Phish Breaking up.

Anyone as upset about this as i am?


ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TREY
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

I was waiting for someone to mention it. :)

And.... I'm not upset.
Well, I'm only... sad.. I guess.. that they aren't getting out of the experience what they used to.

That's what the whole thing always was.... them enjoying playing together.... and they did it amazingly as a result.

I've never (no, never) heard a band play off each other so brilliantly.

It was, granted, unfortunate about the whole "dirty hippie" culture that moved to them as a result, but it was kind of unavoidable, since the dead had already created that culture. The culture just needed a new accomodating host.

And, well, obviously, the culture was (usually) "mostly harmless". (unless you're allergic to patchoulie... in which case.. you're gonna fuckin die).

But... back to the point.
They were, and are, great guys.... they made some amazing music... and connected very well with their fans.... but they decided they were done with it.

So, hey, I wish them well. And while I doubt they'll do anything individually that I'd be interested in..... I wish them only the best.
I spent many of the best years of my life hanging out at or near their shows. :)

Breaking up is lame, but it is their call. I do, however, look forward to hopefully seeing Mike Gordon around town more often.� I ran into him a year or two ago around the corner from here at the�music shop�where he took his bass lessons as a kid.

New album should be good, anyways.� Oh well.

First Zappa dies, now Phish breaks up.� Good lawd.

Bands come, and bands go. They were a good band, but all bands eventually break up. Better they did so on their own terms than being marginalized by the market.

Only if they take away my Ben and Jerry's Phish Food as well...

MOXY FRUVOUS FOREVER!

I mean, uhh.� Hrm.

they've taken "brakes" from each other before but its never really (to my knolege) been titled breaking up until now. as in with other creative and personal endevors when they need personal time, or a "brake" its like the groooove of there relationship is off. they and wether they get back together or not something will prolly always ( to them) be different. I say go ahead. change. do new projects. its the way of things.

can you tell I've been sedated� and been doing too much yoga and meditatiion? ;-) dude. I need to stop hitting the gumbo.

Amen. Trey's first solo disc was fantastic, probably my favorite Phish-related studio CD of any of them. As much as I adore Phish, I can't say I didn't see this coming.

woohoo! someone agrees with me. I feel validated. can you say self esteem problems?

anyhoo. yeah when they were like, "hey we phish no longer" I was like, "yeah. okay." and I got excited about the new projects that would spring out of this. if they had been like, "hey we phish no longer AND we shall never touch an instament again and we'll be hidding out in caves for all enternaty" I'd have been like NOOOOooOOooOo.

Actually, that was my thought too, but since I only have a couple of thier albums, and haven't ever seen them live, I didn't quite feel qualified to say as much.

If the band doesn't want to be together, it's much better if they do their own things than touring around out of some sense of obligation.

Phish has been kind of ruined for me for a long time now. I used to love Phish -- their musicianship, improv-ability, lyricism, all of it. But then I saw a live show back in . . . 1999 or so. The show was great, didn't mind the granola-friends, whatever. But then, near the end of the show, some guy seated near me (who was OBVIOUSLY on something very nasty) ran and took a head-first dive off of a balcony. *Shudder* I still like Phish, but I can't listen to them the same way since.

As for a break-up, more power to ya. I can't think of any band that I would be sad to see go, really. Even when favorite groups of mine like BFF or Fruvous stopped making music together, I didn't get that down about it. Whether or not you care to admit it, there's a whole lot of GREAT music out there waiting to be heard. No big loss. If the band members still have a song to sing, they will.

yeah... it's a shame about the crowd they attracted.
That's what eventually made me stop going to their shows as well.
It's a pity, as they're all AMAZING musicians.... probably some of the best I've ever seen/heard. (and, that's sayin something.)

I remember at a show back in 94... sitting on a hillside... listening to page do a piano solo... and... he went on for ... I don't know, 5 minutes? but to me... time just stood still... it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.. and has always stuck with me.

It's that amazing combination of passion and ability that is so so rare.... and when you, personally, connect with it... it's beyond comprehension.

(And, for those who I *know* are going to ask... no, I was not on any drugs/etc. *laughs* )

So... I guess the bottom line is that I'm not really sad about it. If any of them DIED... or had some accident that caused them to no longer be able to make music.... *that* would cause me pain.

But, they're still all alive and well.. and still doing what they do best.... just... not under that title. :)

well at leat we still have Vida blue, Trey, Mike, and pork tornado. and 23 years is a damn long time. still the shows were amazing.

well at leat we still have Vida blue, Trey, Mike, and pork tornado. and 23 years is a damn long time. still the shows were amazing.

Amen. *Raises his glass to phish*