The following is a quote from Anastasio, regarding Genesis as musical innovators:

“Every musical rule and boundary was questioned and broken. It’s impossible to overstate what impact this band and musical philosophy had on me as a young musician. I’m forever in their debt.”

You may recall that Genesis‘ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was listed as one of the 99 possible cover albums for PHISH to perform last Halloween.  In fact, Lamb was even one of a handful of finalists that were recognized with campgrounds titled in their honor at Festival 8.  PHISH did two separate live performances at last night’s induction, paying tribute to both the work of early Genesis, as well as the post-Peter Gabriel era.

[Please enjoy footage of each performance after the jump]

To pay tribute to the early Gabriel fronted experimental sound, the Vermont boys covered “Watcher in the Skies” from Genesis‘ second album Foxtrot (1972)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Later they brought in the horns for their rendition of 1981‘s “No Reply at All‘ from the album ABACAB

Click here to view the embedded video.

In related news, potential dates and rumors are flying all over the fucking place again, regarding PHISH‘s upcoming summer tour dates.  One specific list, which has been the most widely accepted, is beginning to look more and more legit, after one of the dates has already received confirmation.

This morning the Washington Post gave credence to the Maryland dates with the following post:

- Phish’s triumphant reunion tour makes a two-night stop at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 26 and 27. The last time Phish played Merriweather it was the single fastest sellout in venue history. So even though there are two shows this time around, don’t expect tickets to last much more than an hour. Again, you’ve got a while until they go on sale – April 2 in this case – so sell some extra patchouli and you should be good to go.

Phans hope that the remaining tour dates will be announced by tomorrow morning.  Stops immediately after the Telluride Jazz fest have already been confirmed, but it’s important to pay attention to who the sources are who are providing this information, before you start booking and rebooking flights and hotel rooms .  In fact, if you click this following link HERE, the following page will appear on PHISH.com.

Clearly, the tickets have not gone on sale yet, but this is a prime example of why so much speculation swirls around; things behind the scenes are changing constantly and people will even throw wrenches into the clockwork like crazy just to fuck things up.  According our our friends over at YEMBLOG, this is part of a glitch in the PHISH.com system, that allows users to alter the text to whatever they wish.

Until then, here are the speculated tour dates in full.

06.11 Bridgeview, IL
06.12 Cuyahoga Falls, OH
06.13 Hershey, PA
06.15 Portsmouth, VA
06.17 Hartford, CT
06.18 Hartford, CT
06.19 Saratoga Springs, NY
06.20 Saratoga Springs, NY
06.22 Mansfield, MA
06.24 Camden, NJ
06.25 Camden, NJ
06.26 Columbia, MD
06.27 Columbia, MD
06.29 Canandaigua, NY
07.01 Raleigh, NC
07.02 Charlotte, NC
07.03 Atlanta, GA
07.04 Atlanta, GA
————
08.05 Berkeley, CA
08.06 Berkeley, CA
08.07 Berkeley, CA
08.09 Telluride, CO
08.10 Telluride, CO
08.12 Noblesville, IN
08.13 Noblesville, IN
08.17 Wantagh, NY
08.18 Wantagh, NY
08.20 New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall)
08.21 New York, NY (Radio City Music Hall)

[Scroll to bottom for MP3 Download of 11/19/94 "Parking Lot show"]

Years ago, when I lived in Olympia, Washington, something odd happened.  I couldn’t receive any television stations, so I attached a set of bunny ears to achieve a  few of them.  One day I decided to move my furniture around, which included plugging my TV into the outlet on the other side of the room.  When I did that, I lost all of my channels that I did get but, when I disconnected the bunny ears, a whole bunch of extra ones came through for the first time.  One of the benefits from this was that I wound up with two different PBS stations and PHISH was scheduled to be featured on Austin City Limits.  I was excited to watch the program, but I had a birthday party to attend, so I set my VCR to record it and blasted out to the soirée/BBQ.  When I returned home to check the video, I was treated to an unexpected surprise.  Although I had successfully recorded an episode of Austin City Limits, it wasn’t the episode with PHISH on it.  Apparently, at the exact same time, the WILCO/Bela Fleck Bluegrass Sessions episode was airing on the other PBS station and I had recorded that one.  Bela Fleck was performing with Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Vasser Clements, etc and the error turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  Over the next year or so, I watched that footage excessively and it became one of my favorite things to space out to in awe.

Tonight, while my sister was visiting, something equally as fortunate took place in reverse.  She has recently become increasingly interested in Bluegrass music and, after her ringtone of a bluegrass breakdown went off, I decided to search out the version of “Salty Dog” that Fleck and his crew had performed on ACL all those years back.  To my surprise, after typing “Bluegrass Sessions” into a YouTube search, I found a PHISH video instead and this whole scenario came full circle.  Many of us are aware of the Vermont 4-piece‘s remarkable ability to transition through various genres and their penchant for busting out favorites like “Uncle Pen” and “Old Home Place” but, although they had demonstrated those influences in the past, this video displays a time when the quartet truly began to focus and venture seriously into such Bluegrass territory.  Posted by Youtube user jlaughli, the clip is from 1994 and was the first part of a 9 part “documentary”.  Fans of the group should really enjoy viewing this home footage, which features Mike on banjo, Page on upright bass, and even drummer, Jon Fishman playing the mandolin.  The youtube poster did not create the documentary, it was filmed by Rev. Jeff Mosier, but we’d like to give him huge props because, it is really nice to finally see it all in one place and so easily accessible.  To make it even easier to locate and view in it’s entirety, we have provided all 9 parts of the full documentary footage below.  Seeing as yesterday marks the 15 year anniversary of when the recording of this footage originally began, I feel that there is no better time for us to put this up, than now.  Enjoy!

