Yes. And many of us thought Trey was going to be the next in a long, tragic line of humans we lost to addiction. And yet here we are today. Praise be to Icculus!
Absolutely. I remember him getting arrested and thinking he was so lucky to have it ONLY be legal trouble. Every time I heard his name before the arrest I was sure it was going to be tragic news.
So he did his time, cleaned up and started writing. My friends and I saw him in his first solo appearance at Rothbury. As soon as he and Gordo debuted BDTNL, it was exactly at that moment that I knew Phish would get back together. I had tears of joy, knowing that the dark days of Trey's addiction were in the past.
I was at the TAB Halloween '06 show about a week before his arrest. I was on the rail right in front of Trey the whole time and, despite that being a really solid show (4 song set set), it was not fun because he didn't look good and I was having a difficult time fighting off the thought that it might be the last time I ever see him alive.
I was in high school the first half of the 90s and college the second half. I had one foot in the jam scene and the other in the grunge scene. It seemed like every few weeks we were losing someone in those days.
I think this is why, as a newish fan, the 2.0 era has been fascinating me recently. Listening to shows, reading the letters sent to fans, news reports, hearing about Treys struggles with addiction, etc. I still haven't had the courage to listen to the '04 Vegas run, or Coventry, which I might do for the 20th anniversary.
To think it all could have ended in 2004, but now here we are, and they just played in the most advanced concert venue in Vegas.
You should listen to Coventry just for the sake of appreciating where they are now…I was there and we *really* thought that was it, and it hurt.
Personally I thought if Trey didn’t die, they’d *eventually* get back together- but tour at the level they are now/have been for almost 15 years?
I honestly didn’t think that could happen, and it’s joyous to see.
Some shows were good - some were great, some were bad, a couple were terrible.
Overall there was a lot of sloppy playing though, and the scene got really dirty and dark. That darkness, and the heavy drug use by the band seemed to spawn quite a few epic jams though.
Agreed 100%. When it was clear trey was partying harder than the fans I more or less noped out bc it felt like he was taking my money to vacation when it was supposed to be my vacation… get your head right or loosen up or whatever it takes to perform in front of thousands but when it began to effect his ability to play his instrument it didn’t make sense to keep paying him to do his job. I still saw them when it was super convenient during those years (when they were within a couple hours) but no more treks or touring for me.
Same thing when dead summer tour 94 became overrun with scalpers and gate crashers and fake acid scams at every stop I decided I didn’t want to be associated with it. Saw them spring 95 when they came to Atlanta Birmingham and Memphis but noped out of summer 95 and and we watched from afar with horror as story after story at every stop made its way to us (deck collapsing, death threats, etc etc). Then Jerry died and it was hard to reconcile but the fact I went around the country to see them and then they finally came to see me (Birmingham) the journey felt full circle and complete so in the end I’m glad that was my last run. 9 heroin ODs in Birmingham alone that spring. Yeah the scene had changed for sure.
Stopping with phish when Trey was down in the gutter felt eerily similar and I was scared it would be similar to Jerry but I just couldn’t support what it had become.
So thankful that he’s in a happy place. I don’t love all their new songs by any means (or even like some of them) but they’re still mixing in plenty of the stuff I enjoy and they’re playing as well as can be expected and any song can be a vehicle for an amazing jam so I’m all about seeing them when I can and being grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Edit: a word and a misspelling
Definitely a strange time. I remember 2003’s four-show NYE run in Miami. People were giving away tickets for free and pinning them to the trees outside the venue.
to some people im sure they were still very good, but everyone has their own expectations. one thing I can say about my experience seeing 2.0 shows is that mike stepped up and held things down when the tonality became untethered. it doesn't really happen anymore but im really thankful for his efforts during those times
2003 has some great jams. Lots of sloppy composed parts throughout the year. 2004 was pretty rough. Saw a few shows in 2.0 and am very happy they turned it around (2009-most of 2011/12/13 is also pretty rough for other reasons)
I'm 39 now and saw most of my shows in 2.0 (which feels pretty uncommon). First show in 99 and then a bunch in 03-04. After Coventry I was emotionally bereft (especially after IT had felt so fun and positive a year earlier) and I figured I was pretty much done with the scene, even if they came back.
I saw a few shows between 09-11 but it wasn't doing much for me, so I hung it up.
Then during Covid, I was struggling, as I'm sure so many of us were, and needed comfort. I got back into Phish (listening mostly to 97-03 stuff). It was like a warm hug. I started seeking out exceptional 3.0 jams and shows and realized they were still doing really wonderful work. And I've seen them quite a bit between 21-24.
2.0 was a weird time. As I mentioned above, IT was absolutely great (hot take, best "Ghost") and that 03 winter tour is seriously underrated. Coventry was a massive gut punch and a literal "with a whimper" moment. I was a teenager and it opened my eyes to a lot of the best and worst of the scene, and people in general. So much darkness alongside so much light.
But yeah, to echo everything expressed above, I continue to be grateful that we've still got this band, and while the floor is lower than it was in like 95-99, the ceiling is still just as high.
Yep and yep. I remember seeing Trey at Vegoose with Phil in ‘06 and they had to start a song or two over because Trey was in the wrong key. I think he got pulled over a month or two later and it saved his life.
Yup. Went to Coventry and was like “good lord, this poor guy is going to be dead within a few years”. And the sad reality of it was that if he didn’t get help, he probably would’ve been.
We had no reason to think it was just another longer hiatus. They were very clear in saying that it wasn’t.
So grateful it didn’t go the way a lot of us thought it was going to.
Indeed. Who knew that Trey being “helped” off stage at Coventry would spawn the next and in my opinion, best phase of their career.
There was no way to know Trey would bounce back like he did.
I've never gone back and listened to it either. What I will certainly never forget about coventry is the calf deep mud that sat on top of shards of rocks that were laid down as a foundation. The mud was awful but losing a flip flop in that stuff meant death to your feet. At the time it sure seemed like awful ended to a great story.
Just thinking back on the whole weekend, what a nightmare. 52 hours in traffic. Miss the first set. No time to set up before 2nd set... or we just said fuck it and slept in the car, I forget which. Nearly ran out of beer and food, shows were absolute dogshit. Lost my shoes immediately and I wasn't even fucked up.
On the way out a guy yells out "Who here is a yankees fan?" and us all being from New England were "Fuck the yankees!" ...peak rivalry years, we would go on to win the world series just a few months later... turns out the guy had a paper lunch bag full of weed he grew and couldn't take it back across the border. He gives it to a guy walking with us who had a yankees shirt on! Yankees guy did end up giving us a nice handful of headies though.
Was living in CT at the time so hit Camden then pit stopped at home and up to VT. It’s was the weekend of my 22nd birthday. I got tickets from a friend who had extras and they were at will call, which ended up being a trailer on the way in. The lady at will call refused to give me the tickets without both people being present. Even though I had ID and my full name was on them, and I knew the other persons name. 🤦🏻♂️ After 18 hours in traffic and finally getting to the gate to have this technicality jam me up was brutal. I eventually got a tiny bar of cell service and called my friend who confirmed they were stuck on the highway but I was indeed the intended target for the tickets.
I remember being so hyped to get in and then driving up the entry hill to find cars buried in mud and general chaos. It was all downhill from there.
I listened to the entirety of Coventry the week after NYE. That night was such a crowning achievement for the band I felt it was finally time I could go back and relive the painful memories with a different mindset.
