This post is from Out the Other's 2009 Bonnaroo Artist Previews, where I will be posting previews of all the musical acts playing the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
Editor's note: This is a guest preview from J. David Wicker - my friend, fellow music aficionado, and occasional Out the Other guest-blogger. Someday when he stops filling his plate with everything under the sun, I hope he starts a music blog of his own.
“Phish is...a cross between East Coast rock-a-suey and rock donkey dunkel.” -Trey Anastasio
“We play authentic Jamaican roots reggae.” -Mike Gordon
After nearly five years of rest, recovery and solo projects, the members of Phish — guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman and keyboardist Page McConnell — have reunited. This is Phish 3.0.
Phish performed for over 20 years until an official breakup in August 2004. 2008 offered the first hint of a reunion as Anastasio, Fishman, and Gordon shared the stage Fourth of July weekend at the Rothbury Festival in Michigan. This was followed by a three song performance at the September 2008 wedding of their former tour road manager. After a month of rumors, Phish finally announced three reunion shows for 2009. They performed for the first time in years at a widely-hailed string of shows in Virginia at the Hampton Coliseum, a legendary spaceship-looking venue held in high esteem by the band and its fans. The buzz from these shows was beyond positive. This led to the current the sold-out summer tour, with a stop in Knoxville on their way to headline two nights at Bonnaroo.
For those that have never been to one, a Phish show isn’t about hit singles that must be played. There’s also no quintessential album to pull from. Instead, a Phish show is measured by the nuanced, glorious excesses of the band; how a patch of songs builds to an epic conclusion, how a cover is deconstructed and reorganized, how a classic jam plays against the mood of the night. It’s all about the moments. There will never be a “best” Phish show. But after its long break, and the disaster that was Phish 2.0 (which was Michael Jordan coming out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards bad), it’s great to hear that the band is actually searching for, and closing in on, perfection once again.
Follow Phish on their current Summer tour at http://fromtheroad.phish.com.
"Bouncing Around the Room"
"Lawn Boy"
Phish will play twice at Bonnaroo - they are the Friday night headliners on the What Stage from 11 p.m. - 2 a.m., and the Sunday night headliners on the What Stage from 8:30 p.m. to midnight. Check out the Full Bonnaroo schedule on the official Bonnaroo website.
