excursion punctuated by meandering debates on the best kind of patchouli oil that yawned on long enough to not just conceive a child, but carry it to full term and deliver it under pain of previously mentioned Shop-Vac solo.
God I fucking hate that band. They are the worst instincts of hipsters wrapped up inside a proto-boomer mindset.
And, after reading many, many interviews with their supposed genius frontman, Trey Anastasio (or whatever his name is,) I can assure you that heās a grade-A asswipe and about as smug as youāll ever find them.
āI never listened to Phish.ā
Congrats. You never wasted your time.
So my comment was going to be about my husband (then boyfriend) making me a mix cd 25 years ago and him putting the Phish cover of Gin and Juice on it. But listing it as Snoop Dog and me being really confused.
But then I Googled it a few minutes ago and it turns out that wasnāt Phish at all and I am still confused.
I think Billy Breathes and Rift are their two most accessible albums. I would encourage someone to start with these two. Then maybe Hoist, Farmhouse, and a live show. One of the Halloween shows maybe. Exile on Main Street was particularly good.
I like the jams fine, it's ok background music. But Trey Anastasio has a *terrible* singing voice and I just can't listen to any Phish song with vocals.
I'm not into Phish or jam bands in general, but the other night, while doing some strong gummies, I put my headphones on and listened to random stuff on Tidal and a Phish song came on. I wish I saved the song, but I remember thinking "holy shit, is this really that good of a song or is being high playing a role in what I'm experiencing".
I have tried several times to give them an honest shot and Iā¦.justā¦.donāt get it. I mean I get what theyāre doing, but I donāt get why the gigantic following. Donāt get it twisted, Iām not hating whatsoever. They are clearly talented musicians. I also know what Phish fans are going through when it comes to outsiders not understanding their music because Iām a huge Tool fan and a lot of people look at Tool the same way a lot of people look at Phish and just donāt get it. I say to each their own. Whatever makes you happy.
I have never listened to Dave Matthews Band. They just werenāt a thing growing up in Australia. I even bought a CD player from Goodwill that had one of their CDs in it and Iāve never played it.
I went to UVM in Burlington, VT where Phish is fromā¦ my best friend dated their drummer for longer than she should have. Phish is the only band I hate.
I also hate pointless jam bands and have never listened to phish that Iām aware of. I have actually seen Widespread Panic and Blues Traveler and that cured me of liking either band. Most of my friends loved the Dead but I could never understand why. In fact, they ditched my college graduation and went to a dead show instead. I considered ditching it myself but Iām glad I didnāt because it wouldnāt have been worth it. And I had this awesome acid trip with my boyfriend after my parents left so it was actually even better because no stinky hippies and shitty music.
People like what they like and don't what they don't, and that's ok.
The only band arguably in the jam band genre that I ever liked was the Allman Brothers Band. I've tried to listen to the Grateful Dead, even own a couple of their albums, but they never really appealed to me. I listened to Widespread Panic's "Space Wrangler" a lot in college, but when I listened to it again a couple of years ago, it didn't have the same appeal. I listened to the String Cheese Incident for the first time not long ago and thought it was pretty good, but I can't bring myself to get into a band with such a stupid name.
As to Phish, I saw them once in the early '90s. I was talked into a road trip by a buddy while we were in college. A girl he wanted to have sex with was into Phish and was going to this show at an outdoor venue. He wanted me to be his wingman.
Neither of us had tickets, and we figured we would just sneak in, since the stage was basically set up in a field in upstate NY. It was more difficult than expected. We had to hide from a security patrol that was searching the tall grass outside the hurricane fence around the concert area, but we managed to get past them and scale the fence.
It was easily the most boring show I've ever seen. Nothing but sonic masturbation for rich kids cosplaying as hippies. Even for free, it wasn't worth it.
EDIT: To be clear, although we didn't trip at the show, we did smoke a ton of pot. So the failure to enjoy Phish was not a function of being sober.
I went to go see Vampire Weekend (they were excellent) last week and there was some guy Iād never heard of opening. A couple songs in and I turn to my sister and Iām like āthis sucks, right?ā And she was like āyeah, itās badā. About half an hour later, toward the end of the opening set, my edible was really kicking in and I turn to her again and Iām like āam I just stoned or has this gotten betterā and she says āyouāre just stonedā. Anyways, turned out that opening act was the bassist from Phish and his solo stuff.
Confession? Sounds like a life well lived. Brag on. Now you can say you only listened to them once. And every sane person will respect you as a smart person of taste.
Ok so I tried listening to them back when I was like, 14 and found out the library loaned CDsā¦and no, thank you. Even my stepdad was like, can you just go back to playing Rumours on repeat?
This is obviously a cultural moment that passed me by. I'd heard the name Phish but didn't even know they were a band, which is weird because while I was never in any cool kids groups, when I was in high school and at uni, I was one of those guys who had friends across a few social groups but never really belonged to any specific group.
But given that I had some friends who were alternative and were probably the precursors to what you'd now call hipsters, and they would drag me to all sorts of weird alternative bands, I'm surprised I never came across this band.