The following is description posted by jlaughli via his youtube account:

“This has already been called the “Holy Grail” of Phish Videos.

This is a FREELY TRADED, NEVER SOLD home movie of Phish Backstage. Total running time 1 hour 20 minutes.

The Rev. Jeff Mosier (Blueground Undergrass) was contracted by Phish in the Fall of 1994, to help them learn Bluegrass. They flew him to Michigan and Gordon picked him up in a limo, and they had their first lesson on 11-14-94, same night as Grand Rapids.

With his Blessing, the footage he shot of this whole experience, backstage and onstage, was remastered and is now being shared.”

1994 Bluegrass Sessions Documentary

——————————

[PART 1]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 2]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 3]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 4]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 5]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 6]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 7]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 8]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[PART 9]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bloomington Parking Lot Show (11/19/94)

Noticeably, and curiously, missing from the video footage, is PHISH‘s infamous parking lot bluegrass jam in Bloomington, IN.  The impromptu performance took place after the 1994 Indiana University Auditorium show.  You’ll notice that, when you view PART 6 (@ 9:02) of the documentary, there is an abrupt cut in the film where they completely bypass the parking lot performance and jump straight to Nov. 20th.  Prior to this jump in film, Mosier was performing on stage with the boys and somebody else was filming him.  Perhaps he didn’t have his camera on hand, when the bluegrass jam was busted out, and that was the reason for the lack of footage.  Whatever the reason, it’s a shame, because this is the one completely bluegrass performance that PHISH has done and it is a valuable piece of video to have missing from these bluegrass-centric video recordings.  Fortunately, the audio from this bonus show does exist and, thanks to Tauthal.com, we’ve been able to provide you with a direct download link here on the site.

The following show notes are taken from page 419 of The Phish Companion (2nd Edition):

Show Notes: The lineup for this bluegrass jam included Mike on banjo and electric bass, Page on bass, Trey on guitar and fiddle, Fishman on mandolin,”Reverend” Jeff Mosier on banjo, Eric Merrill on fiddle, a fan named Abe Stevens on jaw harp and a fan named Jeremy on banjo, and an unidentified player on the jaw harp.

The circulating recordings are attributed to “an alert taper that spotted the jam in progress near the tour bus”

{DOWNLOAD LINK}

PHISH 11/14/94

Indian University Parking Lot

Bloomington Indiana

1. Blackberry Blossom (1:36)
2. Tennessee Waltz (3:30)
3. The Old Home Place (4:43)
   
4. Dooley (3:11)
5. Mountain Jam (2:56)
6. John Hardy (5:47)
7. Sweet Baby’s Arms (4:11)
8. Long Journey Home (4:27)
   
9. Little Tiny Butter Biscuits (5:59)
   
10. I’m Blue I’m Lonesome (3:33)
    
11. Midnight Moonlight (5:44)
    
12. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (3:28)

*I’ve seen minor discrepancies listed for the set list, but this is the list provided when downloaded

Neckties are, arguably, one of the most pointless and unnecessary garments ever created.  Thin strips of fabric tucked under a collar, don’t exactly provide a shield from the elements and, if anything, they create a potential hazard with their risk of strangulation.  Think about all of the countless folks out there suffering from Pnigerophobia (fear of choking), who are discriminated against and turned away from fine dining establishments, simply due to their inability to adhere to rigid dress codes.  You won’t catch Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad experimenting with any sort of neck-wear, because he’s aware of the tremendous likelihood of someone creeping up and trying to choke a mother fucker out.  Ties are played out as Father’s Day gifts and are usually given in some novelty form that, no matter how entertaining, Pops couldn’t take to the “office” anyway.  The aesthetic value placed on the necktie over the years is ridiculous and, beyond that visual stimulus, they are pretty much worthless.  At least scarves have insulating properties.  The production of the silk tie adds the element of touch into the equation, but fondling and adjusting your tie consistently gives off too much a sexual deviant vibe.  With so many risks, it would be nice if the classic necktie could be less one-dimensional and updated for our space-age lifestyles.

What if there was a product out there that could retain that striking appeal, which would allow you to influence others, and combines it with the interactivity of a light-up magnetic backgammon tie?  What if you could keep riding that debonair steez with the added benefit of stimulating your auditory canal?  Now what if I told you that this technology actually exists?!  What would you be willing to pay to get your hands on this modern day miracle?  4-hundred-thousand dollars?  A crate of Klondike bars?  The remaining balance on your EBT card?  Drown a neighbor’s kid in a plastic pool?  Take a hot rail of bathtub crank, blow the smoke in a raccoon’s face, and try to force-service it manually?  Burn down a Hollywood video?  Tase a cop?  Break into a Rite Aid pharmacy in a luchador mask and hoop a stolen prescription of someone’s Estrogen?  Sit through a Kenny Chesney concert… sober?  Well, these miracle future ties do exist and are currently available for a bargain price (less than 100 American dollars!)

