Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Phish are done!
Arrrrghhhhh, today hasn't been the best of days. First, I made the mistake of watching Mani Ratnam's new movie, Yuva, because I decided it had been too long since I watched a Bollywood flick. The first half wasn't too bad with the movie trying to be a cross between a British gangster movie and Run Lola Run. The second half though was vintage Bollywood and I wanted to kick myself for having watched it. Worse still, I got home to an e-mail from Thomas telling me that Phish, one of the greatest jam bands ever, were splitting up for good. A real surprise, given their new album was due mid-June. Unlike the temporary break in 2000, this one seems like the real thing. Here's what Trey wrote on the Phish website.
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.
Given the paucity of good contemporary rock music, this is really unfortunate. It makes it all the more imperative to somehow wangle tickets for the Coventry show (an impossible task once the news of the split gets around, I am sure). I am just glad I attended that fantastic show in Nassau earlier in the year, which I also have a bootleg of, in case anyone is interested. In the meanwhile, I can only hope the Dead does not decide to stop touring anytime soon.
PS: The opening night at Brooklyn, NY will be simulcast at several Regal and UA theaters on June 17th at 7:30 pm EST. Tickets are $12.50.
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.
Given the paucity of good contemporary rock music, this is really unfortunate. It makes it all the more imperative to somehow wangle tickets for the Coventry show (an impossible task once the news of the split gets around, I am sure). I am just glad I attended that fantastic show in Nassau earlier in the year, which I also have a bootleg of, in case anyone is interested. In the meanwhile, I can only hope the Dead does not decide to stop touring anytime soon.
PS: The opening night at Brooklyn, NY will be simulcast at several Regal and UA theaters on June 17th at 7:30 pm EST. Tickets are $12.50.