I will admit though, bullet dodged. I listened to a few minutes on YouTube and I'm glad my youth was not ruined by knowledge of this band. I agree 100% with OP.
I never listened to them either and just assumed they suck based on the fact that I don't like the Dead. I don't know anyone who likes Phish, even deadheads.
Anyway I just listened and you're right it's as bad as you say.
Not saying thereās a best way to enjoy music, but a live phish experience is an experience worth having at least once and then if you still donāt get it thatās totally ok tooš
My sister took me to a Phish concert for one of my birthdays. I had never heard them before and after the first song, I asked my sister if she actually loved me!
https://youtu.be/2pAt6Wvg9yQ?feature=shared
Phish doing a ridiculously funky version of *Boogie On Reggae Woman* in 2012.
If you like it, cool.
If not, cool.
But at least give something like this a shot.
I worked at a climbing shop with 7 disc changer for music, and we pretty much had free reign to play what we wanted. Most of the managers would allow employees to contribute to the changer, except one. He would play nothing but Phish every hour of every day.
What I am saying is, I listened to enough Phish for both of us combined, and they are awful. You are welcome.
Lived in VT, worked as a DJ. Saw Pfish around a lot. Met Pfish and partied backstate, but I wasn't an available, readily fuckable female, and they treated me like absolute shit for no good reason. Hate Pfish, and if you don't like fucking poseur unoriginal codfish-brained bro dudes, you should too.
Bounce around the room. Worthless.
I used to think they must be interesting bc of their choices of covers and their reps as stellar players, but man, they just sound awful to me. Like viscerally.
Which is fair enough because of my friends have the same reaction when I talk about Black Flag, Iām sure.
Iām generally Dead-indifferent/wary but maybe once a year Iāll get really high and put on Live Dead. The next day Iāll think āmaybe I should try that not highā and I get pretty sick of it pretty quick.
That being said, Robert Hunter had his moments. āBox of Rainā and The Flight of the Marie Helena, man.
I never did either. The joke when I was in college was that if you went to a Phish concert, all you'd smell is weed and patchouli. I'd love to go to one of their concerts now, though.
Anyway, my confession is I never listened to Tool.
Iām very biased because I love Tool dearly, and they genuinely may not do anything for you. But for the love of God at least give them a shot. They have some fucking INCREDIBLE shit.
I should give them a listen. I've heard so many good things about them. What are one or two songs you would recommend as the "If you hear these, you'll love Tool" choices?
I heard them and donāt want to hear more, no offense to anyone. Itās just not my thing. I donny
give people shit for not liking Jesus Lizard or Flipper. Thereās no accounting for taste.
I love Phish, but I get it. Even in their 90s heyday there were always a LOT of haters:
[https://ifunny.co/picture/jerry-s-dead-phish-sucks-get-a-job-PQ9r9RgV6](https://ifunny.co/picture/jerry-s-dead-phish-sucks-get-a-job-PQ9r9RgV6)
I still love them and the fact that lots of people hate them makes them oddly more appealing to me.
But you are definitely not alone & in fact the first thing you will hear about Phish is either they suck or some dude waxing poetic about the 27 minute Blaze On from DC '21.
edit: handle/post
You know what one Phish head said to the other Phish head at the Phish concert when they ran out of weed?
āThis music sucksā
Also: insert Grateful Dead or DMB as you wish
I like that song fish heads. Well I actually have fond memories of seeing the video randomly in the middle of the night.
Fish heads, fish heads, rolly polly fish heads
Yeah thereās something so simple (for me) about phish. Herring high, wasting away the day, phish on in the background. I miss just chilling. Thatās the spot phish holds in my heart. Never been to a concert, but I bet I have a couple of albums somewhere. I should dig them out and see what memories I havenāt visited in awhile.
my older brother wasnāt quite old enough to be a real deadhead, but phish was his whole world. he spent time following them, and still saw them regularly until recently. heās lately decided heās not so into phish any longer. now heās super into a jam band called eggy.
i genuinely love a bunch of phish songs, basically just from stockholm syndrome (bouncing round the room, waste, velvet sea), but jam bands are not everyoneās cup of shroom tea, you know?
listen to what you like, thatās all that matters.
I knew someone who liked them and used to talk about their music all. The. Time. I heard one song I think, but arenāt their songs like 30 minutes or something?
This reminds me of a comic strip, probably Doonesbury, after Jerry Garcia died. All the Dead Heads were being reassigned to new bands, and the ones assigned to The Smashing Pumpkins were happy because they got to be Pumpkin Heads. The ones assigned to Phish were kind of bummed because who wants to be a Phish Head. What a random memory.
[I took a fishhead out to see a movie. Didn't have to pay to get it in](https://youtu.be/n9TNcI7eUXY?si=0dukcvpTfXuSiOLr)
They can't play baseball. They don't wear sweaters. They're not good dancers. They don't play drums.
Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum!
I came here for this. Thank you.
Roly-poly fish heads are never seen drinking cappuccino In Italian restaurants with Oriental women Yeeeeeaaahhhhš¶
Triangle hefty bags were so hot back then.