Artist and all around creator, Alyce Santoro has teamed up with, friend/NYC designer, Julio Cesar to create the “Sonic Fabric” necktie (pictured above).  While Cesar, primarily, handled the “design” aspect, the material was actually invented by Santoro many years ago and has been used in various ongoing projects.  The revolutionary “Sonic Fabric“, constructed out of 50% polyester and 50% recycled audio cassette tape, is woven through an antique loom in a small, family run New England mill.  Perhaps the most interesting thing about the canvas-like fabric is that, even after enduring the less than delicate process of being turned into an article of clothing, the cassette tape still has the ability to release audio.  When modified tape-heads are rubbed directly onto the ties and amplified, the recordings still register and become audible.

For the ladies, Santoro has also collaborated with Cesar to produce clutch handbags out of Sonic Fabric.  Both of the products are constructed from audio tape that has been pre-recorded with sounds from Santoro‘s own CD.  The cleverly titled, Between Stations is comprised of abstract tracks, featuring found sounds and “based on looped and layered samples collected on and under the streets of nyc“.  Both the ties and the clutch are available in a limited edition run for $90.  The clutch, ties, and the Between Stations CD are available through Santoro‘s shop, Improbable Objects.  Sonic Fabric is also now available by the yard, through SonicFabric.com.

Not all of the Sonic Fabric that the conceptual artist has created features her own music.  In fact, after gaining interest and researching further, I came to realize that I have actually had the opportunity to witness another incarnation of her invention first hand.  The crazy thing about it is that I hadn’t even realized it at the time.  If you take the time to look at the above images, the common theme of orange circles can been found in all of them.  Santoro clearly has a love for that symbol and it makes repeated appearances throughout her work.  Back in 2003, she was contacted by another artist who is also widely recognized by his affinity for the “orange donut” and has adopted it as his own personal logo.  PHISH drummer, Jon Fishman commissioned Alyce to create a Sonic Fabric version of the muumu that he is known for sporting during his live performances.  Santoro met with Fishman, who provided her with his entire, extensive cassette tape collection, and, by integrating these recordings into the fabric, she made the “rhythm dress”.  She also fashioned a pair of special tape-head gloves.  This combination allowed for the musician to create music by simply rubbing his hands across his body, while wearing the dress.  During PHISH‘s 2004 run of Las Vegas shows, Fishman took center stage to do just that.  I was at the show and had completely forgot about the spectacle until now.  What I do remember from the performance was that, although I can recall seeing it take place, I was a bit confused as to what exactly was going on.  From where I stood, it looked and sounded a lot like he was playing an electric washboard.  It’s true that the fabric has the ability to emit sound, but it is in no way as clear as the original recordings themselves.  The sounds are much more abstract and chaotic, like that of a circuit-bent toy.  Santoro refers to the audio that Sonic Fabrics are charged with as sound “collages“.

PHISH Las Vegas 2004

Click here to view the embedded video.

For those that may be interested in acquiring a piece of the material made specifically for the Fishman project, Santoro has some available.  The “Sonic Flags” are constructed of the same fabric that features sounds from Fishman‘s tape collection and have a dimension of 7″ x 11″.  They are offered in a limited run of 300 pieces and cost $35.

Santoro has quite a few different sites, but you can use the following links to find what you’re looking for.

AlyceSantoro.com (official website)

Improbable Objects (her store)

“Alyce Obvious” on Youtube

SonicFabric.com

Improbable Projects on Myspace (music)

Watch the following videos to find out more about Santoro and Sonic Fabrics

SONIC FABRIC

Click here to view the embedded video.

How to Build a Sonic Fabric Reader

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Factory & the Loom

Click here to view the embedded video.

Oddly Fitting & Random FISHMAN Video

(old video of Fishman where he sounds as if he’s referring to Sonic Fabric)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Everyone has been waiting around to find out what was up with the Fall tour dates which, at this point, have really become much more like Winter Tour dates.  This morning, in typical Phish 3.0 fashion, the dates were introduced via a video on their website.  Most of you will be happy to know that the rumored dates that have been floating around for so many months have officially been confirmed as legit.  The real surprises are the two additional dates added to that list; one in Syracuse and another in Portland, Maine.  The Portland show is scheduled to take place at the Cumberland County Civic Center and will easily be one of the hardest tickets of the year to get your hands on.  The “C4“, as I have just decided to start referring to it as, is listed with a capacity of only 9,000.  What’s more is that the Syracuse show will be held at War Memorial at Oncenter (capacity 8,000).   ZOIKS!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m sure that there are going to be plenty of “I told you so you stupid mother fuckers” being delivered, today.  Someone’s probably even going to end up getting punched in the skull somewhere.  The speculation and debate around the band’s every upcoming move has been at an all-time high and can cause a great deal of animosity between their arguing fans.  This isn’t necessarily anything new but, if one band has really harnessed the power of the internet, it’s PHISH.  Plus, we still feel forced to write something and feed into this shit too because , with our recent post about the speculated dates, it seemed irresponsible not to do a follow up.

Here are the tour dates with the dates that they go on sale listed beside them:

Fall Tour 2009

• 11/18/09 – Cobo Arena – Detroit, Michigan (on sale 10/24)

  11/20/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio (on sale 10/23)

  11/21/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio  (on sale 10/23)

  11/22/09 – War Memorial at Oncenter – Syracuse, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/24/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA (on sale 10/24)

  11/25/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA (on sale 10/24)

  11/27/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/28/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/29/09– Cumberland Cty Civic Cntr – Portland, ME (on sale 10/24)

  12/2/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/3/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/4/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/5/09  – John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA
  (on sale 10/23)

A limited number of tickets are available NOW directly through Phish Tickets’ online ticketing system at http://phish.portals.musictoday.com. The ticket request period is currently underway and will end Friday, October 16th at 5:00pm EST.

