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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode:

I’ve spoken a lot on this podcast about how different Phish years have different personalities. When Attendance Bias was first getting off the ground, I had an unofficial goal to learn more about the 1999 Phish calendar year. But at this point, about five years in, I think that 1998 is the more intangible year. Everyone loves 1997, we’ve covered a lot of shows and jams from 1999, but 1998 remains elusive. The band was still funky, but they also kept their guitar-powered speed rock and combined it with a ton of unexpected cover songs that kept the crowd guessing. If we could distill the cagey feeling of 1998 into one show, it may be today’s: Matt Huber is here to explain what it was like to attend Phish's show from August 1, 1998 at Alpine Valley. A classic venue that, in this case, featured Phish at the top of their game during an under-explored summer.

Matt and I have a lot to say about today’s show, but there’s this inescapable feeling that, even with a 90 minute episode, there’s a lot left unsaid. We talk about the summer of covers, imaginary conversations between band members, and even compare Fikus to Quadrophonic Toppling. This is a nerdy episode, and we go out there. But, maybe what makes 1998 such a great year for Phish has yet to be defined no matter how much we talk.

In the meantime, Matt and I give it our best shot today. Let’s join Matt Huber to discuss The Story of the Ghost, The Velvet Underground, and who should take the high vocal parts at August 1, 1998 at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin.

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Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode:

2009 was the most exciting year to be a Phish fan. After years of waiting and hoping, while band members were in their various solo outings, and the jamband scene seemed more inclusive than ever, Phish returned to the stage. After their Hampton comeback in March, they hit the road for a HUGE summer tour and expectations were out of control. At the time, lots of long-time fans were overwhelmed with the excitement of Phish being back clean, sober, and cohesive but we were also wondering: where are the jams?

But with time comes perspective and we are lucky today to have returning guest Derek Hill to explain why today’s show–June 9, 2009 at the Asheville Civic Center–and 2009 in general deserves its due, deserves respect, and deserves attention instead of being brushed aside as “the band getting back on their feet.”

You may remember that Derek was previously on Attendance Bias to tell about another show from 2009–the memorable Hartford show from August 14 when the band busted out several Gamehendge favorites, a killer version of Ghost, and even played Psycho Killer!

That show was an instant classic, but today’s show from Asheville was a bit more under the radar. It was early on in Phish’s 3.0 return, and had several features that would become trademarks of the early-3.0 era; long sets, old favorites mixed in with songs from the new album, strong vocals, type 1 jams, and the occasional jam that pushed the boundaries.

But there’s also the personal aspect to it–the reasons Derek wanted to tell his story, and I’ll leave that to him. So let’s join Derek to talk about Sarah Palin, Fishman’s journal, and what it’s like UNDER the stage, as we discuss June 9, 2009 at the Asheville Civic Center.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode:

The idea of a Phishaersary–acknowledging and maybe celebrating the date of your first Phish show–is a fun part of our community. Even more fun is when Phish plays a show on the same date as your first. Even better than that is when you get to attend a show that’s played on the same day as your first.

Then, there’s the trifecta: when Phish plays a show on the same date as your first, you’re able to go, it’s a decades-long round number anniversary, AND they play a big time party show all in the same night. Today’s guest, Jefe from Arizona is here to tell about his experience at such a show: October 24, 2021 at the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles, the same night exactly 30 years after his first show in 1991.

The beginning of the so-called 4.0 era was an odd time in America. But in retrospect, in our small Phish community, it’s an easy call to say that the fall 2021 tour featured some of the best live music since the band returned in 2009. I would guess that most people link the fall 2021 tour with the stunning and controversial, Halloween shows in Las Vegs, which featured the numbers show, the animals show, and the confounding Sci-Fi Soldier set. But there were many west-coast highlights leading up to that, including today’s show from L.A.

While the band blew people’s minds with a psychedelic spacey show the night prior in Chula Vista, this L.A. show was more of a party night, getting off to a casual start but then literally rocking the house during the second set with a Tweezer and a surprise cover song for the ages!

But this is Jefe’s story. So let’s join him to talk about Prescott, Arizona, unexpected song arrangements, and more, as we discuss October 24, 2021 at the Forum in Los Angeles.

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