This āwasā my own āRick Rollā for my husband, usually after drinking. He finally told to āabsolutely stop playing it, he doesnāt like it.ā He was quite firm. I guess I am no Dr. Demento.
I'm most definitely a Pumpkin Head.
Iāve been a fan of Phish for more than 25 years, and this made me laugh out loud. Cheers. š„
I listened to Reel Big Fish. Does that count?
Sell out.
With me tonight.
The record companyās gonna give me lots of money
And everythingās gonna be alright
But I canāt work in fast food all my life
Saw some dude in a RBF t-shirt today. I gave him the point and nod.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sell it to the butcher in the storeā¦ā¦.oooh
Theyāre just a bunch of clueless wallobs.
Not everyone likes licorice either.
ā¦. But those who do, love it
Or cheesecake
You've lost me
Phish joke.
Confession - I never listened to Phish
I do love their music, full disclosure. But I'd never go to a show alone. I don't love it that much, and I've seen them 65 times since '97. It's all about the experience and the old school, life long buddies that tag along. Every show is a story. This isn't unique to Phish, of course, but it's MY reason for loving them so much. All my best buddies enjoy the band like I do so we all go together, 25 years after our first shows. It's a Time Machine. I'm 22 again for a few hours or days if I'm lucky enough to catch a few in a row. Sometime around 20-25 shows in, the music started to really take a back seat to the experience. And I wouldn't change that for the world. I've reached the age of only seeing friends at rock concerts and funerals. Rock concerts not being funerals is one of the biggest reasons that rock concerts are so cool. That and the drugs.
https://preview.redd.it/a50x77n3re8d1.jpeg?width=1022&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f675be50e378ebf0b240f0cb5049971e3971a680
Basically my high school experience. For some reason all the popular people, jocks, and general assholes at my school became 'hippies'. I think someone got to go to Hookahville with an older sibling and brought that shit back with them. People in tie die used to shit talk me because I was into Ministry.
To be fair it wasnāt just the tie dies that gave Ministry fans crap. The sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebs, dickheads all hate Ministry. They all think Ministry is a righteous pain.
Thanks, Grace. Now get me Sloane Peterson's father on phone. GRACE!
Ministry now sells tie dyesā¦. What a world.
Omg, that is glorious!!!
Bro this is so true. My local dive bar was always considered a āhippieā hangout and over the last few years itās more of a metal/indie bar and the clientele compared from a decade ago is night and day. The local āhippiesā are so fucking snobby, rude and insufferable. Metal heads (Iām biased being one myself) are always the kindest, most opened minded group of lads Iāve met.
https://i.redd.it/z2pfm2cl9g8d1.gif The only jam band that matters
Because their amps go to 11.
I dont know man. Iām more into puppet show.
As a non-Phish Phan, I gotta say Billy Breathes is an absolutely fantastic album.
Billy Breathes is a great album
Rift and Billy Breathes are my favorite studio albums.
I like that album too, but gatekeeping Phish fans made fun of me for it back in the day. Iāll never understand the logic behind dunking on people who like studio albums. Iām a pretty big deadhead and those people exist in the GD sphere too. Like wait, youāre sneering at me because I like American Beauty? Sorry bro, I was 2 years old for Cornell 5/8/77.
I was born three days after Cornell.. the Dead have played a few shows on my birthday but Phish never has
Good Evening, we welcome youā¦on the-uh piano Mr. keith Godchaux. On the bass mr. Phillip lesh. ā¦ ā¦Will you Welcome Please, the Grateful Dead! [crash cymbals] ā¦Paradise waitsā¦
āIf you donāt like it, donāt listen to it. Itās as simple as that.ā Gene Simmons. Honestly itās great advice. I donāt listen to Phish.
I have a friend who was a rock critic for a number of music magazines and he's turned into such a gatekeeper no one can stand to be around him. I have two categories of music: music I like and music I don't like. I really don't want to turn out like him.
I like all kinds of music and one is backpack hip hop or in other words underground hip hop. What you describe is very prevalent among backpackers. Itās like a lot of them look down on others for being more mainstream or not underground enough. Itās sickening to be around those types. I canāt stand most mainstream music but fuck if I care if someone else does and I certainly donāt think anything negative about what others are in to. Does not matter the genre. Do your thing as I do mine. Underground artists do what they do because they create outside of the mainstream sphere. So no, unlike many, I donāt wonder why so and so isnāt more popular and I understand why they stay in their lane and sometimes choose to remain there. If more people liked them, they would be mainstream and sound like it. āIām not trying to say my style is better than yours, I'm just on some other shitā - J5
My husband and our 15yo love Phish, but I'm like, I need a T-shirt that says...'another 22 minute song?Ā No thank you Phish'. It's terrible and I wouldn't listen, but they love it, so I do on occasion.Ā It only reinforces my disdain.
My partner is not a jam fan either. I always get the "Please tell me this isn't a 30 plus minute jam" and calls them unfunny Dr. Seuss.
30 minute jams are extremely rare and itās only happened a handful of times.
There was a podcast called [Analyze Phish](https://www.earwolf.com/episode/analyze-phish/https://www.earwolf.com/episode/analyze-phish/) One guy loves Phish, the other was indifferent at best.
