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| Poplar |
i know a lot of you aren't fans, but these guys were truly once in a lifetime. this is truly sad news for a lot of people. me included. God this hurts.
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Phish, the Vermont-based jam band whose legions of dedicated fans made them one of the nation's top touring acts, announced Tuesday that they were breaking up.
The surprise announcement came as the band prepared to release a new album, "Undermind," on June 15 and embark on a summer tour, which will kick off June 17 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.
Band leader Trey Anastasio made the announcement on the band's Web site.
"Last Friday night, I got together with Mike, Page and Fish to talk openly about the strong feelings I've been having that Phish has run its course and that we should end it now while it's still on a high note," he wrote.
The quartet, which includes Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon and Page McConnell, was formed in 1983. The band drew thousands of fans to their concerts with marathon performances and long, experimental jams that melded every type of music, from bluegrass to electronica.
Some shows drew up to 80,000 fans, and for many of them, the band became the center of their universe. Much like the fans of the Grateful Dead before them, fans would follow the band from show to show. Phish's encouragement of the taping of their concerts also endeared them to their audiences.
Phish went on a two-year hiatus in 2000. In the interim, band members delved into different solo projects. Anastasio has released three solo albums, including his latest, 2004's "Seis De Mayo," while Gordon released his solo debut, "Inside In," last year.
Phish ended their hiatus with a series of shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The first was on New Year's Eve 2002.
Anastasio called that hiatus an attempt to revitalize themselves. But he said that was no longer an option.
"We don't want to become caricatures of ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act," he said. "By the end of the meeting, we realized that after almost 21 years together we were faced with the opportunity to graciously step away in unison, as a group, united in our friendship and our feelings of gratitude."
Phish will end their tour in Coventry, Vt., in a two-day festival Aug. 14-15 at Newport State Airport.
"We are proud and thrilled that it will be in our home state of Vermont," Anastasio said. "It's been an amazing and incredible journey. We thank you all for the love and support that you've shown us."
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| Joey |
Thanks Poplar
    
  
  
  
Bazzy !
[Edited by Joey] |
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| Poplar |
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| doo doo doo Dude |
They often closed their shows with a great version of Loving Cup. R.I.P. |
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| Poplar |
yep - and (much to my amazement) i saw them open a BRILLIANT show at Hampton Coliseum in 1997 with a great version of Emotional Rescue.
They also played Sweet Virginia a few times.
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| glencar |
The lead singer's voice wasn't all that IMO. |
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| Poplar |
with all due respect - the band's music had nothing to do with Trey's voice. His guitar was the most wicked sounding instrument i've ever heard. it was the siren's song, period.
when i've composed myself - i will expand on why i think these guys were great. they play to the other side of my brain than the stones do, which is a weird thought - i know. lord, i miss them already.
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| Bloozehound |
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| Sir Stonesalot |
I hope all the stinky wookies that followed Phish don't end up following The Stones or Neil Young or(gasp!)Dylan now.
Even though Phish's passing has no effect on me what-so-ever...I do feel bad for those who were big fans. One day, the Rolling Stones will call it quits too. |
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| glencar |
poplar, I should have added that I too like the band's playing. It's hard to get past the singing though. Much like Geddy Lee/Rush. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Sir Stonesalot wrote:
One day, the Rolling Stones will call it quits too.
Yeah they probably will, hopefully not in my lifetime. |
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| mac_daddy |
poplar - I feel ya! I can't believe it either.
I also think I will be going out to Coventry now (heard as many as 500k others might be doing the same). Guess I'd fly into logan and rent a car...
very sad news - but at least they are doing it with integrity.
I rec'd this email today...
Last Friday night, I got together with Mike, Page and Fish to talk
openly about the strong feelings I've been having that Phish has run its
course and that we should end it now while it's still on a high note.
Once we started talking, it quickly became apparent that the other guys'
feelings, while not all the same as mine, were similar in many ways --
most importantly, that we all love and respect Phish and the Phish
audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the
point of vibrancy and health. We don't want to become caricatures of
ourselves, or worse yet, a nostalgia act. By the end of the meeting, we
realized that after almost twenty-one years together we were faced with
the opportunity to graciously step away in unison, as a group, united in
our friendship and our feelings of gratitude.
So Coventry will be the final Phish show. We are proud and thrilled
that it will be in our home state of Vermont. We're also excited for the
June and August shows, our last tour together. For the sake of clarity,
I should say that this is not like the hiatus, which was our last
attempt to revitalize ourselves. We're done. It's been an amazing and
incredible journey. We thank you all for the love and support that
you've shown us.