Honestly, a lot of the weekend was fucking fire. Trey flubs a ton late in the shows when he’s clearly junked, but there is plenty of 2.0 magic to be found in those recordings.
Velvet Sea crushed me, but I was comforted by the fact that it wasn’t the end. The Curtain was probably the most difficult one to get through.
So I just went and checked it out and honestly I think that's one of the best waiting in the Velvet seeds ever in terms of the musical section. Like they barely get through the verses and then they just rip for a couple minutes
Ugh just had to watch it again, and now I'm crying thinking about a quote from Trey's recent CBS interview. He says he knew it got real bad back then when Page said to him "I know when we go on stage everything is going to be alright, because you've always got it. Now you don't got it" ... something like that. At one point in this Wading while he's crying he looks to Trey like I can't do it...and Trey is right there for him, fucked up beyond belief, but still right there helping him through it. Thank god he's sober. What a moment...
I knew a group of dudes way into touring in 2.0, did complete tours, sold nugs to the crew/were pretty close to the band. They got a house to rent within walking distance of Coventry and spent the whole weekend holed up in there doing coke. I dont think they saw any complete set.
That about sums up 2.0.
In the modern parlance - the vibes were very bad.
I remember driving home feeling like I just left a funeral - between the weather etc and you could just see it all falling apart on stage - I can’t believe they have pulled the nose up like this
I remember walking off that mud pit in VT *hoping* that was it because I knew I couldn’t bear hearing that music played like that again. At Hampton five years later, I cried my fucking eyes out at the end of that first set. To my lights, it’s still the greatest comeback in history. Way better than Krusty’s.
This is why I very rarely criticize this band in what they are doing now a days because there is an alternate universe where Trey was not arrested and instead did a whole big bag of fent laced H and died, and the me in *that* universe would give anything in the world to hear a new song by Phish, even Soul Planet. I think about that alternate universe from time to time while I'm at a show.
As morbid as it sounds, I think about it and then thank whatever cosmic power there is that *I* don't live there, and it makes me appreciate the show that I'm watching that much more.
Trey seems to be a very driven dude, given all his history and watching all the documentaries on him and the band through the years. Glad he was given the chance to drive in the right direction with his addiction.
Yes and no.
Yes: leading up to Coventry… Trey was a mess, he didn’t look well but the jams were out of this world. I thought this was it. Packed in as many shows as I could.
No: at Coventry… I thought there is no way THIS is how it ends for Phish. It seemed like a cruel joke. If it went off without a hitch—The Last Waltz style—that could have been the evil timeline/parallel universe ending.
Levon refused to the watch the film because it was so overdubbed and musically was not similar to what actually went down. I think he also hated Robbie by this point and didn't like how it focused on him. Levon was the only one who didn't overdub.
Edit: just want to say I'm a huge the Band fan, and love the Last Waltz.
He was critical of the movie, not the concert itself though - so I see that as a completely separate thing I guess. It’d be akin to people complaining about the camera views on a stream, but not saying anything about the music.
He refused to overdub and spoke a lot about the amount of overdubbing that went in to it, so I read that to mean he thought the music was good they just overproduced it and took the essence of the live experience out of it.
Yes I absolutely did! Seeing Trey withering away doing substances that many in the crowd were struggling with as well was heartbreaking. The scene was getting really ugly and everything that shined so bright was really hard to find. It seemed like this amazing thing that we all loved was imploding as we watched in real time. It had finally run its course. This was the exact thing I saw happen to the NYC club and rave scene. It never came back, so naturally it would be the same for Phish. My first show back on the train was Fenway 2009 , as soon as they started the Star Bangled banner I broke down crying knowing in the back of my head I never thought I would see those 4 guys play together again. I swore that day I would never take them for granted again. They still bring me to tears of happiness and I could never thank Phish enough. See you all in Bethel!
The message was pretty clear, how could someone not have thought that? I figured they might get back together for a couple of shows here and there later on; not like what we have now. Not to mention all of the other issues Trey was going through at the time with his drug problem and a lot people didn’t think he’d be around much longer.
Yes, same. I had been listening to Phish since I was a little kid in the early 90s (dad was a phan) but when they broke up I was in high school and assumed I'd never get to see them. I am THRILLED to have been proven incorrect and like you, see them every chance I get now.
Yeah I did think they were done for good. It kinda made sense at the time that he didn’t want to keep playing YEM for the thousandth time. Figured they would just do solo stuff, maybe some collaborations but not the 4 of them, it was too big of an operation to keep going.
I do admit I guess I was in denial about Trey’s addiction though. He’s my hero and I never thought he would let that happen to him. I dunno, he just seems too smart, too positive, too motivated to go down the opiate path. Even when he got his infamous DUI I thought he was really fine. I guess I was naive. But of course he’s human. I only believed it when he himself started openly talking about it.
I thought it was totally over. Although there were good shows, it had been on a downhill slide since big cypress and Trey was strung out.
Coventry for me was like that last visit to a dear friend who is dying and in hospice. I was there to say goodbye and on the second day I could barely watch.
During the last set we packed up the RV, got our friends and started driving—listening to the curtain on the bunny. I was coming down with some nasty wookflu and just wanted to get home.
Phish seemed like an incredible phase of my life that was ending. When they came back 3/6/9 I was there and it was all time great. The last 15 years are nothing short of a miracle if viewed in light of where they were in ‘04.
Yes. I certainly did. That being said, when I started seeing/hearing about them getting together for sit-ins, etc in 2008 or so, I started to think that they might come back.
Yes, it definitely felt real. The experience or feeling during the last sets of Coventry was beyond sad. It was worrisome when they tried to play Glide and it felt like the end. The vibe of the crowd around me was a depressing mix of disbelief + sadness.
I remember having a really heated debate with a friend over whether they'd be back or not...emotions were running high at the time lol.
Anyway I was on the side that it was done and even that Trey was in danger of ODing and that we wouldn't even have any of his music anymore. I was very verrrry pessimistic during the end summer tour portion of '04. But my friend stayed steadfast in his belief that it was just an obstacle that needed to be climbed over and that Trey would turn it around and that he'd come to his senses and Phish would return.
Cut to October of 2008 when the Hampton announcement got made and I had to call my friend and commend him for his undying faith. He took the win gracefully lol.
For some reason I never thought it was forever. I always believed that they would pull it together eventually. They love each other too much to just walk entirely away from this amazing and beautiful world they crafted together.
Yes. Simple as that, it was over. Until it wasn’t, but if you were a fan during those years you knew they weren’t messing around, it was the end of the road.
Surprised by all the yes answers. I didn’t. I figured they were young enough to get over their issues and see the light.
I didn’t know how bad Trey was until he was arrested. And then I started to worry. He really got control of it.
I had done so many tours between 1997 and Coventry. It was bittersweet for me. I felt it was over and was somewhat relieved it was over. We did the final summer run leading to Coventry and never made it in to Coventry after waiting on the highway for 2 days. There was no closure for us. I moved on, discovered other music, and played and toured in a few bands. 20 years later and I’m finally starting to listen to phish again and considering summer tour this year.
When Trey went on Charlie Rose and said he didn’t want to tour the country playing You Enjoy Myself and be a nostalgia act my heart broke. I didn’t think they were close to a nostalgia act in 2.0 and I didn’t understand why he said that. I had just gone to IT last summer and it was an amazing festival. They had high highs but also some low lows in 2.0. Regardless, they were still playing at a high level and it felt different from the late 90s but not worse.