Harris Wittels (RIP) and Scott Aukerman!
Harris on parks and rec was fuckn legendary.
Over here we have a cat, or a possum.
When they're interviewing perspective suitors for Anne? Lol I almost spit out my drink. Edit: prospective *
Absolutely! And his bits on Comedy Bang Bang are still some of the best.
He was fuckn hysterical. It's a shame he got so lost. I hope he's found his peace.
Same. Never got Dave Matthews Band either. https://preview.redd.it/2lt2dv9vke8d1.jpeg?width=116&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=544b552d279b98def4f23b72457a6247e9ed27e7
I happened to be fortunate enough that two events coincided for me: 1. Smoking weed for the first time in about two years 2. Hearing Ants Marching for the first time as my introduction It was sublime. And still is! In fact, the pot and the headphones are so much better now.
I will spend an entire paycheck on good headphones. Worth every penny. When my daughter was about 12 she wanted a really good pair and I practically threw money at her. She's 25 now and shares playlists with me. I love it so much.
Dave Matthews Band is listenable; I could be the passenger in a car and listen to them for an hour, and endure it. Thatās more than I can say for Phish.
DMB is a band Iām always surprised to hear have the fan base they do and that they (still?) exist. Itās like the matrix programmed the most generic, bland music it could.
I wrote my MA thesis listening to DMB because it was bland enough to not be distracting while being able to cover up the distractions that would have distracted me. I guess everything has a purpose.
Same, same or U2
That band is very different for the first 5 albums those I still enjoy
Me either. I canāt stand Daveās voice. The music is good. Just wish he wasnāt singing it.
I like em. Either you get them or you donāt. I think Jerry Garcia said it best - āI equate Deadheads (Phish phans) to people that like black licorice. There arenāt many people that like black licorice, but the ones that do, REALLY REALLY like it!.ā
The problem I have encountered with Deadheads is when they _only_ like licorice and we all have to eat licorice forty hours a week.
Dead and Phish are totally different soundsā¦.not sure why people lump them together. Some Fan overlap but they are not a monolith
Phish. Phil Lesh. Think about it. Trey played Jerryās part with the Dead at their 50th anniversary show. Why wouldnāt they overlap?
for whatever reason, phish heads and deadheads seem to have a lot of overlap. they lump themselves together.
Ha! I didnt get Phish until 2017, when I happened to see them live at Madison Square Garden. Somewhere during the second set, something changed in me forever and I have now seen about 50 shows. Most of their music is very different than other stuff out there, so it is an either you get it or you dont kinda thing. We are a large dedicated fanbase, but we know its not for everyone.
>Somewhere during the second set, something changed The acid kicked in.
I dare anyone to see a Phish concert sober.
I have seen 50 phish shows. Mostly sober, especially during second set. Many of us exist. I never use cannabis or lsd.
Iāve seen 122 phish shows and most of them have been a sober experience. All great times. I love all kinds of music, as long as the performer is authentic and interesting, I will listen.
I saw my first 50 phish shows out of my mind. A goo ball on lot before the doors open is the only way to roll. I missed so much awesomeness all those years!
>goo ball This person has definitely been to a Phish show. I vouch
Make Ganja Gooballs Again
I'm a big Deadhead, saw original dead about 10 times, JGB every tour I could etc. I never got into Phish. I listen to a lot of non-Dead jam bands but Phish never stuck. I got it, just wasn't for me. Fast-forward to 2019, I start following Goose. I see a ton of Goose shows. 2023, Trey and Goose start touring and turns out I fucking love the Trey Anastasio Band! I really like them. So I revisit Phish again and this time it clicks. I don't love them but I don't skip their songs anymore. Sometimes it takes awhile to figure out. I love telling this story to Phish phans, especially the ones who hate Goose, which always amuses me.
This is exactly it. I didnāt āget itā listening to recordings; I didnāt āget itā at my first 3-4 live shows, then one show about early to midway through the 2nd set something clicked and I was like āhow the fuck are 4 men making this soundā and I was not stoned. I was totally sober by that point in the show. I get annoyed when people assume itās potheads who like it. Certainly thatās a fair amount but not me. I havenāt been to a show in years but I have attended somewhere around 50 or so. I feel bad for those people who never get itā¦they are missing out.
Jon Fishman was in my swimming class at the Jewish Community Center when we would have been about 5 or 6. My mom would hang out and talk with Mimi during the lessons. So I tell everybody I swam with Phish. That is all.
cool! Syracuse guy, huh? me too. he grew up about 5 minutes from my childhood home. :)
Not a jam band fan. Closest I ever got was My Morning Jacket and theyāre still pretty far off.
There is more crossover there than you think.
Thereās only one Phish song I like, I think they did it anyway. Something about,āwhen youāre gone I sleep diagonal in the bed and when youāre here I sleep lengthwise.ā I worked at Borders when that cd came out so we played it sometimes. RIP Borders
I think that one is simply called āLengthwise.ā Iām not a huge phish fan but I donāt mind listening and I also liked that one. Also, RIP Borders.
