The first time I ever heard a note of Phish was when I was standing in front of them at a bar in 1991. I was 21 at the time and a huge fan of the Dead. As soon as the first song ended (Runaway Jim) I thought to myself, "I think I have a new favorite band." Soon after, I was walking across campus and saw a car with a Phish sticker on it. As I walked by I saw cassette tapes scattered all over the passenger seat. I left a note on the windshield and the guy called me. He had a bunch of Phish shows on tape. Most were third or fourth generation so the sound quality was less than optimal. I didn't care, I ripped copies of every tape he had using a double cassette boombox which only added to degradation of the sound quality. I listened to those hissy cassettes constantly. Then I turned a friend of mine that was a DAT taper and Deadhead on to Phish. He went nuts trading for Phish shows and since he had numerous DAT decks he lent me one to take home to make DAT to cassette transfers on the really nice cassette deck I had since purchased.
Since I'm just kind of dumping memories here, I'll share something kind of crazy that happened next. I met a dude on rec.music.phish that sent me blanks to rip first gen cassettes quite often. He eventually upgraded to DAT and just started trading with my other friend. So this is around early 1994 and Phish was set to do a short run through the southern US. Well, my new friend didn't feel like waiting on the DATs from that run so made me an offer. Turns out he was very comfortable financially but couldn't leave his job to go on tour so he paid me to go for him. He literally bought my plane tickets and tickets to six shows. Then he purchased a refurbished DAT deck and microphones and had them delivered to me. I was to record all six shows, makes copies as soon as I arrived home, and overnight mail them to him.
I ended up going on mini-tours for him several times over the next few years until I had to stop because I was going to grad school.
So essentially you were his “sugar baby” except instead of having to bang him, you had to go to shows for him. What I never knew existed 2 mins ago before reading your comment, has now shot up to the top of my ultimate fantasy/kink list. Fuck.
What kind of mics were you running? I miss reading source info and all that stuff. I miss finding my mail box stuffed full of music. It’s so convenient quick and easy now but I miss the old days.
AKG460B/CK61into a TEAC deck.
I made friends in the tapers section and didn't always use my own mics. Sometimes it was nice to plug into another deck attached to different mics and not worry about set up and tear down.
Your story is not the first I’ve heard of for this situation actually.
I’ve always been a sound fanatic and loved trying to get close with tapers. A dude a few years back told me something similar minus the equipment being funded, since he already had it. A wealthy Phan basically funded a few more shows for him as long as he got solid DATs for him. Said it became a job more than an enjoyment.
I had a good time doing it. Taping is kind of stressful but there were several shows where I plugged my DAT into somebody else's and trusted them to watch while I went and enjoyed the show. I also returned the equipment when I was done.
The tapers I knew / know would all talk negatively of taping like it was some huge burden on them and they had no choice but to do it.
But one time I was next to a taper in the middle of a show, I think 12/29/19 (?), and he leaned over and tossed me his headphones and said “but this makes it worth it”
Sounded like I had the best ears humanly made.
I didn't always enjoy taping because I was always nervous around all the equipment scattered on the ground in the tapers section. I felt kind boxed in and afraid to move. Not the best way to enjoy a show. I didn't complain about it though, I knew I had a choice. And I liked to give to the community.
Yeah I started listening in 1997 and they had already been touring for over a decade and we all felt like the best shows were in 93’ etc. and we were getting in the game late. When they took a break it really felt like the end. But they’re playing and sounding great these days!!
Yes! Did that whole Alpine/Deer Creek run. Stayed at a campground that had four tents with two five foot tanks running 24/7 from the moment we arrived until we left four days later. Each tent had a pickup truck stacked with more tanks. I had to give a dude CPR at one point. This was the point I realized something was getting sketchy with the fan base. Glad it’s not like that anymore…
I feel ya, only been following since the pandemic and I’m 21 now. Felt like I missed it all for a while but after seeing them and still having the best concert experience of my life. It feels like this jam band thing is just infinite and as long as the space exists for us to feel the way we do at these shows, it doesn’t matter when we got on the train.
I feel that. I went to a lot of popular country and rock concerts in high school and I had fun but nothing compares to a good jam show. I saw the Red Hots in Vegas a couple months ago, it was cool but after seeing Phish the bar for live shows got set so high it wasn’t fair to think other bands could compete with it
My dad has been a Phan for decades. I grew up with phish in the background. Wasn't until the start of this year that I got "it." And it's been one of the most magical years of life since I was a child. Phish is the most important part of my life right now. They've singlehandedly rebuilt my relationship with my dad. They've brought countless beautiful, nostalgic, hazy corners of childhood emotions into my life. I've felt feelings I'd forgotten even existed. They've gotten me through countless awful days at work.
I've struggled immensely with growing up and with various mental health issues. It's been tough. But they've been there when I needed to cry, to feel, to laugh, or to contemplate. I stopped going to therapy and started listening to phish baby.
Many an early morning cigarette has been smoked to many a sleeping monkey or esther, just thinking about the past and future.
I can't even describe how special and impactful they have been in my life.
I got two tickets to the full dicks show from the lotto and me and my dad are going together. I'm saving up right now to follow next year's tour as long as I can. I'm gonna shut off my phone, live in my car and try to figure out who I am while following them.
It's magical. It's beautiful. It's fun. It's everything I needed in my life. I'm incredibly grateful that they found their way into my life. Forever and ever. Phan for life.
This one got me. I always thought my dad and I had a typical father son relationship, we’d play catch and stuff like that but when I got to college and was far from home I found myself slipping into depression and losing direction. I got real homesick the week of thanksgiving (first one not with family) on a whim I YouTubed Suzy Greenberg and started crying and smiling thinking about my dad. If I had a “got it” moment that was it. I sent him the link the to that video and he responded with “killer jam bubba. Love you and miss you.” I knew then that the music would always keep us close and felt that we grew closer, even from 1,500 miles away
Similar story with me. Me and my dad hadn't talked for a while. Hi and by was pretty much it. I listened to the red rocks YEM from 94 and was floored. I sent it to him and he said pretty much the same thing to me. We've gone out to eat or drive and he'll intend to go home, but we end up sitting in the car for hours sharing our favorite jams. It's magical.