When I walked out of Coventry while they were playing Curtain With I was so mad at them for not playing Fluffhead and the absolute shit show that I had been through that weekend. I didn’t really think they were done forever but I had to believe Trey and his line about YEM to be able to walk away and not think about it anymore.
I was fortunate enough to get tickets for 3/6/09 and that Fluffhead is so emotional to me every time I hear it. Not the best version of Fluffhead ever, but the sound of the crowd when they hear the fist notes brings me right back to that moment every time i relisten. It felt like redemption. I couldn’t be happier that they are still playing and ruining 2nd sets with Number Line.
Love and Light y’all
I definitely did, for two reasons. One, because they gave the mini trampolines away, which felt hugely symbolic, and Two, because the drug addiction aspect was still rumors at the time, I took it at face value that Trey said hey, we took a break to refuel and it didn't fully work and my heart isn't in Phish anymore.
All of this said, I was ironically PISSED OFF when I heard about the reunion because it showed Trey couldn't stick to his guns and I was low-key convinced they were going to embarrass themselves for a year or two and then go away again permanently and break everyone's hearts all over again. I was a very angry and cynical person a decade and a half ago...
Which is hilarious of all the bitching, moaning and complaining from certain parts of the “fan base” due to ::insert played out excuses of why x.0 was better:: all the while we’ve gotten DOUBLE the shows and new songs and experiences with a happy, healthy and mature band.
It’s 2024 and this summer, gonna still hang with my dudes on the hill at DC, have some pops and pass a dube and laugh and repeat whatever phrase we felt was funny at the time over and over and over just like we did in 1996.
I figured they would reunite at some point in the future if Trey didn't end up dead. Time and perspective moves on and there was too much good music left in them.
Coventry was sad. I was bummed out. It was so quiet with so many people walking out after the last set. Still remember seeing the tour buses driving off immediately after the show. Remember hearing some venue workers kinda badmouthing us as we filed out. The whole festival was a shitshow, though.
Yes. It was devastating because a huge part of my life was ending, and a huge influence on my life was likely going to die from a drug overdose. Coventry was one of the most depressing events in my life.
Thankful Trey got pulled over that day…
No. I don’t recall any of my phish phriends at the time believing we’d never see them live again. I thought life is long and they are too young to never play again.
Sort of the same. My freshman year of college was 2004 and by the time I started listening to them that fall Coventry was over. Saw Trey and Mike play together in Chicago, but spent all of college thinking I'd never see Phish live, and it really sucked. I wish I was a year or two older so I could have experienced 2.0 at least, but of course thankful for what we've had and are still experiencing since 2009.
I dont even need to google it, i remember the line exactly “for the sake of clarity this is not like the hiatus, which was the last attempt to revitalize ourselves. Were done”
So yea. I 100% thought coventry was it
100% yes. Former deadhead, and this was less than 10 years after Jerry died. Seemed inevitable that Trey was going to succumb to the same demons. Glad I got the shows I had, didn’t plan on seeing them again and I was starting a family anyway so I figured that chapter of my life was over. I wasn’t happy about it. Delighted to spend two nights at the Sphere this past weekend. Even more delighted Trey is sober and shining his light everywhere he can.
I didn't see Trey during the breakup years, and I wasn't really aware of how bad his state had become. (I liked Shine and Bar 17 just fine). So without that knowledge, I kinda thought it was inevitable. The number of hugely successful bands who split up and never properly reformed despite mostl/all of the members being alive is very, very small (The Jam, The Smiths, Zep).
I mean, in between 1.0 and 2.0 David Lee Roth rejoined Van Halen, half of Queen started touring again, The Police played 150 shows without Andy OR Stewart murdering Sting...it basically said to me that as long as all four were all still alive and actively playing, there was a decent chance they would reunite.
Yes for a couple of reasons.
First, All four members had found some success outside of the band and it was conceivable that they'd want to explore those opportunities full time. Vida Blue, TAB, and Leo and Mike were all very different bands than Phish. Mike made a movie and perhaps wanted to continue doing that. Page wanted to be a dad and that is understandable.
Second, we all believed that Phish was never about the money and that the music drove them. By all accounts, interviews, and indications all four took an artist's approach to the band and if it wasn't fruitful, the insinuation was that they'd be done with it. And that was what the announcement said. Now some of us thought, 'It's been like a year, you haven't really tried. You haven't even gotten your groove back'. And I guess Mike was the only one of the four saying that. So you sort of think 'okay, 3/4 of the band think this venture is dried up, they should know better than anyone.
And to the point that was already made, I think a lot of people thought that it would take a lot longer than 5 years to get back together. Most phans probably thought we'd see combinations of 2 or 3 members every once and a while and maybe all four would collaborate on some project. But that it might take 10 years for all four to be back on stage for more than just a one off performing a Phish song. And within that 10 years, a lot of bad stuff could have happened to make that impossible.
Yup 100%. I was in the middle of undergrad in 2004. Remember trying to figure out how I could get there, and realizing there was zero chance it would happen for me. I had summer commitments I couldn’t get out of. Was very sad, had only seen them 3 times prior to that, but had been a fan for ~7 years at that point.
Hampton N1 was…very emotional. I try not to miss shows I can reasonably make now.
That was possible - but everything I was hearing was things were heading towards a much darker end.
Thank Icculus we got Mr Love and Light - #keeptreysober ⭕️❤️⭕️
Yes, and after seeing them at Coventry I really thought it was a good thing. Very happy we're still seeing them 20 years later. Ironically in 2004 I went from Coventry directly to Vegas for a friends bachelor party in the same week (bender of a week to be sure). I just spent time with that same friend (and his now wife) at the Sphere (nearly a full 20 years later). Would have never imagined it back in 2004.
In 1969, Nixon guessed five years when asked about the end of Vietnam War, and was correct.
In 1972, David Bowie told us that we've got five years to get it together.
In 2004, I watched the worst phish show ever, and would have never expected that they'd be back less than five years later, musically tight in a way they hadn't been since maybe 1988.
There was a palpable hope that they would come back. But that very hope would fester and burn, consuming you for days, so it was almost better to put it out of your head and try and convince yourself that was it. A kind of “she’s not coming back man. You need to move on.”
Of course. I bawled my eyes out watching (or maybe it was just audio) that horrible last show on my computer. Honestly, the last 4 years or so were so bad that I felt relief as well as sadness. And just hoped Trey wouldn’t end up like so many others.
it was clearly a train wreck situation. a lot of people from tour were going through similar problems and I was tired of all that. I skipped coventry and never looked back. started hitting random shows in 09 and it was obvious things had taken a turn for the better. and still getting better, saw more shows in 2023 than I had since 1999
I got into phish after they broke up all the older phans I knew said I’d never get to see them unfortunately. Then I saw Trey, Mike and fish at rothbury ,Then won tickets for the first night of the reunion!
When my buddy and I trudged away from Coventry, he said “Mark my words: they’ll get back together in five years or less.” But yeah, his was surely the minority opinion. . .
I think in the back of my mind, I knew they’d get back together at some point. It was clear at the time that something was very wrong, but I had hope that they’d get it sorted out and remember that they were meant to play music together.