Tickets go on sale to the public beginning Friday, October 23rd, with additional dates going on sale Saturday, October 24th. For full show and ticketing information, please visit the tourdates page at Phish.com.

I just saw this video and actually laughed out loud over it.  I was in the middle of dealing with another post, but I had to drop everything to get this up here now, because:

(A) It’s relevancy is time specific

and

(2) I think people need to see it.

You may have seen the other similar versions of this video with different subtitles related to gaming, football, or even Michael Jackson.  It’s become a growing meme recently, but I feel that this PHISH-related video is still done particularly well.  If you’re curious about the original source footage, it was taken from a 2004 German-Austrian film titled Der Untergang (aka: Downfall).

If you’re feeling left in the dark, you can always check out a couple of our other Festival 8 related posts:

Last Record Left Alive : PHISH Festival 8 Halloween Musical Costume

Where the PHUCK is it Already?! [PHISH's Halloween Festival]

DATES CONFIRMED!

CLICK TO LINK

Collectively, PHISH fans can be some of the most paranoid, presumptuous, and speculating mother fuckers around, but it’s not necessarily their fault.  The band has been feeding into their own mythology from the very first moment that there was ever a sign that they may able to get away with it.  Over their five year hiatus, the big question was about when and if they’d return.  The assumptions and apparent “evidence” throughout that time were like that of the self-proclaimed “experts” on the apocalypse.  “The Mayan Calendar is proof!“  “Just read the bible!” “Take a look at the fucking ice caps!“  “Nostradamus foresaw this!” ….and such similar bullshit.  The obsession actually seemed to grow when they weren’t even performing as a unit anymore.  People were so focused that, when they suddenly announced their reformation quietly on their website, people were actually alert enough to notice it.  I want to reiterate that point because I think that it’s important: They had broken up for 5 YEARS, and people were still viewing their website every day!  After the reunion dates were set, the questions were, “When’s the tour?” and then “When’s the Westcoast tour!“  After that it was, “Where’s the 3-day festival gonna be?” and now it’s currently, “What album are they gonna cover on Halloween?“  They always have something up their sleeve for the future to keep people guessing continually.  Forums run rampant with this speculation to the point where there’s often a huge split between the cynical and overly certain and/or hopeful.  Everyone thinks that they have the scoop and it’s hard to know what information or sources are credible.  Sometimes, however, something pops up that’s so suspicious that it’s hard to doubt it.

For most of today PHISH.com has been un-viewable and, when it has been, no new changes are displayed to the potential list of Halloween cover albums.  The Festival 8 hard tickets are arriving to people and they display a clear image on them of what appears to be a Joshua Tree.  Does that mean anything?  Probably not.  A case could be made for almost anything but, in the middle of all of the guesses and clues being thrown around, it’s easy to forget about the next question that had been on the table, “What’s up with the fall tour?“  Thanks to the official site being down and preventing any new info about Halloween, at least one person was able to shake themselves out of their focused trance and has, perhaps, found some clues that could help answer that question.

A full list of supposed Fall dates have been circulating around for a while and, although nothing has been officially confirmed with any of them, at least 2 of the dates seem legit.  The screenshot above was taken from the Jillians of Albany website and was discovered by, Phantasytour.com forum member, xPHISHx and pointed out by them in a thread on the site.  As you can see, Jillian‘s calendar of events clearly advertises back to back after parties for PHISH shows being held in the Albany area on November 27 and 28, the days following Thanksgiving.  What’s more is that these two dates correspond directly with the rumored tour dates and if legit, this may lend some credence to the schedule as a whole.

Here are the remaining dates which have been floating around.  Feel free to derive your own conclusions from them.

11/18/09 – Cobo Arena – Detroit, Michigan
11/20/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio
11/21/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio
11/24/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA
11/25/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA
11/27/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
11/28/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
12/2/09 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
12/3/09 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
12/4/09 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
12/5/09 – John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA

New Years Run 2009

12/28/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
12/29/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
12/30/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
12/31/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL

[Scroll to the bottom for recent Updates as they arrive]

Earlier this year, PHISH posted an animated flash map, which sent their fanbase on an apeshit crazy hunt to figure out the location of the 3-Day Halloween Festival.  The location was finally disclosed as the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA but, although it is a major detail, it is only one of multiple questions that has been answered, regarding the festivities.  Slowly more and more information is being released.  The official schedule is up, which involves the bands first ever all-acoustic set (donuts and coffee provided).  The main question that’s been racking everyone’s brain, however, is what PHISH will be playing for their Halloween set.  Now another new interactive, flash animation feature is slowly providing that information as well.

Those familiar with PHISH‘s history know that the Halloween shows tend to be legendary.  Often referred to as “Musical Costumes“, the band played a handful of shows throughout the nineties in which they devoted the second sets of the night to covering a legendary album by another artist.  The first time that they performed one of these shows was on Halloween of 1994, when they covered The White Album by The Beatles.  In 1995, they played Quadrophenia by The Who and, the following year, they pulled out Talking Heads‘ Remain in Light.  After performing The Great Went festival in 1997, there wasn’t a Halloween performance scheduled, but they returned with another Musical Costume of The Velvet Underground‘s Loaded the next year.  Two days after the Loaded show in Vegas, the boys surprised at the E Centre in Utah with a Nov. 2nd performance of Pink Floyd‘s Dark Side of the Moon.  This was the last of these cover shows performed by the band but, now over a decade later, the theme is returning.  This will mark the first time that PHISH has ever played one of their trademark festivals on the West Coast, as well as the first time that they are combining their Halloween tradition in with one of them.