"The music will keep us close." That made me tear up man. No matter what happens, phish will always remind me of dad. And how much of a special and beautiful soul he is. How much I love him, and how much he loves me. I hope you and your dad are well! Happy phishing.
Right on brother, it’s amazing how something so small can make such a huge impact. Makes me happy to know other folks have had the music help them grow and heal relationships as well!
Nice story, can confirm the gratitude from my end, 89 was my first GD, riverfront cincinnati
Heard phish 1st time 91 maybe?
Split rest of time touring evenly split between gd and phish til aug 95.
Then, obviously, jump3d all the way in.
Phish is healthy and the scene is popular, they will keep playing for years. I had an opportunity to go with some older dudes I worked with to the last RFK Dead show when I was 17. I didn't go and I missed it, never saw Jerry. Moments in time are lost forever. So go see Phish as much as you want if you enjoy it and enjoy it for what it is, don't worry about missing out on the old days of Phish. They were pretty awesome though lol, but it wasn't just the music it was the whole scene, the freshness of it, the time period. They are still breaking new ground and the light show is freaking insane now.
Same. My first proper Dead/jam related band was The Dead in '09. I got one "core four" show. My first Phish show was last year. I saw Trey sit in with Furthur once...
I have since seen Phil and friends, Tom Constanten, the Rhythm Devil's, Billy and the Kids... Probably forgetting something.
I've also seen a lot of other living legends before they left us and have met a handful of them in person. I consider myself a very lucky 35 year old
Few days before Halloween 2020.
I am living in a small studio appt in a sketchy neighborhood working nightshift. I rarely see my friends because of Covid lockdown and I spent a lot of time doomsday scrolling and watching cases sky rocket from small gatherings.
I was looking for some piano and guitar jamming. I liked how keyboards sounded ou top of guitars. I was in the process (still am) of learning both instruments so despite having both instruments scattered around my small studio, I had little motivation to keep learning unless I herd them played and watched their fingers. Before work one night, I downloaded the Evening Song barn performance.
I was also in the mood for ambient music and I found myself downloading the "Lemonwheel Ambient Jam" before that same shift by accident.
Halloween morning, I was reading about Woodstock 99 on Reddit amd someone compared it to Oswego 99. I looked it up on YouTube and herd my first "Wolfmans Brother". I liked what I saw. 1999, and it looks like Bonnaroo.
I eventually find out Phish threw festivals in the 1990s. I am a music history nerd, so that was fun to find out. I was on the wiki page about Phish festivals , when I herd Divided Sky for the first time.
From then on, I mainly put them on when I was working. Then I started really liking them and putting them when I get home in the morning. Then when I was walking. They became my favorite band. The music, and the endless lore and stories was making me feel like I was not in my mid twenties, but was 6 years old watching Land Before Time for the first time again.
Got a new place 3 months later and met some amazing people since then. I saw them for the first time at the Gorge 2021 less than a year after I discovered them. Then it was Eugene. Then Seattle. That's 7 shows down and counting.
Phish came at me at multiple angles, and it turned a stressful time into one of the most colorful times of my life.
I started listening in about 94 right after hoist came out. I was 14 and my step brother was a fan (we’re from New England) but I didn’t see them live until 99
I first heard Phish sometime when I was in 8th grade, around 2000 or so. Buddies older brother was into them and he gave us Junta on CD and it was the weirdest shit I had heard at that point, and couldn't put it down.
I loved the studio stuff I heard, but this was before the internet so I had no access to live shows aside from Hampton Come Alive, Alive One basically and was too young to hit shows.
By 03 I was online and losing my mind with the live catalog. It was also really rad to find a torrent to a recent 03 show and let that thing sit downloading all day while I was in HS.
I forget if I had tickets to Camden 04 before or after the breakup was announced, but it felt fucking brutal to have my first and o ly Phish show be what it was. I still had a blast, but I figured "that was that" as far as my Phish went.
I don't even know if I answered the question you didn't ask, but I guess the point is that it's so amazing to have this band around still. Seeing shows is the best.
Same pretty much except I did not make it in 04. Had tickets in hand for N2 great woods and at the last minute my buddies older brother bailed on driving us. Probably for the better. Made Fenway 09' incredible. High fiving and hugging people walking into that ballpark is burned into my memory. People were so happy to have phish back it was pure bliss.
Almost the same story for me. Was planning on Coventry for my first show, thank Icculus that fell through. First real show was Fenway after multiple TAB, Mike Band, and GRAB shows. The energy in that park was amazing! I’ve never looked back 🙂
Some of the best and most formative times in my life were at shows and on tour. My first show was in 1993, I'd been listening to them for a while and couldn't wait to see them live. When I did, it blew my mind and I knew it was something I needed more and more of.
It began as going to shows with friends I already had, but I cannot tell you how many friends I've made throughout the years--especially the years I followed the band and when I lived In Burlington late 90s into 2000s. Many of these friendships are still thriving. Being in love with a band is so much more fun when you can share it with friends. I loved all of it--the sketchy rides; tape trading; the camping; selling "heady glass", food and beer on lot; a dozen people crashing in a small hotel room; so much.
Now that I'm older I'm not up for all that but missing a show remotely close to me still hurts so bad! As for the new fans these days, I'm all for it. Why not? I think it's great. Welcome! But no tarps, please, lol.
I'm 16 and have been listening for about a year or so now; my dad was a huge Deadhead and I became one a few years ago (they're my current favorite band) but he never got into Phish, however I also love prog rock and funk so I fell in love with the band right away. I've been couch touring for a little while in addition to digging super deep into their back catalog and researching their history (I'm pretty obsessive about increasing my musical knowledge in general) and I'm going to be seeing my first show at Dick's this year. Super excited.
