Today is the official 30th anniversary for Phish, and while you won’t see many major publications celebrate this milestone in the way that you’d hope to see, these guys deserve plenty of diamonds as gifts from the community after all the amazing years they’ve given us. Let’s not take any of that lightly.
To that end, it’s refreshing to see Scotty B. step out behind the Editor role at JamBase to offer his personal take on why we all should be pretty damn psyched that we get to say those words today.
If the hiatus and breakup taught me anything, it’s not to take anything for granted when it comes to Phish, so I’m enjoying the band’s current revival to its fullest. Let’s take today to celebrate what the quartet has accomplished and to be thankful for the ways they’ve impacted our lives in ways beyond the music. Happy 30th Trey, Mike, Page and Fish!
He often says it better than we could ourselves. Here’s to many more years of the band!
Phish Celebrates 30th Anniversary | A Personal Take [JamBase]
A few others from the Phisherati have also weighed in, like the famous David “ZZYZX” Steinberg:
There have been miscues over the years. Some shows (and tours) are better than others. Some will prefer one of the cover albums to another or think that a song or two (say “Time Turns Elastic” or “Friday” for the more unpopular examples) was a misstep, but what there never has been has been a sense that Phish aren’t acting sincerely. Respect artistic choices or not, but there’s never been a sellout moment; perhaps the closest thing was the appearance on Hangin’ With MTV in 1992, but that was more funny than anything. If there’s a lesson on how to be a band and survive for three decades, it’s simply that.
Charlie Dirksen gives us a pretty good answer to the “Why Phish” question that still exists in mainstream music culture:
And why? Because Phish is among the most spectacular rock bands in history. Even setting aside their legendarily-outstanding musicianship (which has justifiably placed them, together, as a group, among the best), they have performed an enormous number of sets of “must-hear” music, including a concert at the turn of the millennium that is among the greatest concerts in the history of recorded music. For three decades, Phish’s music (and generous pro-taping policy) has inspired their fans to spread and share their music and create new fans.
12/2/1983 Harris/Millis Cafeteria, UVM, Burlington, VT pic.twitter.com/VsesrKSfdk
— Phish (@phish) December 2, 2013