Phish shows good for soul
 February 26, 2003 - The Crimson White (U. Alabama)
By Graham Flanagan

It has been more than two long years since I saw my last Phish show. As a matter of fact, my last Phish show was also my first show. For, you see, I've only seen it once in my entire life. On that breezy, starlit October evening in Irvine, Calif., just south of Los Angeles, I witnessed the first of what I had and have hoped would be a long and memorable series of Phish shows.

While that particular show on Oct. 5, 2000, was by no means disappointing, I still left the confines of the outdoor amphitheater wanting much, much more. I had been highly pleased by the evening's song selection, which included incredible versions of personal favorites like "Chalkdust Torture," "Limb by Limb" and "Beauty of My Dreams," as well as the always-welcome covers "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" and "Come On Baby, Let's Go Downtown."

However, as I drove deep into the California night, north along the 405 freeway, and listened to a particularly exquisite version of "You Enjoy Myself," I began to wonder about all the Phish shows I hadn't yet seen, and all the magic that lay ahead in the future.

Though I wondered, it was ultimately in vain. Phish had already decided to take an indefinite hiatus, suspending any immediate plans I might have had to rush out in the hopes of experiencing my own "YEM."

For nearly two whole years, I waited, since that's really all I could do. I just waited and anticipated the day when I would hear the band segue out of "The Lizards" into "Tube," and then back into "The Lizards."

I have dreamed about the possibility of a never-before-attempted "Bouncing Around the Room" to open a show. For Phish fans, it has become OK to think like that, as the band has proved over and over again that anything is possible. Phish makes dreams come true.

Ever since the early 1990s, the Phish show has become a sort of Disney World for the unshaven, Birkenstock-wearing, white American college male. And why not? They're alike in that they're both, at their cores, all about fun and wholesomeness, and they also give the customer his or her money's worth as far as quality is concerned.

You also get plenty of variety. At Disney World, you can go from Thunder Mountain into the Haunted Mansion, whereas with Phish, your journey could take you from "Possum" into "Ghost."

Now the group is back on tour, and I have still failed to attend even one of the 12 shows already played. Judging by what I've heard from their Winter Tour, Phish has returned to play some truly memorable tunes. I've only seen the set lists of its current February tour, but that is enough to keep me salivating for my chance to experience it live.

Just the other night at a show in Cincinnati, Phish teased Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire" during their rendition of Deodato's interpretation of Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra."

Anything is possible.

I can only wait even longer and hope I get another chance in the summer, as to see Phish live is now my No. 1 priority.

I long to sit outside The Gorge in George, Wash., watching the sun go down on a breezy evening in July. I'll be sipping on a cold Sierra Nevada when, from a distance, I'll begin to hear the boys tuning up with a sound check rendition of "My Soul."

Then all will be right once more in Middle Earth.

Copyright © 2003 Crimson White