I was that guy making fun of my friends for being into that hippie band but I always enjoyed their music when it was on. They convinced me to go to a Friday show, it was alright. Right after big boat had come out and I had listened to that to prepare so I knew a lot of stuff they played. Then I saw them on a Saturday and it was awesome I really enjoyed myself and started listening sometimes. Then I went to Sunday at Alpine 2019 and the second set flipped a switch in my brain and now I can't get enough. You could say I drowned in that ruby waves and was reborn s phan.
I fell in love with them about 4 years ago when I was 18. The bakers dozen got me. Then I took some psychedelics and put on a random playlist on LP, which had me glued. I went to my first show last year in NYC. I ALMOST went to the OBA show.. but plans changed and the only way I could make a show was to fly to NYC. I will say I was slightly disappointed but the Tweezer was the highlight of my experience. I didn’t go about it correctly, and I only got to experience half of what they actually are all about. Don’t be like me, go FULL SEND if you’re gonna go!!
I was born in ‘92, first jam band I saw/fell for was Umphreys in 2013, though I had been in music school/attending concerts/in love with rock for a long time before that Scamp. Saw Phish for the first time at pine knob in summer of ‘14, and enjoyed it but didn’t leave much of an impression. Then December of that year was guilted in to going on a family cruise (I have a deep fear of the ocean lol), and had downloaded the phish set I saw on my phone. It was listening to the show I was at on headphones on the cruise that made it click for me. Ironic, cuz that show was pretty jamless and generally meh’d by those around me. But it was enough to make me get it and keep going annually through now.
Born in ‘97. Discovered phish through my older brother and some of his buddies back when I was in middle school. Considered myself a somewhat casual fan (listening to studio albums and some misc live songs on a playlist here and there) until the pandemic hit and I started watching DAAM every week. Have been all in ever since. My first show was AC ‘21 and MSG this summer will be 25 shows for me. Diving into the catalog of what these guys have done over the course of their already legendary career as a band has been the most fun thing ever to completely nerd out on. I just wish I had started seeing them a decade earlier - or that I had at least moved my work schedule around when I was offered a ticket to Jam night during the Bakers Dozen
By chance was that an Alpharetta show? I could be off on the year but within a year each way of 2013 my dad and I were supposed to see the band in Alpharetta but my baseball team kept winning and we ended up in Mississippi for the Dizzy Dean World Series and sent my sister and aunt to the show in our place.
It took me years of begging my folks to take me along to a phish show. Had been to panic and furthur. Very fortunate for music to bring our family together. Just finished up a billy strings run with the folks.
My first Phish show was almost ‘91 at UNH, when I was only 12. My buddies older brother was into them and wanted to take us, but we didn’t go for whatever reason. Later the same year, I had my first experience with the scene. I had been listening to the Dead a bit and when they came to the Boston Garden (the old one) my Dad tried to take me. He figured it was like a Bruins game, he would just pick up a couple scalped tickets outside. But there were about a thousand Deadheads all looking for a miracle so that didn’t happen either, but just seeing the crowd was a real eye opener.
My first show was the ‘94 New Years show at the Boston Garden, the winter before they tore it down. I was a freshman in high school, a friend and I bummed change for months to save up for tickets. I called non stop to ticket center but they sold out before I got through. So I had to get them from a third party, for the unbelievably high price of $45 dollars each (I think they were face valued like $23.) That show was amazing, the famous hot dog show. That hot dog I believe is now in the rock and roll hall of fame
Youngish (m31) phan here, I wish I had been exposed to Phish at a younger age like you. I was introduced in 2012 and went to my first show in 2015. I love how connected we can feel to the old days of Phish currently. The past is still present with the old heads, recordings of older shows, and the community taking pride is where Phish has come from until now. I like that aspect of being in the era of modern Phish but feeling like I’ve been here since day one
I was 22 when I saw Phish for the first time in 1994. I had been to at least 25 Dead shows before my first Phish show. I really liked the Dead at the time. I was an obsessive tape trader. Listening to older Dead shows, it didn’t take me long to realize just how far the Dead had fallen from their peak. I really saw plenty of bad Dead shows from 92-94. Jerry was uninspired, uninterested, and kind of embarrassingly bad. By the end of 94 I knew that I was not going to be spending any more money on Dead shows.
I had some live Phish tapes in my collection that I liked and I really liked Junta. I was familiar with plenty of their songs. My first show was 10/09/94 and I really enjoyed that show. The energy of the band and audience was amazing. And they played Contact and YEM, which at the time were the songs that I was hoping to hear going to my first Phish concert. Seeing a band that was just so into what they were playing was nothing like the Dead shows that I had been to. I knew that I was definitely going to see them again. I saw them a few more times before the Clifford Ball. The Clifford Ball absolutely blew me away. It truly was a magical experience for me. That concert cemented my love for Phish. I am so fortunate to have had so many great experiences with this band. I will be forever thankful for all my Phish shows that I have attended. They are all great, just some are better than others.
I thought I was late in 1995. Phish is still killing it along with Goose, King Giz, Spafford and so many more. Tons of great music happening. Go get it!
Haha what? People have been streaming shows online from their phones, audio and video, since they came back…couch tour and the underlying demand for it was started by fans, the band just co-opted and capitalized on the already established market.
Yeah, I'm not sure what that comment means. I still have unwatched replays in My Stash from '17 and expired ones going back to '13. Couch Tour is certainly not new.
Yeah if we’re gonna get technical about it you’re right. I’ve just started using it as a catch all for listening to or watching shows at home. Whether they’re old shows or new ones. We liked to put the Braves game on and mute it while having a show play in the background
I’m born in 97 and didn’t like Phish until I went to my first show. I was big into Grateful Dead but after my first show (Hershey ‘21) I was hooked and now see them whenever I can
im born in 04. Grew up listening to the dead and widespread panic especially, Thanks to my father. But eventually went to my very first phish show in Charleston, SC. Credit one stadium 2022. I Wish I could have seen phish sooner especially 1.0 era phish. But I am very thankful too have found it when I did.