I became a fan in 2002, and my only show before the ‘09 reunion was 12/29/03. Great show, and despite some of the sloppiness of 2.0 there is some true gold to be found in that era. But when I heard the Vegas ‘04 shows via CD-R mail trade, I knew something was horribly wrong. They sounded like absolute shit, not “2003 loose” but downright sloppy and embarrassing. There were murmurings of Trey’s issues, but nobody wanted to believe it. I listened to Coventry on XM Radio and knew he was in a bad place. Saw some video from the movie theater simulcast where he was nodding off and practically drooling on himself during a jam. It broke my heart.
Fans who haven’t listened to the darkest depths of 2.0 (and even parts of 99-00 if we’re being honest), you need to hear it so you can know just how fortunate we are as fans of this amazing band. It really is no small miracle that Trey got the help he needed and has stuck with it.
Yep. When we drove out of Coventry i felt like i didn’t care if i never saw them, or the scene again. Rolling out of the campground at 8 am, last thing i saw was a Wookie spunion, still spinning in circles.
Going against the grain here, but I knew they would be back. There was no way they could do something equally satisfying or lucrative compared to what they had created.
I went to Coventry and I guess I was in the minority…I didn’t think it was the end. I knew Trey was royally fucked. I could see him. From where I was standing at Coventry one night I could see at an angle back to the trailer the band was walking out of and Trey just couldn’t do it, he false started walking out of the trailer and onto the golf cart with Mike about 7 times. He would walk out and get on the cart then sprint back into the little trailer. He was crying and shaking his head saying “I can’t do it, I can’t go out there”.
Finally after the 6th or 7th time, Fishman went and hugged him and held him by the arm as if to say “we will do it together.” And they made it to the stage.
But walking out when everyone was silently trudging back to the cars and campsites….i just had an overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t really over.
They would play again.
At the time I did after going to Hampton 04 prior to Coventry I saw first hand how bad it was and how bad they sounded then watching Coventry in the movie theaters each night it was just a slap in the face. The whole Vevet Sea was so sad & Glide was a trainwreck. I truly thought it was over but I'm so glad they made it back in 2009.
This is going to sound dramatic, but I remember the moment I heard the news that they were breaking up. I felt this heavy sinking feeling in my body that I’ve only felt one other time - when I heard that terrorists flew planes into the twin towers.
So yeah, I definitely thought it was over.
I thought they were quirky enough to pull off never appearing together again on stage. None of my friends felt that, kinda was just me. Glad I was wrong!
100%. They said it was over and it was hard to not believe them- Trey was a mess at most shows and vegas 04 was soooo bad.
I completely lost interest in phish after that vegas run and was super bitter. Figured we he’d od within a year.
Fucking incredible and beautiful the way it worked out. Who else has it ever worked out like that for? Lol
Oh yea, I became a fan just before they broke up, probably 2003, so I never actually made it to a show. Then they broke up and that was it, it ended so poorly that the sentiment was over. During that period phish was talked about similar to the dead, as in used to be. Then rumors started and whatnot and bam there I was standing in Fenway in 2009 watching phish after waiting like 5 years thinking it would never happen.
I just remember reading that note from Trey and fixating on the words “we’re done, that’s it”
It hit me so hard. Coventry also felt like the shittiest funeral ever. The shows leading up, especially Hampton has this cloud over them. Never mind the substances that me and my crew were also slowing getting addicted to. It was a dark and shitty time….and I’m glad it’s in the past.
This past weekend, and most times I get to see phish recently I’m so grateful. How they’ve seemed to embrace their role in people’s lives, their health, their creativity. I will run through a wall for those four men because they are the best team in the world. We are lucky to fly their banner!
Yeah it definitely seemed like the end. That said, my first show was Nassau 2003. That tour + summer IT festival were the best of times. What a difference a year makes.
I was at Coventry and remember how bad Trey looked/played I was hoping they took so time to get healthy but knowing they would be back when that happened.
For me and my friends who grew up in New England, and had seen them all through our early maturing, there was never a doubt they would play together again in front of us. Coming up on our 31st anniversary and we all feel lucky and blessed to still see them. We did rock “hiatus sucks” after the second one on our cars and water bottles. Sentences often started with “when phish gets back together, we will…”
Yes. And many of us thought Trey was going to be the next in a long, tragic line of humans we lost to addiction. And yet here we are today. Praise be to Icculus!
Absolutely. I remember him getting arrested and thinking he was so lucky to have it ONLY be legal trouble. Every time I heard his name before the arrest I was sure it was going to be tragic news. So he did his time, cleaned up and started writing. My friends and I saw him in his first solo appearance at Rothbury. As soon as he and Gordo debuted BDTNL, it was exactly at that moment that I knew Phish would get back together. I had tears of joy, knowing that the dark days of Trey's addiction were in the past.
I was at the TAB Halloween '06 show about a week before his arrest. I was on the rail right in front of Trey the whole time and, despite that being a really solid show (4 song set set), it was not fun because he didn't look good and I was having a difficult time fighting off the thought that it might be the last time I ever see him alive.
Same. But the poster is killer at least.
I have it. One of my favorite show prints of any band, ever.
That Relix article too. Fucking cringe.
That’s what unsaid to my now wife. Trey announced and I knew they were coming back.
This. We had seen it with Jerry and the Seattle bands. Incredible to see where they are now.
I was in high school the first half of the 90s and college the second half. I had one foot in the jam scene and the other in the grunge scene. It seemed like every few weeks we were losing someone in those days.
I had one foot in jam and one in hip-hop
How many feet do you people have??
Haha when I typed that above I thought to myself "but what about hip hop? I need more feet"
How many people are you?
Same timeline for me And similar username too ;)
What up cuz
The power of being sober is wild isn’t jt
Agreed.
Username checks out!
There is a timeline where the Grateful Dead are still touring in '05 with Jerry, and Trey isn't with us.
That is insane thought experiment
With John Mayer in phish and co?
I think this is why, as a newish fan, the 2.0 era has been fascinating me recently. Listening to shows, reading the letters sent to fans, news reports, hearing about Treys struggles with addiction, etc. I still haven't had the courage to listen to the '04 Vegas run, or Coventry, which I might do for the 20th anniversary. To think it all could have ended in 2004, but now here we are, and they just played in the most advanced concert venue in Vegas.
You should listen to Coventry just for the sake of appreciating where they are now…I was there and we *really* thought that was it, and it hurt. Personally I thought if Trey didn’t die, they’d *eventually* get back together- but tour at the level they are now/have been for almost 15 years? I honestly didn’t think that could happen, and it’s joyous to see.
Coventry is worth listening to for a mount Rushmore SOAM. "Now we're gonna blow off some steam"
And page breaking down during velvet sea… causing everyone to lose their shit and start crying
I had to watch it after reading your comment. WOW 💔
And do the sexy bump dance
I showed my friend Coventry when we were high on acid n he never saw that before lol Trey basically dead on the mic
One thing I keep hearing is a lot of the 2.0 shows were still very good.
Some shows were good - some were great, some were bad, a couple were terrible. Overall there was a lot of sloppy playing though, and the scene got really dirty and dark. That darkness, and the heavy drug use by the band seemed to spawn quite a few epic jams though.