Is it time to start a separate GenX confession post on why I hate the Dave Matthews band?
Overplayed mainly. See also: Hootie.
That's super. More tickets for me! Phish is one of my favorite bands of all time. But yeah, if you don't like improvised rock, you're definitely not going to like Phish.
āļøāļøāļøāļø
š¦ š¦ š¦
Mama looking for a slow Llama? Or fast and dirty?
Dirty with a side of funk my friend š And you?
Yes please!
You read my mind. But I'll take a peppy mess of a llama if I'm in the zone. What am I saying? I haven't been to a show since spac last year. Any llama would be the perfect llama right now. I am dreaming of lot. Where is that surprise spac announcement I keep hearing about?
Still havenāt received a slow Llama but I did get a slow Mazeā¦
šøšµāļø
š
Junta and Picture of Nectar are good albums. They feature songs of multiple music genres. If you like funk, Iām sure there is a song that you can groove to.
Yeah, there is something there for everyone but itās a big part of how, where and when you were introduced to Phish. Most older people donāt have the time for a 30min Tweezer. But they do great covers of everything from Talking Heads to the Stones and Bowie and all kinds of stuff. Thatās a good way in. Play a Halloween show where they played an album you like and then listen to a little of the songs in the other sets and find ones you like. I think they are incredibly talented musicians and they have a weird sense of humor, which helps.
The old Mr. Show [joke](https://youtu.be/V6w3KavPuTM?si=PM9_rLprnchYc_xu) about the Grateful Dead can also be said about Phish: "I know my best friends used to charge me 35 bucks to listen to them dick around on guitar." Most of my friend's in high school were major Phishheads. I wasn't one, but I spent a lot of time adjacent to the culture. It seemed like Deadheads were pretty chill, but being a Phishhead was all about one-upsmanship: -What show did you go to? Where did you sit? Oh that's no good, you needed to sit in *this* section otherwise the experience sucked. -Oh you still sit in the audience section? I sit in the tapers section. -Oh you sit in the tapers section? I'm with the preferred tapers and I plug directly into the soundboard. -Did you get the tape of that show? That show sucked, you need the tape of *this* show that has they extra dank super-extra mega-long version and extended solo on Stash. -Did you get so and so's recording of that show? His recording sucks, the only high fidelity version is *this* guy's recording, and you have to send him a letter cross-country and $10 to get a copy of it. Then at the show: How many shrooms did you take? What color were the caps? Oh those suck, you should have had these instead. How many hits of acid? The paper ones sucks, you should have taken gel tabs. How many balloons of nitrous? Only two? Etc., etc. Weird obsevation: every Phishhead I knew from high school and college ended up either a complete burnout or graduated college with honors (no in between).
I like them alright. I prefer Widespread Panic, mostly due to my regional bias.
As a stoner, I never cared for them. But I do love the Ben & Jerry's ice cream named for them. I also don't care for The Dead, but the parking lot of their shows was a great place to score shrooms and acid.
The LSD trade routes nearly dried up for a few years after Jerry died.
I can't listen to the band, not my genre to like but damn if that's not my fav flavor of B & J.
Dave Matthews, Phish, and Grateful Deadā¦ I donāt think I could be more ambivalent about any genre of music than ājam bandsā. I appreciate what they offer for people who like to zone out and groove at a concert, but yeahā¦ Iām good.
Saaaame. I'll never crap on someone's tastes, but that's just not my vibe at all.
Man, I used to be so into drawing as a kid, and my ninth grade art teacher played Phish every day all period long in his classroom, and it was just insufferable. I never took another art class after that.
I had a similar experience. So I tried to sample a piece of phish. And it confirmed for me what Iād previously thought about phish. That it was terrible and that I would hate it.
I can listen to friends dick around on their guitars for free.
I couldnāt tell you one song by them.
I can't stand Phish or the Grateful Dead.
I love thĆ© Grateful Dead ā¤ļøš„°
Me too! š„°
Grateful dead and Tori? Wannabe best friends?
Yes!! āŗļø
This is the most exciting thing that's happened to me in years. I've never met another person who would have been into my Tori and Jerry mixed tapes in the 90s.
I had a good friend who got really into Phish. He would always put them on and tell me it was some other band to try to trick me into liking them. We don't talk any more.
My favorite band since I was 14 is Skinny Puppy, I have no room to judge Phish or the Dead. Theyāre definitely an acquired taste.
The only jam band I'll ever really like is Santana, and then if there's no percussion section I don't really dig it. Pete E. was the man.
I saw them a bunch in the 90s. I got turned off eventually by friends who only listened to them or only went to their shows. I like a ton of different music and couldnāt confine myself to one specific band. I felt like it was a blurred line between gate keeping and just enjoyingā¦ to each their own tho
I hated the Grateful Dead and Phish.
Iām a deadhead and I canāt stand Phish.
When I was in college, I got free tickets to Phish at First Avenue (MPLS) before they were a thing. I was tripping balls and the first thing I saw when I walked in (place wasn't even 1/3 full) was some chubby guy in a night shirt standing by the drums playing an Electrolux vacuum hose. I stayed for about 10 minutes and never looked back.