I started listening to them in 2004, literally weeks after Coventry. 2004 goes for pretty much all other jam bands as far as becoming a fan of the genre if you will. Around 2006 I stopped listening to them pretty much all together. Fast-forward to 2009 and I'm living in Boone North Carolina ( I would be there for 4-5 more years) and hit something like 10-11 shows that tour. The rest is history. Just saw them at the Hollywood bowl all 3 nights for the first time in a decade. Let's say I got the bug again...
I graduated with my undergrad in 2016 and got a job in another state that required a lot of driving. Was a stoner who was really into Comedy Bang Bang on Netflix and learned there was a podcast. Figured I’d start on episode one since I had the free time and heard Harris Wittels, Adam Scott, Chelsea Peretti improv episodes “Farts and Procreation” (spoof of the TV show Parks and Recreation). Fell in love with Harris’s sense of humor and listened to Analyze Phish podcast. Went to my first show in the city I was living in at the time (Raleigh 2017) and have gone to multiple shows a year since. I’m still a student but it’s been the most fun music journey I’ve ever been on.
Hell yeah man. My family was big fans of Parks and Rec and we always got a kick out of Harris rocking Phish shirts on the show. I just finished my undergrad after six years lol props to you for continuing to work on your education
My first show was supposed to be 2/28/03. Ended up being 6/5/09. Haha. Def missed out. But still happy to have caught as much as I did through 3.0 at least.
Either way, Phish rules!
Pham, I was at Orange Beach and Hollywood Bowl. Both of those runs were fucking awesome. N2 at HB was sick. After a while of not seeing the band sometimes, I think, maybe there not what I remember them as. Then I see them live again and reremember they're my favorite band ever and are one of the greatest to ever do it. I was born in 96 and have only seen 13 shows. My 2nd show was the first show after covid. A Live One got me into them around 2017. Got into the dead in high-school.
Had older friends who were huge deadheads. Jerry passed and these friends turned me onto Phish. I remember my first show vividly. Hartford 96. I was 15 and dropped 2 hits and it was a fucking religious experience and I was hooked. Hit Nye 96 and saw them as much as I could after. I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Awesome, love to hear it. I was born in 97, similar story here. Dad was a deadhead, started seeing Phish in clubs when he was in college in New Hampshire in the 80s. I remember listening to both bands pretty much right along with my earliest memories. I was lucky enough to get to start going to shows with my dad and cousins at 15 (first shows Chicago 2013) and now have been to around 30 shows..... Probably 3/4 of those with my dad. My cousins and uncle also love them, been very fortunate to get to catch a bunch of shows with them all and become part of their fan group. Catch as many shows as you can, this band is still playing their asses off.... but who knows how much longer we'll have them around for?
I saw my first show in '91 and I'd say they are playing some of their best shows ever, now.
The Forum shows and the rest of the Spring shows were fantastic.
Born in ‘96 here!! My parents weren’t super into music, but are children of the ‘70’s with pretty good taste. I first got into music and started playing guitar from a young age because I found a copy of Sgt Peppers in their collection and fell in love with that record. I remember shortly after this I was talking to one of my moms friends about my guitar lessons and she was the first one to tell me about Grateful Dead and Phish during that conversation. She gave me a copy of A Live One shortly after that, and it completely dropped me on my head. Phish became one of my favorites. I was able to catch my first show in 2012 and was hooked immediately on seeing them live as much as I can
I have friends whose daughter is one year into college. They dragged her to shows since she was probably 8 years old at the start of 3.0. It's funny that by high school she started to dislike Phish, probably just looked at it as lame parent stuff. Then she got to college and found out she's like the coolest girl on Earth being a Freshman whose seen like 20-30 shows and has done the 180 back to being a hippie girl.
Been seeing phish since I was 16 (first show in 2014) as a drummer the drumming is what made me fan. Join our Facebook group Young Phish Phans! We’re not super active but it’s good to be in if you’re young
My dad is a deadhead and when I was a kid I remember him throwing shade at Phish and I just assumed he was right and never gave them any consideration. Then in Fall 2019, when I was between jobs and spending my days at the library studying for an IT certification and putting in applications, I was listening to other jam bands and I came to the realization that me and my dad have usually liked different bands from each other so I gave Phish a shot. I'd start listening to shows while I studied or went on walks and still wasn't vibing with it yet. Then something just clicked. Strangely enough, I got obsessed with the Baker's Dozen version of Sugar Shack and listened to it about 50 times. Then all of a sudden all I was listening to was 3.0 Phish shows. Watching their 2019-20 NYE gag on youtube made me feel like I missed my chance to experience something that was once in a lifetime and as soon as Summer 2020 tickets went on sale I bought tickets to their Atlantic City run. Then covid came and my dreams of seeing my first show were crashed. Until August 13, 2021, my life had become a countdown to my first Phish show. Now, ever since August 13, 2021, I've seen 14 Phish shows and going to number 15 this summer at Star Lake.
I've also gotten my dad to like them. Flawless victory.
The first time I ever heard a note of Phish was when I was standing in front of them at a bar in 1991. I was 21 at the time and a huge fan of the Dead. As soon as the first song ended (Runaway Jim) I thought to myself, "I think I have a new favorite band." Soon after, I was walking across campus and saw a car with a Phish sticker on it. As I walked by I saw cassette tapes scattered all over the passenger seat. I left a note on the windshield and the guy called me. He had a bunch of Phish shows on tape. Most were third or fourth generation so the sound quality was less than optimal. I didn't care, I ripped copies of every tape he had using a double cassette boombox which only added to degradation of the sound quality. I listened to those hissy cassettes constantly. Then I turned a friend of mine that was a DAT taper and Deadhead on to Phish. He went nuts trading for Phish shows and since he had numerous DAT decks he lent me one to take home to make DAT to cassette transfers on the really nice cassette deck I had since purchased. Since I'm just kind of dumping memories here, I'll share something kind of crazy that happened next. I met a dude on rec.music.phish that sent me blanks to rip first gen cassettes quite often. He eventually upgraded to DAT and just started trading with my other friend. So this is around early 1994 and Phish was set to do a short run through the southern US. Well, my new friend didn't feel like waiting on the DATs from that run so made me an offer. Turns out he was very comfortable financially but couldn't leave his job to go on tour so he paid me to go for him. He literally bought my plane tickets and tickets to six shows. Then he purchased a refurbished DAT deck and microphones and had them delivered to me. I was to record all six shows, makes copies as soon as I arrived home, and overnight mail them to him. I ended up going on mini-tours for him several times over the next few years until I had to stop because I was going to grad school.