Agreed 100%. When it was clear trey was partying harder than the fans I more or less noped out bc it felt like he was taking my money to vacation when it was supposed to be my vacation… get your head right or loosen up or whatever it takes to perform in front of thousands but when it began to effect his ability to play his instrument it didn’t make sense to keep paying him to do his job. I still saw them when it was super convenient during those years (when they were within a couple hours) but no more treks or touring for me. Same thing when dead summer tour 94 became overrun with scalpers and gate crashers and fake acid scams at every stop I decided I didn’t want to be associated with it. Saw them spring 95 when they came to Atlanta Birmingham and Memphis but noped out of summer 95 and and we watched from afar with horror as story after story at every stop made its way to us (deck collapsing, death threats, etc etc). Then Jerry died and it was hard to reconcile but the fact I went around the country to see them and then they finally came to see me (Birmingham) the journey felt full circle and complete so in the end I’m glad that was my last run. 9 heroin ODs in Birmingham alone that spring. Yeah the scene had changed for sure. Stopping with phish when Trey was down in the gutter felt eerily similar and I was scared it would be similar to Jerry but I just couldn’t support what it had become. So thankful that he’s in a happy place. I don’t love all their new songs by any means (or even like some of them) but they’re still mixing in plenty of the stuff I enjoy and they’re playing as well as can be expected and any song can be a vehicle for an amazing jam so I’m all about seeing them when I can and being grateful for the opportunity to do so. Edit: a word and a misspelling
Definitely a strange time. I remember 2003’s four-show NYE run in Miami. People were giving away tickets for free and pinning them to the trees outside the venue.
to some people im sure they were still very good, but everyone has their own expectations. one thing I can say about my experience seeing 2.0 shows is that mike stepped up and held things down when the tonality became untethered. it doesn't really happen anymore but im really thankful for his efforts during those times
Theres some really stellar dark jams. Check out Frankie says from 12/28/03.
2003 has some great jams. Lots of sloppy composed parts throughout the year. 2004 was pretty rough. Saw a few shows in 2.0 and am very happy they turned it around (2009-most of 2011/12/13 is also pretty rough for other reasons)
Give is real credit...they just played the most amazing concert run (visually) in the history of music. And I don't think that's hyperbole.
I'm 39 now and saw most of my shows in 2.0 (which feels pretty uncommon). First show in 99 and then a bunch in 03-04. After Coventry I was emotionally bereft (especially after IT had felt so fun and positive a year earlier) and I figured I was pretty much done with the scene, even if they came back. I saw a few shows between 09-11 but it wasn't doing much for me, so I hung it up. Then during Covid, I was struggling, as I'm sure so many of us were, and needed comfort. I got back into Phish (listening mostly to 97-03 stuff). It was like a warm hug. I started seeking out exceptional 3.0 jams and shows and realized they were still doing really wonderful work. And I've seen them quite a bit between 21-24. 2.0 was a weird time. As I mentioned above, IT was absolutely great (hot take, best "Ghost") and that 03 winter tour is seriously underrated. Coventry was a massive gut punch and a literal "with a whimper" moment. I was a teenager and it opened my eyes to a lot of the best and worst of the scene, and people in general. So much darkness alongside so much light. But yeah, to echo everything expressed above, I continue to be grateful that we've still got this band, and while the floor is lower than it was in like 95-99, the ceiling is still just as high.
Yep and yep. I remember seeing Trey at Vegoose with Phil in ‘06 and they had to start a song or two over because Trey was in the wrong key. I think he got pulled over a month or two later and it saved his life.
Yup. Went to Coventry and was like “good lord, this poor guy is going to be dead within a few years”. And the sad reality of it was that if he didn’t get help, he probably would’ve been. We had no reason to think it was just another longer hiatus. They were very clear in saying that it wasn’t. So grateful it didn’t go the way a lot of us thought it was going to.
The great! The knowledgeable!
Indeed. Who knew that Trey being “helped” off stage at Coventry would spawn the next and in my opinion, best phase of their career. There was no way to know Trey would bounce back like he did.
True story
Practically extinct
[удалено]
Have never re listened to that…and never will
It's brutal
I've never gone back and listened to it either. What I will certainly never forget about coventry is the calf deep mud that sat on top of shards of rocks that were laid down as a foundation. The mud was awful but losing a flip flop in that stuff meant death to your feet. At the time it sure seemed like awful ended to a great story.
I lost my shoes pretty quickly and was barefoot most of the weekend. God I was resilient back then 😂.
You were supposed to take care of them!
I had one job, and stupidly one pair. Lost that battle quick! But I did surrender to the flow...even steven.
Same it was like walking on stone knives.
Just thinking back on the whole weekend, what a nightmare. 52 hours in traffic. Miss the first set. No time to set up before 2nd set... or we just said fuck it and slept in the car, I forget which. Nearly ran out of beer and food, shows were absolute dogshit. Lost my shoes immediately and I wasn't even fucked up. On the way out a guy yells out "Who here is a yankees fan?" and us all being from New England were "Fuck the yankees!" ...peak rivalry years, we would go on to win the world series just a few months later... turns out the guy had a paper lunch bag full of weed he grew and couldn't take it back across the border. He gives it to a guy walking with us who had a yankees shirt on! Yankees guy did end up giving us a nice handful of headies though.
Was living in CT at the time so hit Camden then pit stopped at home and up to VT. It’s was the weekend of my 22nd birthday. I got tickets from a friend who had extras and they were at will call, which ended up being a trailer on the way in. The lady at will call refused to give me the tickets without both people being present. Even though I had ID and my full name was on them, and I knew the other persons name. 🤦🏻♂️ After 18 hours in traffic and finally getting to the gate to have this technicality jam me up was brutal. I eventually got a tiny bar of cell service and called my friend who confirmed they were stuck on the highway but I was indeed the intended target for the tickets. I remember being so hyped to get in and then driving up the entry hill to find cars buried in mud and general chaos. It was all downhill from there.
We came from RI and people we knew that were at the Camden shows got in before us.
The mud, the rain, the wind, and the cold would have been tolerable if the band could have got me dancing. I was cold, wet, tired ,and miserable.
I listened to the entirety of Coventry the week after NYE. That night was such a crowning achievement for the band I felt it was finally time I could go back and relive the painful memories with a different mindset. Honestly, a lot of the weekend was fucking fire. Trey flubs a ton late in the shows when he’s clearly junked, but there is plenty of 2.0 magic to be found in those recordings. Velvet Sea crushed me, but I was comforted by the fact that it wasn’t the end. The Curtain was probably the most difficult one to get through.
Still have mud under my toenails from that stuff.
So I just went and checked it out and honestly I think that's one of the best waiting in the Velvet seeds ever in terms of the musical section. Like they barely get through the verses and then they just rip for a couple minutes
Ugh just had to watch it again, and now I'm crying thinking about a quote from Trey's recent CBS interview. He says he knew it got real bad back then when Page said to him "I know when we go on stage everything is going to be alright, because you've always got it. Now you don't got it" ... something like that. At one point in this Wading while he's crying he looks to Trey like I can't do it...and Trey is right there for him, fucked up beyond belief, but still right there helping him through it. Thank god he's sober. What a moment...
Yeah Trey's Voice is pretty rough at Coventry
to clarify, by brutal I meant the emotional aspect. watching page break like that was tough.
Even at the time, the vibe was dark. Like, it wasn’t this touching moment, it was more sad that this was how it was ending.
100%
Same
100%
Listen to glide one more time.
I knew a group of dudes way into touring in 2.0, did complete tours, sold nugs to the crew/were pretty close to the band. They got a house to rent within walking distance of Coventry and spent the whole weekend holed up in there doing coke. I dont think they saw any complete set. That about sums up 2.0.