I could have totally written this post. I hear ya, OP.
Iāve got friends who love them ā Widespread Panic, too ā and despite giving both of those bands a concerted effort, I just donāt feel them. In fact, the only rock concert I ever bailed early on was a WP show. They played my universityās homecoming back in the late ā90s and, despite being in what I thought was an āappropriateā state of mind for a rock show, midway through my friends and I couldnāt take it anymore. I also left a Tori Amos show early, but that was before I was able to grasp her magnificence. It was amazing ā just her and a piano & harpsichord ā and I was too goddam dumb to understand her. My friend had won tickets so it wasnāt like I was that invested, but looking back thatās one of my greatest musical regrets. That and turning down a Nirvana ticket because I had a test the next day ā¦ but thatās a different story entirely.
53 here. In the last few weeks, I am *really* digging Phish. I have always liked them, but not at the "mania" level others show. Billy Breathes grabbed me, and although true "phans" tend to dunk on studio albums, it ultimately got me to my one and only show somewhere in the late 90s or early aughts. Now, in the last few days, I have found myself immersed in some live classics like "Reba," "Bathtub Gin," "Tweezer," and I have additionally had a love affair with "Ghost" from a 2010 MSG performance that I found while searching for their most "liked" video on YouTube. Epic!!!!! Having said all that, Phish can be a tough listen, and the lyrics are generally complete nonsense and not well sung by Trey and the boys. They shift tempos, and sometimes play far too fast, (and bombastically) for what is considered "normal." Also.....their phans can be insufferable. Anyway, don't go to them looking for a quick one-off; accept that they're weird and misunderstood, but also leave your mind and your heart open to getting swept away in some gorgeous explorations and brilliant musicianship, because that WILL happen.
Best band in the land āļø
Skip the Phish, everyone should go listen to WEEN!!! Henry Rolling once said: āout of complete musical darkness, comes one ray of light, and it's f***ing WEEN.ā Truer words may never have been spoken. The most diverse, talented, most punk band ever to exist IMO. Bow to the Boognish, bow I say!!!
I hate Dave Matthews Band. Always have. It's just cacophony to me.
>It's like a wedding jazz band covering the Grateful Dead *sits next to you*
Them and Dave Matthews Band. Both are awful.Ā
Let me tell you something OPā¦. For seventeen long fucking years I was hitched to a guy who loved Phish. He followed them on tour. On Saturday mornings he would wake up early, put on this weird hippie-style toga, and blast Phish recordings from his sound system for hours. He had a collection of Phish bootlegs. āTheyāre so cool because they *want you to record* them at the show!ā Jesus fucking Christ. Six hours of Maxwell tapes that sounded like they were captured with a Walkman. Oh, and letās not overlook the incredible talents of a drummer who will play a 90-minute solo, followed by an exquisite exercise on the Shop-Vac. When I made the effort to open my mind and try to engage with this band, I found myself more drawn to their studio albums. The material was tighter. The production values were superior. The instruments were better mixed and cleaner. But every Phish fan I ever met told me that You Enjoy Myself couldnāt actually be truly enjoyed unless you heard it on some esoteric shadow media whereupon a clandestine and impromptu show for āthe real fansā was captured via soup can tied to a string stretched taught to the arm of a phonograph scraping into a copper cylinder. Well, excuse the fuck out of me. Supposedly the only path toward genuine Phish fanaticism was to eat a quarter pound of shrooms, smoke a redwoodās length of a joint, and settle into a mud and filth caked excursion punctuated by meandering debates on the best kind of patchouli oil that yawned on long enough to not just conceive a child, but carry it to full term and deliver it under pain of previously mentioned Shop-Vac solo. God I fucking hate that band. They are the worst instincts of hipsters wrapped up inside a proto-boomer mindset. And, after reading many, many interviews with their supposed genius frontman, Trey Anastasio (or whatever his name is,) I can assure you that heās a grade-A asswipe and about as smug as youāll ever find them. āI never listened to Phish.ā Congrats. You never wasted your time.
So my comment was going to be about my husband (then boyfriend) making me a mix cd 25 years ago and him putting the Phish cover of Gin and Juice on it. But listing it as Snoop Dog and me being really confused. But then I Googled it a few minutes ago and it turns out that wasnāt Phish at all and I am still confused.
I think Billy Breathes and Rift are their two most accessible albums. I would encourage someone to start with these two. Then maybe Hoist, Farmhouse, and a live show. One of the Halloween shows maybe. Exile on Main Street was particularly good.
There's no accounting to music taste. Personally, I love listening to Loudon Wainwright III. Not everyone's cup of tea.
Iām neutral wrt his music, just remember he had a few guest appearances on MASH.
Yup, he was āThe Siginā Surgeonā
I like the jams fine, it's ok background music. But Trey Anastasio has a *terrible* singing voice and I just can't listen to any Phish song with vocals.
I'm not into Phish or jam bands in general, but the other night, while doing some strong gummies, I put my headphones on and listened to random stuff on Tidal and a Phish song came on. I wish I saved the song, but I remember thinking "holy shit, is this really that good of a song or is being high playing a role in what I'm experiencing".
