Celebrates 30 Year Anniversay

Today my favorite touring act celebrates 30 years of delivering exceptional live music to the most dedicated group of fans around. I could write for hours about Phish, but with a limited time-table this evening I’ll have to resist until the Phish NYE Countdown coming out next week, which will include lengthy write-up on the importance of Phish in the live music community. In the meantime explore some old school Phish with their performance from 1990 at  UMass Student Union Ballroom (SUB) – 2/17/1990. The video has been edited and synced with soundboard audio thanks to Youtube user Positronic Design.

The first Phish show took place on Dec.2, 193 at Harris-Millis Cafeteria at the University of Vermont. The following excerpt from the show notes on Phish.net describes the band being overpowered by the house PA system blaring Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” during their set. Of course, it wouldn’t be long until the group would gain the deserved appreciation for their music… Check back next week for the Phish NYE Countdown for a detailed analysis of Phish. If you’d like to share your favorite Phish NYE concert experiences post in the comments section below.

“Trey, Mike, Fish, and Jeff Holdsworth recall being billed as “Blackwood Convention” for this show (though no one is certain what band name was used), which is believed to be their first public gig together. The band was short on equipment, so a hockey stick was used as a microphone stand. Between sets, the DJ spun some Michael Jackson and Trey drummed along to the album. The house music (which included more Michael Jackson) was presumably turned up after Fire to drown out the band. The setlist may be incomplete, though, as the master recording contains nothing after Trey’s sarcastic comments about Michael Jackson following Fire. All songs were, of course, Phish debuts. Back in Black was teased before Scarlet Begonias. While this show is often billed as an ROTC Halloween Dance that took place on October 30, 1983, this is incorrect. The master copy of the recording of this show, as unearthed by Phish archivist Kevin Shapiro, contains a handwritten note that pegs the date as December 2, 1983. In discussions with Kevin, band members confirmed that they recall rehearsing for this show over the Thanksgiving Break, and that the show was a Christmas semi-formal. Also, it was not an ROTC-sponsored event; it was a dorm dance in a predominantly ROTC dorm (Mike’s dorm at the time).”-Phish.net