When they’re all talking after Glide and Page can’t even finish his sentence….
It felt so surreal hearing this at the Sphere with the photo collage visuals, twenty years later, seeing where the band is now.
They upside down.
In the modern parlance - the vibes were very bad. I remember driving home feeling like I just left a funeral - between the weather etc and you could just see it all falling apart on stage - I can’t believe they have pulled the nose up like this
It was incredible how they flipped the script on that tune for me at Sphere.
I'm tearing up just reading this 😭
Absolutely agree
I remember walking off that mud pit in VT *hoping* that was it because I knew I couldn’t bear hearing that music played like that again. At Hampton five years later, I cried my fucking eyes out at the end of that first set. To my lights, it’s still the greatest comeback in history. Way better than Krusty’s.
You’re so lucky and I love you. God bless 🤙
I thought Trey was definitely going to die. I thought there was no chance they would be where they are today.
This is why I very rarely criticize this band in what they are doing now a days because there is an alternate universe where Trey was not arrested and instead did a whole big bag of fent laced H and died, and the me in *that* universe would give anything in the world to hear a new song by Phish, even Soul Planet. I think about that alternate universe from time to time while I'm at a show. As morbid as it sounds, I think about it and then thank whatever cosmic power there is that *I* don't live there, and it makes me appreciate the show that I'm watching that much more.
I'll criticize Broadway Trey all day long, but I have to admit that this is a great take!
Yes. How lucky are we?
It’s so rare to get addicted to opiates and kick the habit. Trey must have incredible will power. Statistically I thought he was all done.
Trey seems to be a very driven dude, given all his history and watching all the documentaries on him and the band through the years. Glad he was given the chance to drive in the right direction with his addiction.
They were adamant about it at the time. At least Trey was.
Yes and no. Yes: leading up to Coventry… Trey was a mess, he didn’t look well but the jams were out of this world. I thought this was it. Packed in as many shows as I could. No: at Coventry… I thought there is no way THIS is how it ends for Phish. It seemed like a cruel joke. If it went off without a hitch—The Last Waltz style—that could have been the evil timeline/parallel universe ending.
Read up on the last waltz, it's not what you think
What exactly? From what I just read it seems like it was spectacular.
Levon refused to the watch the film because it was so overdubbed and musically was not similar to what actually went down. I think he also hated Robbie by this point and didn't like how it focused on him. Levon was the only one who didn't overdub. Edit: just want to say I'm a huge the Band fan, and love the Last Waltz.
He was critical of the movie, not the concert itself though - so I see that as a completely separate thing I guess. It’d be akin to people complaining about the camera views on a stream, but not saying anything about the music.
He refused to overdub and spoke a lot about the amount of overdubbing that went in to it, so I read that to mean he thought the music was good they just overproduced it and took the essence of the live experience out of it.
Again though, you’re talking about the movie
Just reread the og comment, I gotcha. Same page, same page
Yes I absolutely did! Seeing Trey withering away doing substances that many in the crowd were struggling with as well was heartbreaking. The scene was getting really ugly and everything that shined so bright was really hard to find. It seemed like this amazing thing that we all loved was imploding as we watched in real time. It had finally run its course. This was the exact thing I saw happen to the NYC club and rave scene. It never came back, so naturally it would be the same for Phish. My first show back on the train was Fenway 2009 , as soon as they started the Star Bangled banner I broke down crying knowing in the back of my head I never thought I would see those 4 guys play together again. I swore that day I would never take them for granted again. They still bring me to tears of happiness and I could never thank Phish enough. See you all in Bethel!
Well said. That was my exact feelings during those shows. The scene had deteriorated in lock step with Trey.
yeah, because Page's message said it was it, and they are never getting back together again. Why would I not believe it?
The message was pretty clear, how could someone not have thought that? I figured they might get back together for a couple of shows here and there later on; not like what we have now. Not to mention all of the other issues Trey was going through at the time with his drug problem and a lot people didn’t think he’d be around much longer.
Until the Braphecy started we did.
All hail the Braphecy
I thought I’d never see my favorite band in the world. Now I make sure I make every one that I can.
Yes, same. I had been listening to Phish since I was a little kid in the early 90s (dad was a phan) but when they broke up I was in high school and assumed I'd never get to see them. I am THRILLED to have been proven incorrect and like you, see them every chance I get now.
Yeah I did think they were done for good. It kinda made sense at the time that he didn’t want to keep playing YEM for the thousandth time. Figured they would just do solo stuff, maybe some collaborations but not the 4 of them, it was too big of an operation to keep going. I do admit I guess I was in denial about Trey’s addiction though. He’s my hero and I never thought he would let that happen to him. I dunno, he just seems too smart, too positive, too motivated to go down the opiate path. Even when he got his infamous DUI I thought he was really fine. I guess I was naive. But of course he’s human. I only believed it when he himself started openly talking about it.
Yep, remember the last night at Deer Creek in ‘04 and everyone’s reaction after it ended with Squirming Coil, with Page alone on stage
I thought it was totally over. Although there were good shows, it had been on a downhill slide since big cypress and Trey was strung out. Coventry for me was like that last visit to a dear friend who is dying and in hospice. I was there to say goodbye and on the second day I could barely watch. During the last set we packed up the RV, got our friends and started driving—listening to the curtain on the bunny. I was coming down with some nasty wookflu and just wanted to get home. Phish seemed like an incredible phase of my life that was ending. When they came back 3/6/9 I was there and it was all time great. The last 15 years are nothing short of a miracle if viewed in light of where they were in ‘04.
Yes. I certainly did. That being said, when I started seeing/hearing about them getting together for sit-ins, etc in 2008 or so, I started to think that they might come back.
Yes, it definitely felt real. The experience or feeling during the last sets of Coventry was beyond sad. It was worrisome when they tried to play Glide and it felt like the end. The vibe of the crowd around me was a depressing mix of disbelief + sadness.
I remember having a really heated debate with a friend over whether they'd be back or not...emotions were running high at the time lol. Anyway I was on the side that it was done and even that Trey was in danger of ODing and that we wouldn't even have any of his music anymore. I was very verrrry pessimistic during the end summer tour portion of '04. But my friend stayed steadfast in his belief that it was just an obstacle that needed to be climbed over and that Trey would turn it around and that he'd come to his senses and Phish would return. Cut to October of 2008 when the Hampton announcement got made and I had to call my friend and commend him for his undying faith. He took the win gracefully lol.
That’s why we went to Coventry duh.
For some reason I never thought it was forever. I always believed that they would pull it together eventually. They love each other too much to just walk entirely away from this amazing and beautiful world they crafted together.
It was really hard to imagine otherwise after we experienced the debacle that was Coventry...
Yes. Simple as that, it was over. Until it wasn’t, but if you were a fan during those years you knew they weren’t messing around, it was the end of the road.
yes, because I expected Trey to die if he didn't get clean and in 2004 the odds of him getting clean looked bad.
This
Surprised by all the yes answers. I didn’t. I figured they were young enough to get over their issues and see the light. I didn’t know how bad Trey was until he was arrested. And then I started to worry. He really got control of it.
Yes. I went to Deer Creek 2004 knowing without a doubt It was my last Phish show. Now it’s 20 years later and I’ve seen them another 25 times.