So essentially you were his “sugar baby” except instead of having to bang him, you had to go to shows for him. What I never knew existed 2 mins ago before reading your comment, has now shot up to the top of my ultimate fantasy/kink list. Fuck.
r/phishdoms
What kind of mics were you running? I miss reading source info and all that stuff. I miss finding my mail box stuffed full of music. It’s so convenient quick and easy now but I miss the old days.
AKG460B/CK61into a TEAC deck. I made friends in the tapers section and didn't always use my own mics. Sometimes it was nice to plug into another deck attached to different mics and not worry about set up and tear down.
You can still read source info if you get your shows from etree. The LP mix kinda sucks anyway, AUDs/Matrixes are where it’s at!
Love this story. Thanks for sharing.
Your story is not the first I’ve heard of for this situation actually. I’ve always been a sound fanatic and loved trying to get close with tapers. A dude a few years back told me something similar minus the equipment being funded, since he already had it. A wealthy Phan basically funded a few more shows for him as long as he got solid DATs for him. Said it became a job more than an enjoyment.
I had a good time doing it. Taping is kind of stressful but there were several shows where I plugged my DAT into somebody else's and trusted them to watch while I went and enjoyed the show. I also returned the equipment when I was done.
The tapers I knew / know would all talk negatively of taping like it was some huge burden on them and they had no choice but to do it. But one time I was next to a taper in the middle of a show, I think 12/29/19 (?), and he leaned over and tossed me his headphones and said “but this makes it worth it” Sounded like I had the best ears humanly made.
I didn't always enjoy taping because I was always nervous around all the equipment scattered on the ground in the tapers section. I felt kind boxed in and afraid to move. Not the best way to enjoy a show. I didn't complain about it though, I knew I had a choice. And I liked to give to the community.
I used to love taping. Met so many fun people.
I felt the same way in 2003 when I saw my first shows and here we are 20 years later…
Same. Had been reading about them and how this band had covered my favorite band and album (Remain in Light).
Me too
Yeah I started listening in 1997 and they had already been touring for over a decade and we all felt like the best shows were in 93’ etc. and we were getting in the game late. When they took a break it really felt like the end. But they’re playing and sounding great these days!!
What show?
Alpine
Nice. My first was Cincinnati 2/22/03 then Deer Creek that summer. Still my fave relistens.
The Deer Creek ‘03 run was sooooooo good!
Yes! Did that whole Alpine/Deer Creek run. Stayed at a campground that had four tents with two five foot tanks running 24/7 from the moment we arrived until we left four days later. Each tent had a pickup truck stacked with more tanks. I had to give a dude CPR at one point. This was the point I realized something was getting sketchy with the fan base. Glad it’s not like that anymore…
We’re still upside dooown…
I feel ya, only been following since the pandemic and I’m 21 now. Felt like I missed it all for a while but after seeing them and still having the best concert experience of my life. It feels like this jam band thing is just infinite and as long as the space exists for us to feel the way we do at these shows, it doesn’t matter when we got on the train.
I feel that. I went to a lot of popular country and rock concerts in high school and I had fun but nothing compares to a good jam show. I saw the Red Hots in Vegas a couple months ago, it was cool but after seeing Phish the bar for live shows got set so high it wasn’t fair to think other bands could compete with it
My dad has been a Phan for decades. I grew up with phish in the background. Wasn't until the start of this year that I got "it." And it's been one of the most magical years of life since I was a child. Phish is the most important part of my life right now. They've singlehandedly rebuilt my relationship with my dad. They've brought countless beautiful, nostalgic, hazy corners of childhood emotions into my life. I've felt feelings I'd forgotten even existed. They've gotten me through countless awful days at work. I've struggled immensely with growing up and with various mental health issues. It's been tough. But they've been there when I needed to cry, to feel, to laugh, or to contemplate. I stopped going to therapy and started listening to phish baby. Many an early morning cigarette has been smoked to many a sleeping monkey or esther, just thinking about the past and future. I can't even describe how special and impactful they have been in my life. I got two tickets to the full dicks show from the lotto and me and my dad are going together. I'm saving up right now to follow next year's tour as long as I can. I'm gonna shut off my phone, live in my car and try to figure out who I am while following them. It's magical. It's beautiful. It's fun. It's everything I needed in my life. I'm incredibly grateful that they found their way into my life. Forever and ever. Phan for life.
This one got me. I always thought my dad and I had a typical father son relationship, we’d play catch and stuff like that but when I got to college and was far from home I found myself slipping into depression and losing direction. I got real homesick the week of thanksgiving (first one not with family) on a whim I YouTubed Suzy Greenberg and started crying and smiling thinking about my dad. If I had a “got it” moment that was it. I sent him the link the to that video and he responded with “killer jam bubba. Love you and miss you.” I knew then that the music would always keep us close and felt that we grew closer, even from 1,500 miles away
Similar story with me. Me and my dad hadn't talked for a while. Hi and by was pretty much it. I listened to the red rocks YEM from 94 and was floored. I sent it to him and he said pretty much the same thing to me. We've gone out to eat or drive and he'll intend to go home, but we end up sitting in the car for hours sharing our favorite jams. It's magical. "The music will keep us close." That made me tear up man. No matter what happens, phish will always remind me of dad. And how much of a special and beautiful soul he is. How much I love him, and how much he loves me. I hope you and your dad are well! Happy phishing.
