Going to Phish shows is always an out of the ordinary experience. Not once has attending a Phish show gone smoothly for me, and I have seen them about nine times. I have never seen them in my home state, and have always had to travel insane distances to attend those shows (Indio, Buffalo, Colorado, etc.). One time we even got our car stolen, only to find it at a Home Depot in the desert. And of course, the shows are always live spectacles that every time, despite the sleep deprivation, stress and amount of drugs raining from the sky, impress totally. Every show is a perfectly orchestrated masterpiece, mimicking the oddity and sights that are all around me. Basically, Phish is one of the best live bands on the planet.
And not one Phish experience is ever exactly like another one. The sets are always woven together so well, and the band is usually good about not playing songs two shows in a row (although you are usually guaranteed “Chalk Dust Torture” and “You Enjoy Myself”). It’s at the point now where the true Phish fans feel uneasy and almost guilty about missing any single show. People worship this band to unfathomable levels, and to the point where I feel uncomfortable around them (and usually out of place). It’s no longer a fan base; it’s a goddamn cult.
A vast majority of people (everybody else in the world I know) do not know, or understand the glory that is live Phish. In fact, most people I ever play one Phish song for flat out tell me they would never want to see this live. I once was that way as well, but once I got a taste, I had to keep going. I want to convince the entire world to see them at least once, even if you don’t enjoy 20 minute extended jams on songs about dying cats or Velvet Underground covers. Hopefully, one or several of these videos will convince you to get on the train and fork over some money to the grassroots enterprise that is Phish.
