Back in my day, we didn’t have such luxuries as cell phones, HD video streams, instant downloads or access to every show at our fingertips. Hell, we had to smoke out of wooden bowls. But we did get listen to a lot of good Phish music. I think the earliest days of the nineties are pretty underrated and not very well represented in official releases or otherwise. This blog is my attempt to showcase some of that music. While I will primarily focus on shows I attended, I might throw in some non-attended ones on occasion. Thanks for checking it out.
backinmydaydotnet 
Great idea for a blog! Looking forward to more.
thanks for sharing your recollections. –ks
Sweet blog idea…will definitely follow. Keep the stories and early tunes coming….
Just stumbled across this blog. What a find! Great for any aging fan longing for fond memories of those formative years.
Dude, was dying here at work today (the day after Thanksgiving) and stumbled across this site. Thanks for sharing all these memories.
Nice! Thanks for checking it out!
My first show just turned 21 and someone sent me link to your review of the Rink! The Warehouse was my first show. Great blog, thanks!
Last night I read your entire website. I love the insight about old school phish. I don’t really care about what songs were great or how the set list went down, it’s more about understanding the emerging scene. I got into phish in 1996 and saw my first show at MSG 97 so they had already popped. I always wondered how they got to where they are now. Or how they got to 1997. Your site is helping me with that.
Thank u
The question i still have is, how did phish stand out from other bands in the scene, was their energy that much higher? The original songs are kind of hard to access at first, the sound has to grow on you a little to understand the intricacies of what’s going on. Also, their voices were kinda off (especially in the early years) so how did they get such an adoring scene around them? You have many instances here where you interact with the band, was it just a really friendly vibe and were the guys all really accessible or were they like “really cool” “role model” types? I know when I discovered them, the fact that te older kids in my high school who played music and smoked pot got me into it and I wonder of this was always the case.
Hey Shaun. Thanks for checking out the blog, glad you are digging it. I can obviously only answer from my perspective but here are my thoughts: When I was coming up in college in NY and Phish was playing the college/bar circuit, the jam band scene was really just starting to get going. Initially, in the NE/NY, around 1990, it was pretty much Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler and Phish playing the same places and drawing the same crowds. In 1990, all these bands were really on the same level and playing to super enthusiastic crowds. I was into all three bands at this time and they were playing sold out bars all over. Starting in 1991, things started to change a bit. Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler started getting bigger and bigger, and both started getting some major radio play. That is when I started to move away from them and the reason is this: Spin Doctors and BT were great in 1990 and I loved them, but they never really progressed musically (in my opinion). The venues got bigger and they got tour buses (Phish still had a van) but the shows were the same night after night. If they did have new songs, they were not as good as the older songs (again, my opinion.) For me, the thing with Phish is that they ALWAYS kept progressing. The new songs were kick ass and the older songs (and overall sound) kept getting better and better. I also respected Phish more for not taking a bunch of label money and getting a fancy bus and going in debt. They just kept plugging away at their deal. And yes, while the vocals might be rough and the songs were not as catchy as those other two, the talent was there and the energy exchange with the audience was there (which I never felt with the other guys) . Plus, it was always full of surprises which is what I think kept bringing people back. In 1992, with the HORDE and the jam band scene getting bigger, we now had Widespread Panic, ARU, Shockra etc., growing on a national level. All solid bands but personally they did not strike a chord for me like Phish. Something about the group as a whole just really grabbed me. As well, the first two bands I mentioned had a basic NY/NJ vibe and Phish really captured a whole New England vibe, so whether or not you were from VT, CT, MA, NH or ME (or NY), you really felt like it was your scene and it was cool. That’s just my 2 cents. As far as band interaction, back in the days when I started, the band was just really accessible. They were always around before and after the shows and very approachable. I think they are probably still pretty approachable now as they are such nice guys. I don’t tend to have any interaction with them now, or care to, but back then everyone was pitching in to carry gear or whatever. They are a few years older than me so I never felt like a contemporary to them, but they never felt like rockstars or anything to me either. I feel, and have always felt that the audience is as much a part of the experience as the musicians, so I always felt that the playing field was pretty level. Not sure if that answers your questions but I’ll end my rant right here. Thanks for reading the blog!
Do you have an email by chance? I’d absolutely love to shoot you a question….
caravan66@yahoo.com
Hey, what a great site. Thanks for your effort! I was going to school in Boston starting in 1989, saw my first Phish show at the Paradise, an all ages night in November. I used to drive all over New England on any given Friday night to see Phish. I’m sure we were at some of the same shows back then (the Colby College show, for one). It was a blast to be in on the ground floor of such an awesome band!