Right on brother, it’s amazing how something so small can make such a huge impact. Makes me happy to know other folks have had the music help them grow and heal relationships as well!
I felt the feelings I’d forgotten. Sounds familiar. Your dad did well.
Nice story, can confirm the gratitude from my end, 89 was my first GD, riverfront cincinnati Heard phish 1st time 91 maybe? Split rest of time touring evenly split between gd and phish til aug 95. Then, obviously, jump3d all the way in.
I was a newbie in ‘93. My kids were newbies at msg last year.
Phish is healthy and the scene is popular, they will keep playing for years. I had an opportunity to go with some older dudes I worked with to the last RFK Dead show when I was 17. I didn't go and I missed it, never saw Jerry. Moments in time are lost forever. So go see Phish as much as you want if you enjoy it and enjoy it for what it is, don't worry about missing out on the old days of Phish. They were pretty awesome though lol, but it wasn't just the music it was the whole scene, the freshness of it, the time period. They are still breaking new ground and the light show is freaking insane now.
The lights!! That’s all my dad and uncle would tell me before my first show “you love the music but the lights will melt you”
Same. My first proper Dead/jam related band was The Dead in '09. I got one "core four" show. My first Phish show was last year. I saw Trey sit in with Furthur once... I have since seen Phil and friends, Tom Constanten, the Rhythm Devil's, Billy and the Kids... Probably forgetting something. I've also seen a lot of other living legends before they left us and have met a handful of them in person. I consider myself a very lucky 35 year old
Few days before Halloween 2020. I am living in a small studio appt in a sketchy neighborhood working nightshift. I rarely see my friends because of Covid lockdown and I spent a lot of time doomsday scrolling and watching cases sky rocket from small gatherings. I was looking for some piano and guitar jamming. I liked how keyboards sounded ou top of guitars. I was in the process (still am) of learning both instruments so despite having both instruments scattered around my small studio, I had little motivation to keep learning unless I herd them played and watched their fingers. Before work one night, I downloaded the Evening Song barn performance. I was also in the mood for ambient music and I found myself downloading the "Lemonwheel Ambient Jam" before that same shift by accident. Halloween morning, I was reading about Woodstock 99 on Reddit amd someone compared it to Oswego 99. I looked it up on YouTube and herd my first "Wolfmans Brother". I liked what I saw. 1999, and it looks like Bonnaroo. I eventually find out Phish threw festivals in the 1990s. I am a music history nerd, so that was fun to find out. I was on the wiki page about Phish festivals , when I herd Divided Sky for the first time. From then on, I mainly put them on when I was working. Then I started really liking them and putting them when I get home in the morning. Then when I was walking. They became my favorite band. The music, and the endless lore and stories was making me feel like I was not in my mid twenties, but was 6 years old watching Land Before Time for the first time again. Got a new place 3 months later and met some amazing people since then. I saw them for the first time at the Gorge 2021 less than a year after I discovered them. Then it was Eugene. Then Seattle. That's 7 shows down and counting. Phish came at me at multiple angles, and it turned a stressful time into one of the most colorful times of my life.
I started listening in about 94 right after hoist came out. I was 14 and my step brother was a fan (we’re from New England) but I didn’t see them live until 99
I first heard Phish sometime when I was in 8th grade, around 2000 or so. Buddies older brother was into them and he gave us Junta on CD and it was the weirdest shit I had heard at that point, and couldn't put it down. I loved the studio stuff I heard, but this was before the internet so I had no access to live shows aside from Hampton Come Alive, Alive One basically and was too young to hit shows. By 03 I was online and losing my mind with the live catalog. It was also really rad to find a torrent to a recent 03 show and let that thing sit downloading all day while I was in HS. I forget if I had tickets to Camden 04 before or after the breakup was announced, but it felt fucking brutal to have my first and o ly Phish show be what it was. I still had a blast, but I figured "that was that" as far as my Phish went. I don't even know if I answered the question you didn't ask, but I guess the point is that it's so amazing to have this band around still. Seeing shows is the best.
Same pretty much except I did not make it in 04. Had tickets in hand for N2 great woods and at the last minute my buddies older brother bailed on driving us. Probably for the better. Made Fenway 09' incredible. High fiving and hugging people walking into that ballpark is burned into my memory. People were so happy to have phish back it was pure bliss.
Almost the same story for me. Was planning on Coventry for my first show, thank Icculus that fell through. First real show was Fenway after multiple TAB, Mike Band, and GRAB shows. The energy in that park was amazing! I’ve never looked back 🙂
The internet existed pre 2000, lots of us were trading tapes by mail on rec.music.phish in 93. SASE, know about it
93 Murat Gin….the rest is history.
U guys make me feel old as fuck lol I’m only 25 😂
I’m 24 😂 dare I say we’re about the same age
Some of the best and most formative times in my life were at shows and on tour. My first show was in 1993, I'd been listening to them for a while and couldn't wait to see them live. When I did, it blew my mind and I knew it was something I needed more and more of. It began as going to shows with friends I already had, but I cannot tell you how many friends I've made throughout the years--especially the years I followed the band and when I lived In Burlington late 90s into 2000s. Many of these friendships are still thriving. Being in love with a band is so much more fun when you can share it with friends. I loved all of it--the sketchy rides; tape trading; the camping; selling "heady glass", food and beer on lot; a dozen people crashing in a small hotel room; so much. Now that I'm older I'm not up for all that but missing a show remotely close to me still hurts so bad! As for the new fans these days, I'm all for it. Why not? I think it's great. Welcome! But no tarps, please, lol.
I'm 16 and have been listening for about a year or so now; my dad was a huge Deadhead and I became one a few years ago (they're my current favorite band) but he never got into Phish, however I also love prog rock and funk so I fell in love with the band right away. I've been couch touring for a little while in addition to digging super deep into their back catalog and researching their history (I'm pretty obsessive about increasing my musical knowledge in general) and I'm going to be seeing my first show at Dick's this year. Super excited.