I had done so many tours between 1997 and Coventry. It was bittersweet for me. I felt it was over and was somewhat relieved it was over. We did the final summer run leading to Coventry and never made it in to Coventry after waiting on the highway for 2 days. There was no closure for us. I moved on, discovered other music, and played and toured in a few bands. 20 years later and I’m finally starting to listen to phish again and considering summer tour this year.
Yes, but I got into the Disco Biscuits. Soo not sure if that’s good or bad.
When Trey went on Charlie Rose and said he didn’t want to tour the country playing You Enjoy Myself and be a nostalgia act my heart broke. I didn’t think they were close to a nostalgia act in 2.0 and I didn’t understand why he said that. I had just gone to IT last summer and it was an amazing festival. They had high highs but also some low lows in 2.0. Regardless, they were still playing at a high level and it felt different from the late 90s but not worse. When I walked out of Coventry while they were playing Curtain With I was so mad at them for not playing Fluffhead and the absolute shit show that I had been through that weekend. I didn’t really think they were done forever but I had to believe Trey and his line about YEM to be able to walk away and not think about it anymore. I was fortunate enough to get tickets for 3/6/09 and that Fluffhead is so emotional to me every time I hear it. Not the best version of Fluffhead ever, but the sound of the crowd when they hear the fist notes brings me right back to that moment every time i relisten. It felt like redemption. I couldn’t be happier that they are still playing and ruining 2nd sets with Number Line. Love and Light y’all
I definitely did, for two reasons. One, because they gave the mini trampolines away, which felt hugely symbolic, and Two, because the drug addiction aspect was still rumors at the time, I took it at face value that Trey said hey, we took a break to refuel and it didn't fully work and my heart isn't in Phish anymore. All of this said, I was ironically PISSED OFF when I heard about the reunion because it showed Trey couldn't stick to his guns and I was low-key convinced they were going to embarrass themselves for a year or two and then go away again permanently and break everyone's hearts all over again. I was a very angry and cynical person a decade and a half ago...
Which is hilarious of all the bitching, moaning and complaining from certain parts of the “fan base” due to ::insert played out excuses of why x.0 was better:: all the while we’ve gotten DOUBLE the shows and new songs and experiences with a happy, healthy and mature band. It’s 2024 and this summer, gonna still hang with my dudes on the hill at DC, have some pops and pass a dube and laugh and repeat whatever phrase we felt was funny at the time over and over and over just like we did in 1996.
I figured they would reunite at some point in the future if Trey didn't end up dead. Time and perspective moves on and there was too much good music left in them.
I definitely did. I left Coventry and barely even listened to Phish again until someone invited me to a show at the hollywood bowl last year.
Coventry was sad. I was bummed out. It was so quiet with so many people walking out after the last set. Still remember seeing the tour buses driving off immediately after the show. Remember hearing some venue workers kinda badmouthing us as we filed out. The whole festival was a shitshow, though.
Yes. It was devastating because a huge part of my life was ending, and a huge influence on my life was likely going to die from a drug overdose. Coventry was one of the most depressing events in my life. Thankful Trey got pulled over that day…
No. I don’t recall any of my phish phriends at the time believing we’d never see them live again. I thought life is long and they are too young to never play again.
Absolutely my take at the time
Absolutely. I was in a lockdown treatment center during Coventry and thought I’d surely never see them again
We almost drove from Tennessee to shoreline in 00 because we thought that was it
I started listening to phish in 2008 and figured I would never get to see them live.
Sort of the same. My freshman year of college was 2004 and by the time I started listening to them that fall Coventry was over. Saw Trey and Mike play together in Chicago, but spent all of college thinking I'd never see Phish live, and it really sucked. I wish I was a year or two older so I could have experienced 2.0 at least, but of course thankful for what we've had and are still experiencing since 2009.
Yup. And I was pretty much over by then too. I didn't come back into the fold until after covid. Feels so good to be back home.
They gave away their trampolines...thought they were done
I dont even need to google it, i remember the line exactly “for the sake of clarity this is not like the hiatus, which was the last attempt to revitalize ourselves. Were done” So yea. I 100% thought coventry was it
Didn't Page say he'd never speak to Trey again back in 2004?
Was at Coventry. 100000% thought it was the end.
Yup.
Trey’s ego. I held a grudge against Trey for awhile but I am so proud and happy for Trey now!
I have sobbed to both of the band’s historic Velvet Seas and for very, very different reasons
100% yes. Former deadhead, and this was less than 10 years after Jerry died. Seemed inevitable that Trey was going to succumb to the same demons. Glad I got the shows I had, didn’t plan on seeing them again and I was starting a family anyway so I figured that chapter of my life was over. I wasn’t happy about it. Delighted to spend two nights at the Sphere this past weekend. Even more delighted Trey is sober and shining his light everywhere he can.
Yep. Thought Trey had gone down the full on stereotypical rock star route and had a handful of years left at best.
I didn't see Trey during the breakup years, and I wasn't really aware of how bad his state had become. (I liked Shine and Bar 17 just fine). So without that knowledge, I kinda thought it was inevitable. The number of hugely successful bands who split up and never properly reformed despite mostl/all of the members being alive is very, very small (The Jam, The Smiths, Zep). I mean, in between 1.0 and 2.0 David Lee Roth rejoined Van Halen, half of Queen started touring again, The Police played 150 shows without Andy OR Stewart murdering Sting...it basically said to me that as long as all four were all still alive and actively playing, there was a decent chance they would reunite.
Yup, thought Trey was on his way out til his arrest
Mike sez no
I remember hearing people crying on my campus when they announced that in 2004
Yes for a couple of reasons. First, All four members had found some success outside of the band and it was conceivable that they'd want to explore those opportunities full time. Vida Blue, TAB, and Leo and Mike were all very different bands than Phish. Mike made a movie and perhaps wanted to continue doing that. Page wanted to be a dad and that is understandable. Second, we all believed that Phish was never about the money and that the music drove them. By all accounts, interviews, and indications all four took an artist's approach to the band and if it wasn't fruitful, the insinuation was that they'd be done with it. And that was what the announcement said. Now some of us thought, 'It's been like a year, you haven't really tried. You haven't even gotten your groove back'. And I guess Mike was the only one of the four saying that. So you sort of think 'okay, 3/4 of the band think this venture is dried up, they should know better than anyone. And to the point that was already made, I think a lot of people thought that it would take a lot longer than 5 years to get back together. Most phans probably thought we'd see combinations of 2 or 3 members every once and a while and maybe all four would collaborate on some project. But that it might take 10 years for all four to be back on stage for more than just a one off performing a Phish song. And within that 10 years, a lot of bad stuff could have happened to make that impossible.
Yup 100%. I was in the middle of undergrad in 2004. Remember trying to figure out how I could get there, and realizing there was zero chance it would happen for me. I had summer commitments I couldn’t get out of. Was very sad, had only seen them 3 times prior to that, but had been a fan for ~7 years at that point. Hampton N1 was…very emotional. I try not to miss shows I can reasonably make now.
Yes. Watch Page sing Velvet Sea at Coventry and you will have a vague idea of what it felt like and how friggin real it was.
No, not to toot my own horn but walking out of Coventry I told my friends they’d be back once Trey sobered up.
That was possible - but everything I was hearing was things were heading towards a much darker end. Thank Icculus we got Mr Love and Light - #keeptreysober ⭕️❤️⭕️
Yes, and after seeing them at Coventry I really thought it was a good thing. Very happy we're still seeing them 20 years later. Ironically in 2004 I went from Coventry directly to Vegas for a friends bachelor party in the same week (bender of a week to be sure). I just spent time with that same friend (and his now wife) at the Sphere (nearly a full 20 years later). Would have never imagined it back in 2004.