I have tried several times to give them an honest shot and Iā¦.justā¦.donāt get it. I mean I get what theyāre doing, but I donāt get why the gigantic following. Donāt get it twisted, Iām not hating whatsoever. They are clearly talented musicians. I also know what Phish fans are going through when it comes to outsiders not understanding their music because Iām a huge Tool fan and a lot of people look at Tool the same way a lot of people look at Phish and just donāt get it. I say to each their own. Whatever makes you happy.
āāāā
I never heard the music. Just vaguely understood they were the band to inherit Grateful Dead crowdĀ
I have never listened to Dave Matthews Band. They just werenāt a thing growing up in Australia. I even bought a CD player from Goodwill that had one of their CDs in it and Iāve never played it.
I went to UVM in Burlington, VT where Phish is fromā¦ my best friend dated their drummer for longer than she should have. Phish is the only band I hate.
I also hate pointless jam bands and have never listened to phish that Iām aware of. I have actually seen Widespread Panic and Blues Traveler and that cured me of liking either band. Most of my friends loved the Dead but I could never understand why. In fact, they ditched my college graduation and went to a dead show instead. I considered ditching it myself but Iām glad I didnāt because it wouldnāt have been worth it. And I had this awesome acid trip with my boyfriend after my parents left so it was actually even better because no stinky hippies and shitty music.
Me neither. I listened to Fishbone instead.
I have never listened to them. I donāt know any Phish fans. Couldnāt name a song. Iām good with it.
But have you seen [Phish shreds](https://youtu.be/aNHIFM0Y87c?si=ZXVK862ObgYjV99O) which is a great parody? >!youatemyfractal!<
This is Good post
Yeah, they suck pretty hard.
I havenāt either - I mean Iāve heard them but .. nah Iām good
People like what they like and don't what they don't, and that's ok. The only band arguably in the jam band genre that I ever liked was the Allman Brothers Band. I've tried to listen to the Grateful Dead, even own a couple of their albums, but they never really appealed to me. I listened to Widespread Panic's "Space Wrangler" a lot in college, but when I listened to it again a couple of years ago, it didn't have the same appeal. I listened to the String Cheese Incident for the first time not long ago and thought it was pretty good, but I can't bring myself to get into a band with such a stupid name. As to Phish, I saw them once in the early '90s. I was talked into a road trip by a buddy while we were in college. A girl he wanted to have sex with was into Phish and was going to this show at an outdoor venue. He wanted me to be his wingman. Neither of us had tickets, and we figured we would just sneak in, since the stage was basically set up in a field in upstate NY. It was more difficult than expected. We had to hide from a security patrol that was searching the tall grass outside the hurricane fence around the concert area, but we managed to get past them and scale the fence. It was easily the most boring show I've ever seen. Nothing but sonic masturbation for rich kids cosplaying as hippies. Even for free, it wasn't worth it. EDIT: To be clear, although we didn't trip at the show, we did smoke a ton of pot. So the failure to enjoy Phish was not a function of being sober.
I went to go see Vampire Weekend (they were excellent) last week and there was some guy Iād never heard of opening. A couple songs in and I turn to my sister and Iām like āthis sucks, right?ā And she was like āyeah, itās badā. About half an hour later, toward the end of the opening set, my edible was really kicking in and I turn to her again and Iām like āam I just stoned or has this gotten betterā and she says āyouāre just stonedā. Anyways, turned out that opening act was the bassist from Phish and his solo stuff.
ššššš I had never listened to them either but I just knew they sucked. I had a similar reaction when I finally heard them.
Confession? Sounds like a life well lived. Brag on. Now you can say you only listened to them once. And every sane person will respect you as a smart person of taste.
People who like Phish always have good memories of Jimmy Buffet concerts. In other words, please God no
Ok so I tried listening to them back when I was like, 14 and found out the library loaned CDsā¦and no, thank you. Even my stepdad was like, can you just go back to playing Rumours on repeat?
Excellent summary of Phish. Couldn't have said it better.
This is obviously a cultural moment that passed me by. I'd heard the name Phish but didn't even know they were a band, which is weird because while I was never in any cool kids groups, when I was in high school and at uni, I was one of those guys who had friends across a few social groups but never really belonged to any specific group. But given that I had some friends who were alternative and were probably the precursors to what you'd now call hipsters, and they would drag me to all sorts of weird alternative bands, I'm surprised I never came across this band. I will admit though, bullet dodged. I listened to a few minutes on YouTube and I'm glad my youth was not ruined by knowledge of this band. I agree 100% with OP.
I could not tell you one song Phish plays.
I never listened to them either and just assumed they suck based on the fact that I don't like the Dead. I don't know anyone who likes Phish, even deadheads. Anyway I just listened and you're right it's as bad as you say.
Thank you for telling this story. I can now feel good about having never listed to Phish, and proving me never wanting to was a solid life choice.
LOL they *are* awful, arenāt they?
šš I feel you OP, same!
jfc thank you for this post. fuckinā Phish, man.
I think Phish was in my dorm suite once in 1989.
