What do you think about Phish?

phish is decent. it's a good entry band into the jam band scene. a kind of acquired taste. i definitely think they're overrated though. keller williams, galactic, and medeski martin and wood all put on better shows than phish. medeski martin and wood is pretty much the only jam band i can listen to when it's not live. galactic puts on the best show out of any jam band by FAR. keller is really uplifting and some chilled out shit. phish, though, they're good, but overrated. tre is a fucking arrogant prick too

 

Why do you say that?

I believe Trey is quite humble.

 

nothin in specific. that's just the vibe i get off him. seen him live twice. always seemed like a prima donna douchebag to me

 

A big party that overshadows the music. A very talented and technically sound group of musicians but i am not a big fan of their music or scene.

 

some how this came up in conversation the other night on the way to nelson ledges to blossom fest, and my friend put it a good way.

if you like music and you dont like phish, then you have to big of an ego. because phish is just music, live improv music, just like the dead and many other jambands. if their is something that you personally do not like about the band, its your ego. but beyond your little personal perference. there is another huge band creating an amazing artisitcal scene having a huge ripple on the live music scene that just unite people from all over. and while people sit and think of reasons why they dont like this, im goning to go have a good time, because i like music and i like phish

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ed_0MwtAsU"]YouTube - Umphrey's McGee - Glory - 11/3/2006

if you like fish

 

i dont think the dead and phish are comparable at all... they put on a killer show and can really get you groovin... last night in bethel was also one of the sickest sets of em ive ever heard... threw in some jimi hendrix and stevie wonder... was really fuckin cool

 

umphreys is great man

 

who cares about overrated... its about the music. i mean people that only go to party are, at least the way i see it, tools and arrogant themselves, clearly not getting it, meaning the tunes... and what are you gonna back that statement up with? how do you know he's an arrogant prick?

 

Wow lots of phish hate here, let me state that if you have ever been to some of those shows that are off the charts you wil understand why they are the "overated" band that they are.. ive seen hundreds of bands but the most amazing where phish shows....any one going to see them tonight in clarkston.. ill be there with bells on!

 

So much Phish hate. Yikes.

Also, Trey isn't an arrogant prick. I've met him before, a bunch of my friends have met him before...and he's nothing but nice. Very humble, and very friendly.

 

Phish is a group of very talented musicians but they rarely do "it" for me. I don't hate them or anything, i have seen them a couple of times, they just do not put me where i want to be at a show.

 

i like a lot of their slow beautiful jams. i do not like their singing or lyrics very much. some of their other shedding jams are good too. they are ok. they dont have that souuuul that i look for though. i think they are technically good musicians but i dont feel an emotional connection to their music like i do with anything gd or jgb

 

Agree 100% FIrst time I heard him I thought this bands got major talent. What a loss.

I saw Phish once and had a couple CD's. I never could figure out what the songs were about. LOL Good players though.

 

Phish is awesome,

Trey Anastasio is one of the best guitarists you will find.

I'm about to go see em, I am so excited.

 

Phish are ehh in my opinion

 

Everyone seems to hate phish... in my school... on the internet, most of my friends... it's bullshit!

Phish is probably my favorite band of all time! Infact I'm saving up to go to a phish concert as we speak! :2thumbsup:

 

Haven't read too many posts on the topic, but I feel like adding this story. In 1988 I was still in college and some buddies said that they had a friend in VT who said we had to go check this band Phish out, who were playing at the Haunt, a local venue in Ithaca NY. For my $5, i was happily blown away. I was a huge fan of both the Dead and Zappa at the time and the compositional nature of the band was refreshing and exciting, and I was hooked. Fast forward 6 years and it seemed as their fan base continued to grow, their compositions started to devolve into songs. While the extended jams continued, the 'writing' went from exploratory and even somewhat experimental to simplistic verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo verse chorus times two songs and even the content was (dare I say) just kinda lame. While I still enjoyed hearing them live, I didn't like the direction they went. While I too get an itch to hear some Phish still, I get over it very quickly afterwards now. But I still think their first few years of songwriting were phenomenal. Much love for Fluffhead, Divided Sky, Foam, Antelope, Slave to the Traffic Light, Col Forbin, Harpua, Split Open and Melt, and even Maze, Rift, Mound, and others from that album. But by the time Hoist was released, Phish was officially boring me. If they have written any truly inspired compositions that originally elevated them above a typical band over the past 15 years, I'd be pleasantly surprised and would be very happy for Phish and Phans. Enlighten me if I missed something I'd enjoy again. PS. One of my all time favorite songs in any musical genre is still Bouncing Around the Room.

 

Also, just to add a bit, they are amazing musicians (and seemed like nice guys for the few minutes here and there that I've met them). And I don't believe I've ever heard 4 musicians more in tune with each other while playing.

 

So you say you don't like the generic direction they went in, yet you pick one of their most Poppy songs in Bouncing Around The Room? That and Farmhouse are about as pop as they get.

They had some down years when Tray was hooked on the bad drugs, but their last tour was a definite return to the good old jam days IMO.