Phish

See also: Trey Anastasio

When it comes to Phish, anything is possible. The four-member band has bucked nearly every rule of conventional music industry wisdom. They've become one of the most popular bands of their generation without significant radio airplay or MTV attention. They've sold millions of albums -- including a never-ending stream of live releases -- even though they encourage taping at their concerts. And they've managed to pull off at least four enormous sized rock festivals in an era when such events usually ended in burnings, slayings and general mass destruction.

If NATN's editors had to guess just one source of the band's success, we'd point to the live experience. In short: These guys rock, hard and long. Phish incorporate nearly every genre of popular (and unpopular) music from the past 30 years into their show. Each of the four members -- guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, drummer Jon Fishman, and bassist Mike Gordon -- are amazing musicians in their own right, but they play together like one well-fueled, tightly wound rock-and-roll machine.

Comparisons to the Grateful Dead are lame mostly because they tend to stem from the band's non-stop tour schedule and generalizations about its hippy following. Though Phish often dabbles in bluegrass, folk and other Dead-ish genres, the group's music tends to be a little bit more on the wacky, silly side. Would Jerry ever have asked you to "Wash Uffizi and drive you to Firenze?" We doubt it. For a good intro to the band's music, try 1995's A Live One and 1996's Billy Breathes, Or, if you're hungry for an intense musical mind warp, check out Vol. 4 of the band's Live Phish series.

Album reviews

New Year's Eve, 1995
Rhino (2005)
Another live Phish album is what everybody expects, but that doesn't stop it from pleasantly surprising.

Undermind
Elektra (2004)
Phish is finished, and barring a megabucks reunion tour, Undermind will be their last album. It sure doesn't sound like a document of the death of a band, though.

Round Room
Elektra (2002)
Don't call it a comeback: the Vermont foursome springs to life with one of its best albums yet, just in time for the New Year.

Farmhouse
Elektra (2000)
The Burlington, Vermont quartet Phish remains an idiosyncratic band in today's major-label world.

Hampton Comes Alive
Elektra (1999)
Phish's third live release, Hampton Comes Alive, is hardly the ideal purchase for the casual Phish listener.

A Live One (Recommended)
Elektra (1995)
Phish has never really managed to craft studio albums as fantastic as the live masterworks they create every night. Still, with performances like these, they are easily one of the most memorable acts of the decade.

A Picture Of Nectar
Elektra (1992)
Phish made a signifigant transition professionally with A Picture Of Nectar, the group's third album, as they began to understand the difference between a studio recording and a live performance.

Lawn Boy
Elektra (1990)
Give this album credit where credit is due. I hate to be the first critic to admit it, but Lawn Boy stands as one of the '90s' most underrated albums.

Concert reviews

August 13, 2004
Newport State Airport, Coventry, VT
As thousands in the Vermont crowd watched on -- and thousands more watched in theaters around the country -- Phish effectively ended its 20+year career this weekend. NATN co-director Troy Carpenter was there to tell the muddy tale.

August 14, 2003
Lincolnshire Regal 16, Chicago
Jeffrey Gray watches the final Phish show from the comfort of a Lincolnshire Regal 16 cinema, and feels at one with muddy hippies hundreds of miles away.