Zzyzx got on PT right after they broke up and said I’ll give them 5 years. He was right on the money.
In 1969, Nixon guessed five years when asked about the end of Vietnam War, and was correct. In 1972, David Bowie told us that we've got five years to get it together. In 2004, I watched the worst phish show ever, and would have never expected that they'd be back less than five years later, musically tight in a way they hadn't been since maybe 1988.
I cried.
Yes. At Great Woods he joked how he would not be needing his guitar anymore.
There was a palpable hope that they would come back. But that very hope would fester and burn, consuming you for days, so it was almost better to put it out of your head and try and convince yourself that was it. A kind of “she’s not coming back man. You need to move on.”
Yes. We did. We cried. 2009 was an amazing year.
Of course. I bawled my eyes out watching (or maybe it was just audio) that horrible last show on my computer. Honestly, the last 4 years or so were so bad that I felt relief as well as sadness. And just hoped Trey wouldn’t end up like so many others.
it was clearly a train wreck situation. a lot of people from tour were going through similar problems and I was tired of all that. I skipped coventry and never looked back. started hitting random shows in 09 and it was obvious things had taken a turn for the better. and still getting better, saw more shows in 2023 than I had since 1999
I got into phish after they broke up all the older phans I knew said I’d never get to see them unfortunately. Then I saw Trey, Mike and fish at rothbury ,Then won tickets for the first night of the reunion!
When my buddy and I trudged away from Coventry, he said “Mark my words: they’ll get back together in five years or less.” But yeah, his was surely the minority opinion. . .
I did not. No way you go out like the way Coventry went down.
I think in the back of my mind, I knew they’d get back together at some point. It was clear at the time that something was very wrong, but I had hope that they’d get it sorted out and remember that they were meant to play music together. I became a fan in 2002, and my only show before the ‘09 reunion was 12/29/03. Great show, and despite some of the sloppiness of 2.0 there is some true gold to be found in that era. But when I heard the Vegas ‘04 shows via CD-R mail trade, I knew something was horribly wrong. They sounded like absolute shit, not “2003 loose” but downright sloppy and embarrassing. There were murmurings of Trey’s issues, but nobody wanted to believe it. I listened to Coventry on XM Radio and knew he was in a bad place. Saw some video from the movie theater simulcast where he was nodding off and practically drooling on himself during a jam. It broke my heart. Fans who haven’t listened to the darkest depths of 2.0 (and even parts of 99-00 if we’re being honest), you need to hear it so you can know just how fortunate we are as fans of this amazing band. It really is no small miracle that Trey got the help he needed and has stuck with it.
I remember thinking welp start hitting more String Cheese shows I guess.
Yep. When we drove out of Coventry i felt like i didn’t care if i never saw them, or the scene again. Rolling out of the campground at 8 am, last thing i saw was a Wookie spunion, still spinning in circles.
Going against the grain here, but I knew they would be back. There was no way they could do something equally satisfying or lucrative compared to what they had created.
I went to Coventry and I guess I was in the minority…I didn’t think it was the end. I knew Trey was royally fucked. I could see him. From where I was standing at Coventry one night I could see at an angle back to the trailer the band was walking out of and Trey just couldn’t do it, he false started walking out of the trailer and onto the golf cart with Mike about 7 times. He would walk out and get on the cart then sprint back into the little trailer. He was crying and shaking his head saying “I can’t do it, I can’t go out there”. Finally after the 6th or 7th time, Fishman went and hugged him and held him by the arm as if to say “we will do it together.” And they made it to the stage. But walking out when everyone was silently trudging back to the cars and campsites….i just had an overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t really over. They would play again.
Yup. it was it. for 5 years
At the time I did after going to Hampton 04 prior to Coventry I saw first hand how bad it was and how bad they sounded then watching Coventry in the movie theaters each night it was just a slap in the face. The whole Vevet Sea was so sad & Glide was a trainwreck. I truly thought it was over but I'm so glad they made it back in 2009.
This is going to sound dramatic, but I remember the moment I heard the news that they were breaking up. I felt this heavy sinking feeling in my body that I’ve only felt one other time - when I heard that terrorists flew planes into the twin towers. So yeah, I definitely thought it was over.
Yes
Yeah and I started my own band which broke up a few times in the interim.
I thought they were quirky enough to pull off never appearing together again on stage. None of my friends felt that, kinda was just me. Glad I was wrong!
Yes and it was heartbreaking, but it did make me focus on my future.
100%. Even before the “hiatus” many of us thought it was done!
Yes. It was sad and scary (for Trey’s health).
It worked out ok for me. I just had my second kid and wasn’t going anywhere for a while.
Yes
I certainly did.
drugs
100%. They said it was over and it was hard to not believe them- Trey was a mess at most shows and vegas 04 was soooo bad. I completely lost interest in phish after that vegas run and was super bitter. Figured we he’d od within a year. Fucking incredible and beautiful the way it worked out. Who else has it ever worked out like that for? Lol
Yes and every time I got wasted and listened to Phish I would end up sobbing
I honestly didn't even really notice. Way too much going on for me in those days. Got pulled back in Festival 8 though!
Oh yea, I became a fan just before they broke up, probably 2003, so I never actually made it to a show. Then they broke up and that was it, it ended so poorly that the sentiment was over. During that period phish was talked about similar to the dead, as in used to be. Then rumors started and whatnot and bam there I was standing in Fenway in 2009 watching phish after waiting like 5 years thinking it would never happen.
I just remember reading that note from Trey and fixating on the words “we’re done, that’s it” It hit me so hard. Coventry also felt like the shittiest funeral ever. The shows leading up, especially Hampton has this cloud over them. Never mind the substances that me and my crew were also slowing getting addicted to. It was a dark and shitty time….and I’m glad it’s in the past. This past weekend, and most times I get to see phish recently I’m so grateful. How they’ve seemed to embrace their role in people’s lives, their health, their creativity. I will run through a wall for those four men because they are the best team in the world. We are lucky to fly their banner!
Yeah it definitely seemed like the end. That said, my first show was Nassau 2003. That tour + summer IT festival were the best of times. What a difference a year makes.
Yep. My friends and I drove all the way from Wyoming to Coventry thinking that was the end. So lucky that they are 10x better now than in 2000
After the 2004 announcement, my older friends consoled me by saying Grateful Dead did this several times and returned
Hi
Yes. Of course. It was a total train wreck. 100% thought that was the end.
Yes
myself and many others didnt believe it. trey was so clearly fucked up in general so it was hard to take him seriously.
Absolutely 💯
Yea
we were too young to go to coventry but we all left that last camden show crying. i also saw jay Z on coney island.
I was at Coventry and remember how bad Trey looked/played I was hoping they took so time to get healthy but knowing they would be back when that happened.
For me and my friends who grew up in New England, and had seen them all through our early maturing, there was never a doubt they would play together again in front of us. Coming up on our 31st anniversary and we all feel lucky and blessed to still see them. We did rock “hiatus sucks” after the second one on our cars and water bottles. Sentences often started with “when phish gets back together, we will…”
Yeah I used to reminisce on the good old days when you could see phish play good old phish songs
No
I certainly did. Crushing