The PHISH website currently features an image of a card/invitation (see header above) which features the text “Play the Last Record Alive“.  Once the picture is clicked, a series of 99 different album covers can be scrolled through and viewed.  Each album is featured in an intricate picture frame and represents a possible album that the 4-piece may be coverin at Festival 8.  The album covers are slowly being eliminated, or “killed“, off of the list, as graphics of arrows, axes, or butcher knives draw blood as they are plunged into them, one by one.  Some albums are obviously just fillers, while others are clear possibilities.  It’s obvious that they wouldn’t be covering Rubber Soul, Velvet Underground and Nico, Fear of Music, Who’s Next, Meddle or The Wall, because they’ve already covered albums by The Beatles, VU, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, and The Who.  Then there’s a couple of classic “hippie” albums, like American Beauty and Eat A Peach, sprinkled in, but those are probably only in there to throw off the scent of the young kids that don’t know any better.  Then there are the albums that feature tracks that they’ve covered in the past like Purple Rain, Hunky Dory, and Led Zepplin 1… (possible?).  I’m happy to see crazy shit like Double Nickels on the Dime listed but, just because I’m psyched, doesn’t mean that any one else at the show will want to hear any Minutemen songs.  I just simply find it hard to believe that there’s a large percentage of movie collections with both We Jam Econo and Bittersweet Motel in them.  A Tribute to Jack Johnson?  Amazing album but..never gonna happen because, even if Page could cover the Herbie and Corea roles, nobody’s gonna pull of Mile‘s horn.  Crooked Rain Crooked Rain would be great to hear, especially since Pavement has a reunion planned for next year.  Obviously, there’s 99 albums on this fucking list, so there’s a lot of choices and possibilities here.  I think that a lot of these “filler” albums are placed on here justso that many phans will become aware of them and finally check them out, not because there is any chance for them to be covered, and I think that’s a noble move.  Influential bands like Love deserve that added attention from a larger market.  This theory is further proven to me by the inclusion of the Pork Tornado album, Jon Fishman‘s widely ignored side project.  Some artists, like Hendrix, Bowie, and Zeppelin have multiple albums listed.  Who knows?  I’ll leave the rabid speculation up to the forums, I just really hope that they don’t cover Hotel California or The Joshua Tree. That is, of course, unless I don’t make it to the festival, then I hope that they do because I’m a spiteful dick.

Below is the official schedule for Festival 8.
We have also provided an entire list of the 99 album cover titles below and will be crossing them off of the list as they disappear.

(click image for official festival 8 site)

OFFICIAL FESTIVAL 8 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Friday, October 30th, 2009

• 4:00PM – Concert Field opens
• 7:30PM – Set 1
• 10:00PM – Set 2

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

• 12:00PM – Concert Field opens
• 3:00PM – Set 1
• 7:30PM – The Halloween Set
• 10:00PM – Set 3

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

• 10:00AM – Concert Field opens
• 12:00PM – Acoustic Set
• 5:30PM – Set 2
• 8:30PM – Set 3

(click here to link to the Halloween day site)

1. Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street

2. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Damn The Torpedoes

3. Medeski, Martin & Wood – Shack Man

4. Huey Lewis And The News – Sports

5. Talking Heads – Fear Of Music

6. Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man

7. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground And Nico

8. The Who – Who’s Next

9. The Beatles – Rubber Soul

10. The White Stripes – Elephant

11. Ween – White Pepper

12. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

13. Primus – Sailing The Seas Of Cheese

14. The Allman Brothers Band – Eat A Peach

15. Manu Chao – Clandestino

16. Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

17. The Roots – Phronology

18. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs

19. The Eagles – Hotel California

20. Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de Lo Habitual

21. Various Artists – Saturday Night Fever

22. fIREHOSE – Flyin’ the Flannel

23. X – Los Angeles

24. Peter Gabriel – So

25. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Against The Wind

26. David Bowie – Scary Monsters

27. Elvis Costello- This Year’s Model

28. Bob Dylan & The Band – The Basement Tapes

29. Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

30. Duran Duran – Rio

31. Michael McDonald – If That’s What It Takes

32. Pink Floyd – Meddle

33. John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band

34. Pork Tornado – S/T

35. Queen – A Night At The Opera

36. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

37. Arcade Fire – Funeral

38. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

39. Violent Femmes – S/T

40. Daryl Hall & John Oates – Private Eyes

41. Ramones – S/T

42. ZZ Top – Tres Hombres

43. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River

44. Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic

45. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV

46. The Grateful Dead – American Beauty

47. Devo – Freedom of Choice

48. Eric Clapton – 461 Ocean Blvd

49. U2 – The Joshua Tree

50. Journey – Escape

51. Pearl Jam – Ten

52. The Doors – S/T

53. Rush – Moving Pictures

54. Love – Forever Changes

55. Guns N Roses – Appetite For Destruction

56. Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty

57. KISS – Alive II

58. Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks

59. The Jimi Hendrix Experiment – Are You Experienced

60. Blind Faith – S/T

61. Pixies – Come On Pilgrim

62. The Band – S/T

63. Metallica – Master Of Puppets

64. Frank Zappa – Hot Rats

65. Miles Davis – A Tribute To Jack Johnson

66. Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire

67. The Police – Ghost In The Machine

68. Curtis Mayfield – Superfly (OST)

69. Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic

70. Neil Young – Tonight’s The Night

71. Van Halen – S/T

72. The Modern Lovers – S/T

73. Brian Eno – Before And After Science

74. The Clash – London Calling

75. Nirvana – Nevermind

76. Black Sabbath – Paranoid

77. Boston – S/T

78. AC/DC – Back In Black

79. Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers

80. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

81. T.Rex – Electric Warrior

82. Chicago – The Chicago Transit Authority

83. Minutemen – Double Nickels On The Dime

84. Television – Marquee Moon

85. Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run

86. Frank Zappa – Apostrophe

87. Pink Floyd – The Wall

88. Yes -  The Yes Album

89. David Bowie – The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

90. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I

91. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

92. Michael Jackson – Thriller

93. Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

94. The Jimi Hendrix Experiment – Electric Ladyland

95. King Crimson – Larks’ Tongues In Aspic

96. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

97. Radiohead – Kid A

98. David Bowie – Hunky Dory

99. Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain

UPDATE (10.6.09): Cover Art Changes

Apparently, the people in charge of dealing with the Halloween graphics for PHISH.com are also tired of looking at the same fucking album covers over and over again.  Today they decided to mix things up a bit and incorporate some PHISH-related imagery and alter the original album artwork.  Here are the changes, so far,  for those who are interested:

The first sign that something was different was the change in the Blind Faith album from the censored cover to the original more graphic cover art.

Then things began to get a little more interesting.

You’ll notice that in the original cover (Right) Springsteen is playing a Fender Telecaster, while in the PHISH.com image, he is holding a Paul Languedoc guitar just like Trey Anastasio‘s

Tom Petty‘s now rocking a PHISH T-shirt and the Electric Warrior cover was changed from “T.REX” to “T.REY”

RUSH‘s Moving Pictures album now features Trey and Mike moving a keyboard.

Finally, the Hello Nasty sardine can is packed with PHISH members instead of Beastie Boys and the vendor on Pretzel Logic is wearing Jon Fishman‘s viking helmet.

Actually, “finally” probably isn’t the best word to be using… I’m sure that have plenty more of these shenanigans waiting in the wings.

10.07.09

Another album cover has been changed.  Gordo‘s head has been placed over that of Johnny Ramone.

Another strange addition is that several of the albums now contain embedded links , which will take you to youtube videos.

10.9.09

Evil Empire has been changed to read “Page Against the Machine”

Along with taking out Plastic Ono Band, on John Lennon‘s birthday no less, Pork Tornado endured an especially brutal removal involving 6 separate knives.

10.10.09

Another subtle album alteration:  Fishman has now been added to the cover of Exile on Main St.

10.15.09

More album cover changes.  Ghost in the Machine now reads “Story of the Ghost in the Machine“….

and Back in Black changed to “AC/DC BAG“.  We’ve all been thinking it anyway.

10.16.09

The Minute Men’s Double nickels on the Dime cover has now changes.  The review mirror now shows Page‘s eyes instead of the eyes of Mike Watt.  I kind of expected this one and have been checking the review to change in some way.  For those of you who don’t understand the title of the album, I figured that I would throw in a little fun fact.  It’s a reference to driving 55 mph (double nickels) on interstate 10(the dime) in Los Angeles.  Do yourself a favor, go listen to Minute Men and/or rent We Jam Econo.

One of these dames is doing her own thing…  (It’s the one with Fishman‘s head.)

For those who aren’t completely up to date or knowledgeable about the tour or PHISH as a whole, I’ll take a brief moment to break a couple of simple things down for you.  The current reformation of the band is commonly being referred to as 3.0.  The group took a 26-month hiatus, which ran from their 10/07/00 Shoreline Amphitheater show to their return  at the MSG New Years show on 12/31/02.  That is, of course, unless you count their SNL and Letterman appearances or random wedding they played between that period.  A little less than 2 years later, PHISH announced what they were claiming to be an official and permanent breakup.   They played their “final” performances on August 14-15 at their festival in Coventry, Vt.  The muddy 2-day gathering was the last of their performances, as the 4-piece known as PHISH, until this year’s 3 day Hampton show run/reunion.  That is , of course, unless you count the quartet sitting in at yet another wedding 11 month‘s ago; this time for their former tour manager Brad Sands.

I was at both of the pre-hiatus final shows and, each time, they really did feel like it might be time for the boys to hang things up for a while.  Many of the fans who were able to hit the really early 90s performances might even tell you that PHISH peaked mid 90s and that everything after 1995 was downhill anyway.  This latest return, however, is already making people think twice about the views that they may have previously settled on with PHISH.  The second leg shows of their Summer tour have gathered an increased momentum for the band as well as their fans, and the reviews coming through are amazing.  I was able to catch both performances at the Gorge Amphitheater, last week, and each night was genuinely mind blowing.  I had no plans to photograph the shows or review them, because I wanted to focus on enjoying myself, but they’ve been hard not to mention since experiencing.  These were the types of performances that, while you’re in the middle of them, you can feel that something is happening which will be referenced for years to come, by those in that circle.  I’m not sure that I’ve felt something like that at a PHISH show since 7-11-00 at Deer Creek.  It was a feeling of knowing that you were witnessing something huge; something that people wait for.  I stood next to one of the most critical PHISH fans that I’ve ever known, while he raged with excitement and claims that they were finally “back“.  Forums like Phantasytour.com, who’s members will shit on anything, did not contain one negative comment in reference to these Gorge shows at all.  This is surprising, since these are the types of sites that are likely to have members urge you to “kill yourself“, after a simple introduction.  It’s true that the Gorge held possibly the best shows of the tour, but it’s more than that; there is a new faith and resurgence behind the fanbase, which is difficult to ignore.