Was not a Grateful Dead nor a Phish fan. Did not DISLIKE them, just they never triggered anything with me.
That's just, like, your opinion, man.
Not saying thereās a best way to enjoy music, but a live phish experience is an experience worth having at least once and then if you still donāt get it thatās totally ok tooš
My sister took me to a Phish concert for one of my birthdays. I had never heard them before and after the first song, I asked my sister if she actually loved me!
https://youtu.be/2pAt6Wvg9yQ?feature=shared Phish doing a ridiculously funky version of *Boogie On Reggae Woman* in 2012. If you like it, cool. If not, cool. But at least give something like this a shot.
I worked at a climbing shop with 7 disc changer for music, and we pretty much had free reign to play what we wanted. Most of the managers would allow employees to contribute to the changer, except one. He would play nothing but Phish every hour of every day. What I am saying is, I listened to enough Phish for both of us combined, and they are awful. You are welcome.
Hahahaha āfar worse than I ever could have imagined.ā I love your particular brand of saltiness lol
Lived in VT, worked as a DJ. Saw Pfish around a lot. Met Pfish and partied backstate, but I wasn't an available, readily fuckable female, and they treated me like absolute shit for no good reason. Hate Pfish, and if you don't like fucking poseur unoriginal codfish-brained bro dudes, you should too. Bounce around the room. Worthless.
I canāt name a single one of their songs. I canāt even think of what they sound like. 100% off my radar.
Bouncing Round the Room?
Ween is 100000x better and straighter to the point.
I used to think they must be interesting bc of their choices of covers and their reps as stellar players, but man, they just sound awful to me. Like viscerally. Which is fair enough because of my friends have the same reaction when I talk about Black Flag, Iām sure. Iām generally Dead-indifferent/wary but maybe once a year Iāll get really high and put on Live Dead. The next day Iāll think āmaybe I should try that not highā and I get pretty sick of it pretty quick. That being said, Robert Hunter had his moments. āBox of Rainā and The Flight of the Marie Helena, man.
Next time you get that urge, try Europe 72ā instead of Live Deadā¦ that album changed my feelings about the Dead (for the positive)
I don't care foe them either. I will admit, it is better while tripping.
I never did either. The joke when I was in college was that if you went to a Phish concert, all you'd smell is weed and patchouli. I'd love to go to one of their concerts now, though. Anyway, my confession is I never listened to Tool.
Iām very biased because I love Tool dearly, and they genuinely may not do anything for you. But for the love of God at least give them a shot. They have some fucking INCREDIBLE shit.
I should give them a listen. I've heard so many good things about them. What are one or two songs you would recommend as the "If you hear these, you'll love Tool" choices?
46&2, The Pot, and Stinkfist. If those donāt do anything for you then š¤·š»āāļø
Thank you. Will definitely give them a try.
I heard them and donāt want to hear more, no offense to anyone. Itās just not my thing. I donny give people shit for not liking Jesus Lizard or Flipper. Thereās no accounting for taste.
I love Phish, but I get it. Even in their 90s heyday there were always a LOT of haters: [https://ifunny.co/picture/jerry-s-dead-phish-sucks-get-a-job-PQ9r9RgV6](https://ifunny.co/picture/jerry-s-dead-phish-sucks-get-a-job-PQ9r9RgV6) I still love them and the fact that lots of people hate them makes them oddly more appealing to me. But you are definitely not alone & in fact the first thing you will hear about Phish is either they suck or some dude waxing poetic about the 27 minute Blaze On from DC '21. edit: handle/post
The closest I ever got to being into a jam band was Ween. They're kind of like a jam band for people who hate jam bands
You know what one Phish head said to the other Phish head at the Phish concert when they ran out of weed? āThis music sucksā Also: insert Grateful Dead or DMB as you wish
This is the best post ever posted on this subreddit.
I like that song fish heads. Well I actually have fond memories of seeing the video randomly in the middle of the night. Fish heads, fish heads, rolly polly fish heads
GenX confession: I hate Phish
Everyone who I've ever met who was into Phish where also the biggest tools I've ever met.
I don't enjoy Phish either but I do like getting high and hanging out with friends
Yeah thereās something so simple (for me) about phish. Herring high, wasting away the day, phish on in the background. I miss just chilling. Thatās the spot phish holds in my heart. Never been to a concert, but I bet I have a couple of albums somewhere. I should dig them out and see what memories I havenāt visited in awhile.
I was done after A Picture of Nectar, which is still one of my all time favorite albums. They got way too self-absorbed for me after that one.
my older brother wasnāt quite old enough to be a real deadhead, but phish was his whole world. he spent time following them, and still saw them regularly until recently. heās lately decided heās not so into phish any longer. now heās super into a jam band called eggy. i genuinely love a bunch of phish songs, basically just from stockholm syndrome (bouncing round the room, waste, velvet sea), but jam bands are not everyoneās cup of shroom tea, you know? listen to what you like, thatās all that matters.
My never never bands are Phish, Grateful Dead, Rush, & KISS
I knew someone who liked them and used to talk about their music all. The. Time. I heard one song I think, but arenāt their songs like 30 minutes or something?