-- Trey Anastasio
[Edited by mac_daddy] |
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| T&A |
I only got "into" Phish in the last 8 or 9 years and finally got to see them at the Gorge last year. This is sad. A truly spectular and original band in many ways. They will be sorely missed. |
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| FotiniD |
quote:
Poplar wrote:
when i've composed myself - i will expand on why i think these guys were great. they play to the other side of my brain than the stones do, which is a weird thought - i know. lord, i miss them already.
I know how that feels Poplar You get to listen to a band, dig their music, catch them in live gigs, become a fan, follow them where they go and boom...
Heck, why do bands split up? It's in my mind as one of the great mysteries of the universe, seriously. And the excuses you can hear! You can never reach a creative peak and say "ok, I'm here" imo. Humans expand, they evolve, they become better every day, they have ups and downs. How can you be sure that you've reached your best? And what if another "best" is just waiting round the corner? Get together and work and become better than you thought you could, splitting just seems like the easy way out to me. After all, you don't make music to make some achievement - you do it cause there's nothing else you can do, cause you'd go crazy if you didn't express yourself through it, cause you have to let the steam out and you can't live without it.
I just don't buy this excuse. 9 times out of 10 it's either money issues, fights etc that lead to the break up, and covering it up with beautiful over-rated artistic concerns just makes me mad.
If I had a gang of good friends and we played music together I'd never even consider the thought of splitting. One of the many reasons I have respect for Keith; I love his loyalty to the Stones.
Bands should NEVER split up. Period.
Sorry for the long post, but I've just been through the same "oh, we don't want to mess the band and be remembered negatively" and it just goes to my head every time. Hang on Poplar!
[Edited by FotiniD] |
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| UGot2Rollme |
to me, their last CD (Round Room)showed how far they had slipped - it was basically a polished demo tape (are you listening, Stones?).
but, they were always fun to see live, especially with the right mix of intoxicants... they've left alot of recorded music that will still add joy.
bye bye Phish |
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| Poplar |
good lord i got hammered last night. ouch.
i'm happy to hear some of these thoughts from you guys.
you all make excellent points. they just can't be replaced.
feeling better today, though (despite wicked hangover).
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| Riffhard |
I personally always felt that Phish's music was an excercize in the worst kind of musical masturbation. Songs like Bouncing Around the Room and Golbi Apperatus,while fun,are just absolute tripe. The lyrics always came across as afterthoughts. Musically they are all very talented. I just never could get into the lame lyrics and the "scene".
I saw the Grateful Dead well over 100 times. I did the whole US tours of '86 and '89. At least with the Dead there was always some very strong songs and real decent meaningful lyrics. The same could never be said about Phish. I mean Fee? Fuzzhead? Sample in a Jar? C'mon! What the hell is that? Give me Cumberland Blues,Dark Hollow,and Ship of Fools anyday over that crap.
I saw Phish a few times and they were a very talented band,but they seeemed to be the Dead "light". The fans,like Dead fans,took their shows WAY too seriously. I got so sick of the Dead's scene that I walked away from it after years of hardcore fandom. I mean shit it's only rock and roll,right? To some Dead and Phish fans it was more about the status symbol of seeing Dark Star or You Enjoy Myself,than it was about actully enjoying the music for the music's sake. I hated that about Dead fans and I,likewise,hate it about Phish fans.
Typical fan speak during intermission at a Phish show-
"Dude,can you fuckin' believe that Trey actully called out Fee in the middle of Golbi?!?! That is sooo wack man! I don't think they've done that since June of '94 at Chapel Hill,bro!!"
Typical response from yours truly-
"Who gives a fuck,freak! Get a bath and eat some fucking meat and loose the patcholie oil and the dredlocks whiteboy. Then go see the Stones!"
Riffhard
[Edited by Riffhard] |
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| jb |
Thanks Poplar....the lead singer was o.k. |
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| F505 |
Thank you all. |
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| Poplar |
"Dude,can you fuckin' believe that Trey actully called out Fee in the middle of Golbi?!?! That is sooo wack man! I don't think they've done that since June of '94 at Chapel Hill,bro!!"
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true. there was plenty of that, and it annoyed me all the damn time.
it's kinda like EVERY stones show i've seen where there were people telling me to sit down when the band was jamming. However, i'm not about to hold that against the band. Furthermore, i'm not gonna let it distract from my enjoyment of the show. if you want to let some people in the crowd ruin your experience, that's up to you.
