Jazz Articles

Phish: St. Louis '93

by Doug Collette
April 1, 2017

The pastel color scheme on the front and back covers of Phish St. Louis '93 is quietly evocative of the six CD's of music enclosed in the slim slip case, but no more or less than the deeper tones on the individual sleeves and the discs themselves that mirror the intensity of the playing at its peaks on these two shows four months apart almost twenty- five years ago. Recorded in stereo from the soundboard by Paul Languedoc ...

Phish: Amsterdam

by Doug Collette
July 25, 2015

Delving in sequence into this eight CD set of the shows recorded in February and July of 1997, it sounds like the band really takes flight during “Timber" from the initial show. But Phish shows from throughout their history inevitably exhibit a relativity of momentum, the dynamics of which are dependent upon, but not limited by, context. Because after the good-natured and relaxed greeting the quartet offers with “Soul Shakedown Party," it's not long before they make a ...

Phish: Niagara Falls

by Doug Collette
November 30, 2013

When Phish played the Niagara Falls Convention Center on December 7th 1995, it'd be fair to say the band was hitting its stride with its art and its audience. Having played together for a dozen years at this point and cultivated a loyal and increasingly large coterie of followers, arguably as idiosyncratic as the Vermont-based group itself, the quirks that endeared Phish to their original followers--like the barbershop acapella chestnut “Hello My Baby"-- were morphing into more broad eccentricities (the ...

Phish: Ventura

by Doug Collette
June 30, 2013

Phish: Ventura follows its predecessor Chicago '94 (Jemp Records, 2012) by compiling shows performed at the same venue. While not such a superlative set of gigs--the comparative virtues of these 1997 and 1998 concerts are more erratic--they do illustrate how a particular venue can affect a band's performance, whether on successive nights or successive tours. The relative comfort level can inspire or relax a bit too much, and both dynamics are on display over the course of these six compact ...

Phish: Chicago '94

by Doug Collette
August 18, 2012

With the exception of the deservedly lavish package of The Clifford Ball (Rhino/Jemp, 2009), Phish has allowed its music to speak for itself on virtually all the group's archive releases. Chicago '94 follows suit, as this six-CD set--like the similarly conceived Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 (Jemp, 2011)--makes its statement through the largely brilliant musicianship contained therein, with virtually no accompanying content to place it in a historical perspective.Chicago '94 evinces a continuity in the content with its sound check filler ...

Phish: Hampton/Winston-Salem '97

by Doug Collette
January 5, 2012

Less than halfway through Phish's Hampton/Winston-Salem '97, it's very clear what distinguishes these shows, documented in this seven-CD box, as singular entries in the band's pantheon of concert performances. The funk pervading this music makes a consistent backdrop for lengthy improvisations, the likes of which merely sprawled earlier in the group's career. Entries like the segue from “Ghost" into “AC/DC Bag" are not so sharply defined, but nonetheless provide continuity to the performance. No loose ends dangle within ...

Phish: Live Phish Downloads: Madison Square Garden 12/30/1997

by Doug Collette
January 30, 2009

Releasing the three-CD Live Phish Downloads: Madison Square Garden 12/30/1997 in the wake of the mammoth At the Roxy (Jemp, 2008) makes a certain amount of sense. It is neither a groundbreaking performance nor a significant event within the band's oeuvre, such as its 1996 The Clifford Ball festival. The video counterpart of Madison Square Garden 1997, shot from a single camera's sound-board vantage point in the historic venue, available simultaneously with the CDs and download, substantiate the lighthearted atmosphere ...

Phish: Phish: At The Roxy

by Doug Collette
January 2, 2009

Because Phish have announced their reformation with three shows due in March of 2009, after four years away, there's a certain circular logic that extends to the history behind the 8-CD set At the Roxy. These Atlanta 1993 shows represent the first extended run for the Vermont-based group, as Phish's popularity had not reached its flashpoint yet. Only the most skeletal details appear in this minimalist package, as the graphics resemble nothing so much as a budget item created for ...

Phish: Phish: Vegas '96

by Doug Collette
December 10, 2007

Recorded on the Vermont band's first visit to Sin City, Vegas '96 captures Phish at the point in their career where performance art was still a large part of the presentation (the ultimate extension of which would turn out to be their multi-day events such as “IT" and “Big Cypress"). It's not the stuff that will enlighten why Phish became the new millennium definition of rock and roll (via the jamband tag), but the performance is important to hear in ...

Phish: Colorado '88

by Doug Collette
December 2, 2006

Phish Colorado '88 Jemp Records 2006

Colorado '88 is the latest archive release from Phish, available as a three-disc set or as downloads from the band's website (the latter include five extra tracks). It's a set of recordings taken from Phish's first expedition outside of New England, a “tour" of the Rocky Mountain State that didn't work out exactly as planned: the venues that had originally booked the band had ...