Phish lot is a Little League game and the Ghosts haunt on
In which we discuss that greatness, and other good stuff.
Hi there, happy Tuesday night, and welcome to our first tour-summery Jam Sandwich, where the bread don’t get crusty but the funk do get musty.
I’m writing this to you from set-break approximately 874 miles from the rail. What a fool I am. What a fool.
First things first: I tweeted the other day that this was a little labor of love and we had a few dozen folks gettin’ in and, lo and behold, we’re now nearing 100 amazing, perfect, beautiful souls who love this scene and this band and the other bands and are letting me spill it out for them.
Thank you.
Got a tip? I want it. Find me on Twitter @moneyries or email moneyries@gmail.com if you’ve got an item for this newsletter. Don’t care whether it’s a goofy tweet, a project you’re doing on the side, or your main hustle. Sharing is caring.
And if you’re not already:
OKAY. JAM SANDWICH.
Lights.
💰 Hello from the cushions where I’m thankful to be streaming a Phish show with a DIPA in hand but aghast at the $25 I’m supposed to pony up to make this happen every night of tour. (Or $300 for the full package.)
$25! Can’t it be like, I dunno, $10?
I tweeted this is an insane price point that’ll only drive up piracy and shared logins, to which Charlie Dirksen countered, “I don’t think it’s necessarily an ‘insane’ move if it winds up netting greater profit for them (they also don’t have to worry about losing market share to a competitor as they increase price).”
He’s right, of course, but damn.
Still, we don’t deserve them.
🆒 Phish opened their summer tour with “Cool Amber And Mercury,” a juicy Kasvot Växt track that we all know so well, and yet, lol, it’s barely 7 months old. At that age most babies are just beginning to try solids and, if their parents are lucky, poop solids — and sleep through the night. This little lady is is flying a doggone deep space rocket ship. And then, sure, why not > 46 Days. And Stash! Ah! But this isn’t a recap blog so find that groovy shit elsewhere.
👻 Well, that settles that. Ya knew it would happen. And it wasn’t too sad!
⚾ Before the show a Little League contest just so happened to be underway adjacent to St. Louis’s Chaifetz Arena on Tuesday night that gave folks a chance to pregame and take in America’s favorite pastime. And balloons.
🎸 The Tennessean goes deep on Phish’s contribution to Bonnaroo two days out from the festival. It turns out to be, well, all of it.
“There's no underplaying the significance that Phish had, as a band and as an organization, in the direct development of Bonnaroo,” co-founder Rick Farman says.
Trey explains why:
“There were no festivals. And I mean none. It was not something that had a blueprint. The only festival that we could have conjured up in America would be Woodstock — the real one — which was logistically, an unmitigated disaster. So when we started planning our first festival, the first thing on our minds was to make it really comfortable for our friends, which were our fans.”
Oh we also learn the industry wanted Phish to play Randall’s Island after Clifford Ball but they said nope, and packed their bags for Limestone, Maine.
“…Our solution was, 'Not only aren't we gonna go to Randall's Island, we're gonna go as far away in the continental United States as is humanly possible.' We put the next festival in Limestone, Maine. You really need to look at a map to see how far north that is. It's way further north than the Canadian border. And lo and behold, 70,000 people came for one band. Clearly there was a hunger for something, and we kind of tapped into it.”
Great interview, and a strong story for the hometown crowd.
🤔 Amar Sastry delivered on his deep dive into the Hampton Halley’s Comet, exploring its depths and tracing its origin back to the enigmatic Richard Wright (a.k.a.“Nancy”) in an “Anatomy of a Jam” that got a plug by Fishman on Facebook, who wrote, “this guy’s work is as solid as it gets.” It’s like, documentary-length, so kick those feet up and YouTube and Chill.
🖕You know that early 2000s photo of Trey flicking off the photographer while wearing the “Wilson” shirt? This might be its origin story. It has everything to do with, yes, Trey flicking off a camera fan backstage at Red Rocks, but also Page at a record store and Brad Sands.
The Shakedown
Greensky Bluegrass joined Del McCoury and David Grisman for “New River Train” at Camp Greensky. Grisman joked they’re the band’s “opening act.” Paul Hoffman wrote on Instagram he “had the time of my life… spread the word love, dreams can come true.” [Watch.]
RJ Bee took a look at the Ghosts of the Forest lyrics through the lens of his own experience with loss. He penned Ghosts of the Forest, Deconstructed for Medium, diving deep into “how the songs relate to each other, but also to the process of grieving.” Thanks for sharing, RJ.
Musicologist Jake Cohen joined St. Louis on the Air to explore the popularity and nuances of Phish ahead of the band’s tour opener.
Bobby Weir embraces his inner Thor pre-show at the Gorge.
“Watkins Glen International terminated the site license for Woodstock pursuant to provisions of the contract. As such, WGI will not be hosting the Woodstock 50 Festival.”
Jim Pollock’s got some new WaterWheel postcards.
Artist Brad Klausen got the tour opener with an edition of 600 and two colorways.
Mike got a haircut.
Trey’s been listening to Anderson .Paak.
[Images from top to bottom: Reddit; LivePhish, Trey in Wilson shirt; ]