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| Sir Stonesalot |
True enough Poplar.
I've heard plenty of the same kind of shit from Stones fans. I call them "song collectors". They are more interested in "getting" a song that they haven't "gotten" live yet, than they are about the entire gig itself.
To each his own, but that seems pretty shortsighted to me.
Example...at Roseland, there was a guy to my left who kept yelling "More nuggets!" Throughout the show. When they played "She Smiled Sweetly", he starts saying "Yes, yes, we got She Smiled Sweetly. We got it!" Soon after, he was back to his "more nuggets" schtick. Finally I say to him(as I'm switching discs in my recorder), "Dude, the Rolling Stones are right fuckin' THERE...and this is fuckin' ROSELAND...we should all be down on our knees thanking them for even showing up!"
It must have made an impression on him because he quit yelling his More Nuggets mantra. He also tapped me on the shoulder to share a joint with him later.
I will say this though...I can't stand stinky wookies. I really wish the dreadhead hippy chic thing would go away. And you KNOW the chicks all got that nasty wolf puss workin'. |
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| mac_daddy |
quote:
Riffhard wrote:
"Dude,can you fuckin' believe that Trey actully called out Fee in the middle of Golbi?!?! That is sooo wack man! I don't think they've done that since June of '94 at Chapel Hill,bro!!"
Typical response from yours truly-
"Who gives a fuck,freak! Get a bath and eat some fucking meat and loose the patcholie oil and the dredlocks whiteboy. Then go see the Stones!"
Riffhard
[Edited by Riffhard]
I hear ya, but fans of every band pull that sh*t...
oh, and it is "Golgi" as in the song "Golgi Apparatus"
still sad to see them go.
_____
poplar, drop me a PM with your snail mail addy, and I will burn a set ogf the shows I taped in Vega$ last month. |
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| T&A |
if someone is truly enjoying music - why on earth should that bother someone else? that doesn't make any sense to me.... |
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| Poplar |
"Relax. The world will spin beside itself and suck you in, with threats and hopes beyond compare."
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| mac_daddy |
did you see Trey on charlie rose last night..?
quite interesting. |
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| Joey |
Thanks Everyone .
Play safe this weekend and please don't get " Cicada'd "
Jacky ! |
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| Poplar |
yeah. trey looked "tired." and he spoke as if he's kinda worn out. i wonder if there are other things in his life that are drawing his energies? go figure. i thought his comment about the over/under 30 yrs old thing was interesting. i'm 28 - ha!
also interesting that mike was the one saying "no way."
i thought it might be page or fish.
"now i'm on my way." |
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| glencar |
WNET in NYC is rebroadcasting it right now. Who will all the Phish fans follow now? DMB is passe, right? |
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| Happy Motherfucker!! |
I'm proud to call myself a "Deadhead" as I have seen well over a hundred shows, and while not all were great, I always appreciated the band for trying. It can't be perfect, great ect every night. Same thing with The Stones, some nights they're on and other night they're not, but I always appreciated the effort because you never knew when they left the stage if it would be the last time. Too many people took that for granted in the later days of The Grateful Dead, then Jerry up and died on us, but I was always thrilled just to be in the same room with a musical genius. But to the point about the wookies, I for one cannot stand the fuckers. They walk the parking lot begging for a free ticket and are more then happy to rob you blind given the chance. These fuckers are the ones that give "Deadheads" and the scene in general a bad rap. Last year at a Dead show this fucking wookie walks up to my van where me and my 13 year old son where hanging out and precedes to just open my cooler and start to help himself to a beer without a word said. In a split second I grabbed his stinkin ass and kindly introduced him to the pavement of the Virginia Beach parking lot. He just looks at me like I'M the one with the problem. Well. Some cops where watching the whole thing and came quickly, the wookie took off on a full sprint with the cops in chase. When they came back to me I was expecting them to give me some grief for throwing his ass down, but surprisingly they just laughed and said� He got exactly what was coming to him, and if he returned and bothered me and my son again, I had their permission to do whatever I saw fit to take care of the situation. That was pretty cool of them. As you can expect, the wookie did not return! Anyway I know I�m rambling, but I�ve got a pretty good buzz going tonight! As for Phish, never cared much for them, they're really good musicians, but their lyrics are very lame and they are certainly far from ever being in the same league with the good ole Grateful Dead. |
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| stonedinaustralia |
who are these "wookies" of whom you speak
are they the neo-hippies - you know, dreadlocked vegans in need of a bath
down here we call those types "ferals" if that's what you are referring to |
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