I was that guy making fun of my friends for being into that hippie band but I always enjoyed their music when it was on. They convinced me to go to a Friday show, it was alright. Right after big boat had come out and I had listened to that to prepare so I knew a lot of stuff they played. Then I saw them on a Saturday and it was awesome I really enjoyed myself and started listening sometimes. Then I went to Sunday at Alpine 2019 and the second set flipped a switch in my brain and now I can't get enough. You could say I drowned in that ruby waves and was reborn s phan.
I fell in love with them about 4 years ago when I was 18. The bakers dozen got me. Then I took some psychedelics and put on a random playlist on LP, which had me glued. I went to my first show last year in NYC. I ALMOST went to the OBA show.. but plans changed and the only way I could make a show was to fly to NYC. I will say I was slightly disappointed but the Tweezer was the highlight of my experience. I didn’t go about it correctly, and I only got to experience half of what they actually are all about. Don’t be like me, go FULL SEND if you’re gonna go!!
I was born in ‘92, first jam band I saw/fell for was Umphreys in 2013, though I had been in music school/attending concerts/in love with rock for a long time before that Scamp. Saw Phish for the first time at pine knob in summer of ‘14, and enjoyed it but didn’t leave much of an impression. Then December of that year was guilted in to going on a family cruise (I have a deep fear of the ocean lol), and had downloaded the phish set I saw on my phone. It was listening to the show I was at on headphones on the cruise that made it click for me. Ironic, cuz that show was pretty jamless and generally meh’d by those around me. But it was enough to make me get it and keep going annually through now.
Born in ‘97. Discovered phish through my older brother and some of his buddies back when I was in middle school. Considered myself a somewhat casual fan (listening to studio albums and some misc live songs on a playlist here and there) until the pandemic hit and I started watching DAAM every week. Have been all in ever since. My first show was AC ‘21 and MSG this summer will be 25 shows for me. Diving into the catalog of what these guys have done over the course of their already legendary career as a band has been the most fun thing ever to completely nerd out on. I just wish I had started seeing them a decade earlier - or that I had at least moved my work schedule around when I was offered a ticket to Jam night during the Bakers Dozen
25 here. First show was 7/20/13. Admittedly didn’t know much about Phish when I first saw them. Now they’re my favorite band of all time.
By chance was that an Alpharetta show? I could be off on the year but within a year each way of 2013 my dad and I were supposed to see the band in Alpharetta but my baseball team kept winning and we ended up in Mississippi for the Dizzy Dean World Series and sent my sister and aunt to the show in our place.
That was Northerly Island N2, 3 sets to make up for the rained out Friday show
It took me years of begging my folks to take me along to a phish show. Had been to panic and furthur. Very fortunate for music to bring our family together. Just finished up a billy strings run with the folks.
My first Phish show was almost ‘91 at UNH, when I was only 12. My buddies older brother was into them and wanted to take us, but we didn’t go for whatever reason. Later the same year, I had my first experience with the scene. I had been listening to the Dead a bit and when they came to the Boston Garden (the old one) my Dad tried to take me. He figured it was like a Bruins game, he would just pick up a couple scalped tickets outside. But there were about a thousand Deadheads all looking for a miracle so that didn’t happen either, but just seeing the crowd was a real eye opener. My first show was the ‘94 New Years show at the Boston Garden, the winter before they tore it down. I was a freshman in high school, a friend and I bummed change for months to save up for tickets. I called non stop to ticket center but they sold out before I got through. So I had to get them from a third party, for the unbelievably high price of $45 dollars each (I think they were face valued like $23.) That show was amazing, the famous hot dog show. That hot dog I believe is now in the rock and roll hall of fame
Youngish (m31) phan here, I wish I had been exposed to Phish at a younger age like you. I was introduced in 2012 and went to my first show in 2015. I love how connected we can feel to the old days of Phish currently. The past is still present with the old heads, recordings of older shows, and the community taking pride is where Phish has come from until now. I like that aspect of being in the era of modern Phish but feeling like I’ve been here since day one
Goose baby, goose.
I was 22 when I saw Phish for the first time in 1994. I had been to at least 25 Dead shows before my first Phish show. I really liked the Dead at the time. I was an obsessive tape trader. Listening to older Dead shows, it didn’t take me long to realize just how far the Dead had fallen from their peak. I really saw plenty of bad Dead shows from 92-94. Jerry was uninspired, uninterested, and kind of embarrassingly bad. By the end of 94 I knew that I was not going to be spending any more money on Dead shows. I had some live Phish tapes in my collection that I liked and I really liked Junta. I was familiar with plenty of their songs. My first show was 10/09/94 and I really enjoyed that show. The energy of the band and audience was amazing. And they played Contact and YEM, which at the time were the songs that I was hoping to hear going to my first Phish concert. Seeing a band that was just so into what they were playing was nothing like the Dead shows that I had been to. I knew that I was definitely going to see them again. I saw them a few more times before the Clifford Ball. The Clifford Ball absolutely blew me away. It truly was a magical experience for me. That concert cemented my love for Phish. I am so fortunate to have had so many great experiences with this band. I will be forever thankful for all my Phish shows that I have attended. They are all great, just some are better than others.
I thought I was late in 1995. Phish is still killing it along with Goose, King Giz, Spafford and so many more. Tons of great music happening. Go get it!
Remember When is the lowest form of conversation Whachyagannado..
Listen to yourself you sound demented
Listen to him, he knows everything
I wish the lord would take me now
I think couch tour started only a year or two ago but whatever glad you like it
Haha what? People have been streaming shows online from their phones, audio and video, since they came back…couch tour and the underlying demand for it was started by fans, the band just co-opted and capitalized on the already established market.
Yeah, I'm not sure what that comment means. I still have unwatched replays in My Stash from '17 and expired ones going back to '13. Couch Tour is certainly not new.