PHISH‘s return is not much different than that of a tumultuous, on again/off again relationship.  You miss all of the magnificent times that you had, but they still feel like little more than distant memories, in the mix of all of the time that’s past and the less than stellar situations that have followed over the years.  You’re both very different people than you used to be.  Coventry was like hooking up with your ex again and having it fall flat.  The gesture was much more than the act, but it helped you move on from each other.  With each return, it’s nice to see each other again, but it’s mostly a forced encounter.  You’ve yet to find anything solid to take their place or move your life forward and you know that you did find magic with them once before, so you try.  There’s even still some left, but it’s much less potent.  The problem is that the encounters that you are having aren’t that remarkable in themselves and you just want something to click again and work how it had in the past.  Eventually you have to except that, however it happened, things have definitely changed a bit.  Now imagine if, after all of that and after you’ve all moved on, you run into that old partner or friend and everything is how it used to be.  You just thought you were showing up for the family picnic, because there were a lot of people that you wanted to see, but the whole experiences is actually magical again.  Well… those are the analogies that I’m using for this run.  A lot of people woke the fuck up to the possibilities again.  Not the least important of which, were the actual members of the group itself.

Technology today is so amazing that we are actually able to listen to the performances and watch videos from it, within minutes of their completion.  There have even been live streams of the shows on the internet.  The second leg of this reunion tour  has been more successful than the first, in critical terms.  The weaker points were considered to be  Shoreline, Toyota Park, and the new material overkill of the Merriweather Post Pavillion stop.  This is obviously due to those shows inability to compete with performances like The Gorge, Darien Lake, SPAC, and the rare bust-outs from the show in Hartford, CT.  Now that the music has stopped, until the 3-day Halloween run known as Festival 8, I wanted to post up some of the footage for those of you who may not have been able to catch any of this tour live, or who just want to catch it again.

The Gorge had some amazing points throughout the weekend.  The first night “Bathtub Gin” and “Sneakin’ Sally” hams were ridiculous, but one of the things that stood out to me the most came the second night.  “You Enjoy Myself” is one of the most famous tracks by the group and involves extended jams with hjiynx with trampolines.  Also associated with the track are a-capella vocal jams, which can take concert goers into some pretty fucked up and whacked out territories.  This Gorge “YEM” included an amazing vocal jam in the middle of it, with a likeness that hasn’t been seen in a long time.  Once you listen to this, you’re likely to come away with the same question that I did, “How many people were sent to the med tent after witnessing this shit?” [dig those terrifying screams for help that they made sure to mix into the vocals]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Another one of the best received shows this year took place at Hartford Connecticut‘s Comcast Theater.  Some cat by on youtube actually managed to catch most of the show on video and with some solid audio, no less.  These are some of the best amateur live videos that I’ve caught on youtube yet.  He’s got a lot of footage from the final 4 shows of the second leg run and we encourage you to subscribe to his feed by clicking here.  For now check out the “PYITE” opener in this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The final show took place at the Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center (aka: SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, NY.  The venue is weird because its located in the middle of a heavily wooded state park.  I got into the last PHISH show that was held there, back in 2004, by jumping a 12 foot fence and running like a crack head.  This time around, the boys busted out the heavily prayed for classic “Harpua“.

Last reformation saw a drastic shift in the overall scene.  Tons of young people, curious about something they had only heard about, flocked to the shows in their custied out Tie-Dyes and meat was finally readily available for purchase on lot, which just meant that I got less satisfaction out of bringing it to shows.  After another 5 year break, the scene has got to be riddled with even more confused newcomers, many of which have no idea about “Harpua“, it’s history, or even what all the hype is about.  This live track is usually jammed in and back out of another song, often a cover.  In the past PHISH has been known to cover some, otherwise, terrible shit in jest, (ie. “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit it”, “Tubthumpin’”, etc).  The case is SPAC delivered the usual.  I’m sure that a lot of people were confused by the “Harpua” jam consisting of Trey Anastasio taking control of the drumkit, while Jon Fishman made ears bleed with his version of Katy Perry‘s herendous “I Kissed a Girl“  but.. hey, lighten up folks… it’s a joke.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When I say that I didn’t want to get sucked back into this shit, I mean it.  I haven’t listened to much of the band’s music since their break up, or even thought too much about it.  I didn’t travel very far to see them this time and wasn’t willing to get pulled back into the hype that the guys have the ability to turn on and off at will.  I didn’t care.  They got me though and I’m forced to admit that.  If they were gonna come back and make it “successful” they needed to do so with the very strength that they are bringing now.  I’m not interested in the new album, but the shows are sounding as good as ever.