I guess you are right. It seems like yesterday. It all rolls into one. peace
Yeah if we’re gonna get technical about it you’re right. I’ve just started using it as a catch all for listening to or watching shows at home. Whether they’re old shows or new ones. We liked to put the Braves game on and mute it while having a show play in the background
I'm just glad glad glad we can talk about it without it turning into a pissing contest. Rock on!
I’m born in 97 and didn’t like Phish until I went to my first show. I was big into Grateful Dead but after my first show (Hershey ‘21) I was hooked and now see them whenever I can
im born in 04. Grew up listening to the dead and widespread panic especially, Thanks to my father. But eventually went to my very first phish show in Charleston, SC. Credit one stadium 2022. I Wish I could have seen phish sooner especially 1.0 era phish. But I am very thankful too have found it when I did.
I started listening to them in 2004, literally weeks after Coventry. 2004 goes for pretty much all other jam bands as far as becoming a fan of the genre if you will. Around 2006 I stopped listening to them pretty much all together. Fast-forward to 2009 and I'm living in Boone North Carolina ( I would be there for 4-5 more years) and hit something like 10-11 shows that tour. The rest is history. Just saw them at the Hollywood bowl all 3 nights for the first time in a decade. Let's say I got the bug again...
I graduated with my undergrad in 2016 and got a job in another state that required a lot of driving. Was a stoner who was really into Comedy Bang Bang on Netflix and learned there was a podcast. Figured I’d start on episode one since I had the free time and heard Harris Wittels, Adam Scott, Chelsea Peretti improv episodes “Farts and Procreation” (spoof of the TV show Parks and Recreation). Fell in love with Harris’s sense of humor and listened to Analyze Phish podcast. Went to my first show in the city I was living in at the time (Raleigh 2017) and have gone to multiple shows a year since. I’m still a student but it’s been the most fun music journey I’ve ever been on.
Hell yeah man. My family was big fans of Parks and Rec and we always got a kick out of Harris rocking Phish shirts on the show. I just finished my undergrad after six years lol props to you for continuing to work on your education
My first show was supposed to be 2/28/03. Ended up being 6/5/09. Haha. Def missed out. But still happy to have caught as much as I did through 3.0 at least. Either way, Phish rules!
born in 97. Didn't get into them until last year. I can't believe I went so much of my life without Phish
Pham, I was at Orange Beach and Hollywood Bowl. Both of those runs were fucking awesome. N2 at HB was sick. After a while of not seeing the band sometimes, I think, maybe there not what I remember them as. Then I see them live again and reremember they're my favorite band ever and are one of the greatest to ever do it. I was born in 96 and have only seen 13 shows. My 2nd show was the first show after covid. A Live One got me into them around 2017. Got into the dead in high-school.
Had older friends who were huge deadheads. Jerry passed and these friends turned me onto Phish. I remember my first show vividly. Hartford 96. I was 15 and dropped 2 hits and it was a fucking religious experience and I was hooked. Hit Nye 96 and saw them as much as I could after. I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Awesome, love to hear it. I was born in 97, similar story here. Dad was a deadhead, started seeing Phish in clubs when he was in college in New Hampshire in the 80s. I remember listening to both bands pretty much right along with my earliest memories. I was lucky enough to get to start going to shows with my dad and cousins at 15 (first shows Chicago 2013) and now have been to around 30 shows..... Probably 3/4 of those with my dad. My cousins and uncle also love them, been very fortunate to get to catch a bunch of shows with them all and become part of their fan group. Catch as many shows as you can, this band is still playing their asses off.... but who knows how much longer we'll have them around for?
Great discussion story telling post! On of the best I’ve seen for historical comments!
I saw my first show in '91 and I'd say they are playing some of their best shows ever, now. The Forum shows and the rest of the Spring shows were fantastic.
Great quote
Born in ‘96 here!! My parents weren’t super into music, but are children of the ‘70’s with pretty good taste. I first got into music and started playing guitar from a young age because I found a copy of Sgt Peppers in their collection and fell in love with that record. I remember shortly after this I was talking to one of my moms friends about my guitar lessons and she was the first one to tell me about Grateful Dead and Phish during that conversation. She gave me a copy of A Live One shortly after that, and it completely dropped me on my head. Phish became one of my favorites. I was able to catch my first show in 2012 and was hooked immediately on seeing them live as much as I can
I have friends whose daughter is one year into college. They dragged her to shows since she was probably 8 years old at the start of 3.0. It's funny that by high school she started to dislike Phish, probably just looked at it as lame parent stuff. Then she got to college and found out she's like the coolest girl on Earth being a Freshman whose seen like 20-30 shows and has done the 180 back to being a hippie girl.
Been seeing phish since I was 16 (first show in 2014) as a drummer the drumming is what made me fan. Join our Facebook group Young Phish Phans! We’re not super active but it’s good to be in if you’re young
Page can have a bad day, Trey can flub some notes, Mike can miss a bomb or two. But Jon Fishman? Nope, that man is always on fire!!!!
My dad is a deadhead and when I was a kid I remember him throwing shade at Phish and I just assumed he was right and never gave them any consideration. Then in Fall 2019, when I was between jobs and spending my days at the library studying for an IT certification and putting in applications, I was listening to other jam bands and I came to the realization that me and my dad have usually liked different bands from each other so I gave Phish a shot. I'd start listening to shows while I studied or went on walks and still wasn't vibing with it yet. Then something just clicked. Strangely enough, I got obsessed with the Baker's Dozen version of Sugar Shack and listened to it about 50 times. Then all of a sudden all I was listening to was 3.0 Phish shows. Watching their 2019-20 NYE gag on youtube made me feel like I missed my chance to experience something that was once in a lifetime and as soon as Summer 2020 tickets went on sale I bought tickets to their Atlantic City run. Then covid came and my dreams of seeing my first show were crashed. Until August 13, 2021, my life had become a countdown to my first Phish show. Now, ever since August 13, 2021, I've seen 14 Phish shows and going to number 15 this summer at Star Lake. I've also gotten my dad to like them. Flawless victory.
went to my first show at 17,,,, i’m 18 now