I hate on a lot of shit and it’s easy to do.  A lot of people hate of PHISH too and you can’t really blame them, based on the universal perception and imagery that spreads out to the general public, but I think that it’s vitally important to affect your environment more than it affects you.  In 1998 I rolled out to the Gorge shows with 2Pac‘s “Hit ‘Em Up” blasting out of the car and sold  meat to people.  This year we blasted Brotha Lynch Hung‘s “Return of Da Baby Killa” out of a boombox and watched Pootie Tang off of a portable DVD player in the tent.  When the PHISH scene is at its most effective, it most similarly resembles a travelling town.  Think about the town that you live in and how many of the people in it that you would actually ever care to kick it with.  How much terrible shit do you choose to avoid or not take part in on a daily basis?  How many assholes do you know?  Now, think of how many places you do enjoy and the people that you do choose to spend time with.  When you get a large enough number of people together in one environment, certain things will organically form and generate.  People will take on certain roles and specific dynamics are created automatically, without much thought or reflection put into it.  There will be naive idiots, people with egos, drug addicts, maternal figures, and the guy who realizes that he can exploit everything by breaking into your shit while you’re away from it.  That’s life.  That’s society.  I enjoy this environment because it is just another one that I’ve found out how to work and get what I need from.  My advice is to leave the rest of the bullshit alone.  The important thing is that, musically, the key elements seem to be returning to a level that any real fan of the music and elabortate chaos has been waiting for, for quite some time.

*{SPAC poster in header glows in the dark and was created by Tyler Sout}*

So now that all of the ridiculous map bullshit is over and people can finally sleep without wondering if they have to cancel their plans or if they should have never canceled them in the first place, PHISH and their fans, who got sucked into the brilliantly deployed marketing scheme, are finally able to get down to business.   The band has created a website for their latest festival and have broken down the details that so many have been anxiously awaiting.  The boys have also released new information regarding an alternate release date and track list for for their upcoming album ” JOY“, as well as the cover art.  I’m tired of writing about this shit, so I’m gonna just let the press release do all of the talking for me.

ANNOUNCING PHISH: FESTIVAL 8

We’re thrilled to announce Festival 8, a three-day Phish festival which will take place on October 30th, 31st and November 1st at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. With lush green fields and palm trees, and surrounded by vistas of California’s majestic Santa Rosa mountains, the festival site is simply breathtaking. And for the first time ever, Phish will combine two of its most cherished traditions – a multi-day camping festival and performing on Halloween – in a glorious three-day celebration.

Keeping the tradition of past Halloween shows, Phish will don a musical costume on Halloween night and cover another band’s album. The tradition began on Halloween 1994 with Phish covering The Beatles’ The White Album. In subsequent years, they covered The Who’s Quadrophenia, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light and the Velvet Underground’s Loaded.

The band will play eight sets over the course of three days, and as with all past Phish festivals, fans will enjoy on-site camping, numerous attractions and art installations throughout the weekend.

Tickets for Festival 8 will go on sale Monday, July 27th at 10AM Pacific Time for $199 + $1 WaterWheel Donation (plus applicable service fees) via http://places.musictoday.com/festival8/. This includes entry for all 3 days into the event area. All vehicles entering the Car Camping area must also purchase a $15 Vehicle Pass. Limited Car Camping is available. Gates will open for the event at NOON on Thursday, October 29th. Capacity is limited, so advance ticket purchase and carpooling is strongly encouraged.

We’ve created an official Festival 8 website at phish.com/festival8, where you can find exhaustingly detailed information about the event. We’ve posted the first wave of information about the festival and plan to update it regularly as more details are confirmed. Complete information, including a listing of different travel packages, is available at now at http://www.phish.com/festival8

JOY: THE ALBUM COVER

Joy, Phish’s first studio album in five years, will now be released on September 8th instead of the previously announced date. The album was recorded in New York City this spring with producer Steve Lillywhite.

Pre-order details for Joy will be announced next week, so stay tuned to Phish.com.

Here’s the tracklist:

Last Saturday, PHISH‘s “Save the Date” map returned the state of Washington and confused the shit out of everyone.  People began to wonder if that meant something specific to Washington Stare or, clearly, just that states could return.  Since then, nothing has happened at all.  NOTHING!  Today the drama and mindgames have finally ended (we hope) as a gigantic drill came in a drained all of the remaining states away, until only the great Northwest was left.  Then the drill came in, threaded a hole through the southern portion of the state, and let the colors drip down south until it refilled the state of Cali.  Looks like all of the speculation was correct from the get go and the 3 day festival will be held at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.  Although it wasn’t delivered with the dramatic hot air balloon re-entry that everyone envisioned, our recent poll showed that most folks never lost their faith and certainty that Cali, and more specifically Indio, would be the final destination.  This is gonna hit hard for everyone that originally booked hotel and plane reservations for So Cal and then cancelled them, once it was removed from the map.  I’m sure there’s gonna be a lot of shit talking from all sides on this one.  With all the stress, anxiety, and speculation, is there really any wonder that there are so many xanny bar addictions on tour?

Everyone seems to know where the show will be held, but there has to be more to come on PHISH.com, because the venue location hasn’t had it’s final announcement yet.  It’s also important to note that,  although Alaksa was taken out, the state of Hawaii was never addressed through the flash animation advertisement scheme.  I hope it doesn’t drift over to California and take it with it.  This should be the end of this shit….right?

To check out our previous post about the “Save the Date” situation, which includes the poll/some background info about what’s been going down with whole scenario/why all signs pointed to Indio in the first place, click here.