Attendance Bias

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. 1999 has been a very popular year to discuss on Attendance Bias, and for some reason, July of 1999 has been chosen 7 separate times by various guests. With today’s episode, we are nearly through the first two weeks of that tour, which is becoming legendary…at least for me and my various guests.

Today’s guest is Brad Gordon, who chose to discuss Phish’s show from July 4, 1999 at the Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta. July 4th is always an extra fun show, and today’s is no exception. But what made today’s conversation extra fun was Brad’s preparation and enthusiasm. Brad clearly loves this show, but he REALLY loves talking about it and spreading the good word about July 4, 99. Not only that, but he’s an avid listener of this podcast and so he knew my common opinions and even went so far as to quote former guests from prior episodes. Although Brad and I had never met in person, the conversation felt familiar and I was enthusiastic for hours after we ended the recording. I hope that the energy comes through over the next hour or so.

So let’s join Brad to talk about the rumors surrounding the millenium, Vultures, and much more as we discuss July 4, 1999 at the Lakewood Amphitheater, in Atlanta, GA.

Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein.

There are certain months and seasons in Phish history that represent more than just a page on a calender: August ‘93, Fall ‘97, June ‘94…but there is one that overrides them all: December ‘95. A month that not only has some of the best music of Phish’s 40 year career, but a month that represents their ascent from large theaters and college campuses to city-center arenas across the nation. Today’s guest, Jeff Carroll, brings us to the very beginning of that month as we discuss Phish’s show from December 1, 1995 at Hershey Park Arena.

One month before the band would conquer Madison Square Garden, they laid waste to central Pennsylvania by demonstrating everything they had mastered up to that point, and every reason a fan would want to see them: musical mastery, a dash of Gamehendge, and Fishman running around the stage in a light-up cape after singing some late-stage Elvis. But according to Jeff, there was much more to this show than even all that.

So let’s join Jeff to chat about when Stash goes dark, Shakespeare, amusement park Phish as we break down December 1, 1995 at the Hershey Park Arena, in Hershey PA.

Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein.

There are certain months and seasons in Phish history that represent more than just a page on a calender: August ‘93, Fall ‘97, June ‘94…but there is one that overrides them all: December ‘95. A month that not only has some of the best music of Phish’s 40 year career, but a month that represents their ascent from large theaters and college campuses to city-center arenas across the nation. Today’s guest, Jeff Carroll, brings us to the very beginning of that month as we discuss Phish’s show from December 1, 1995 at Hershey Park Arena.

One month before the band would conquer Madison Square Garden, they laid waste to central Pennsylvania by demonstrating everything they had mastered up to that point, and every reason a fan would want to see them: musical mastery, a dash of Gamehendge, and Fishman running around the stage in a light-up cape after singing some late-stage Elvis. But according to Jeff, there was much more to this show than even all that.

So let’s join Jeff to chat about when Stash goes dark, Shakespeare, amusement park Phish as we break down December 1, 1995 at the Hershey Park Arena, in Hershey PA.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. As we all know, 1999 is a very popular year to discuss on Attendance Bias. However, the overwhelming majority of shows or jams from that year on the podcast are from the summer. It’s a little more rare that a guest picks something from the fall or December tours to break down. That is the case today as our guest, Andrew Matranga, chose the two night run that closed the fall tour–Albany ‘99 from October 9 and 10.

It would take a four hour podcast episode to cover both nights, as well as an overall look at the tour. But this two night, tour closing run, deserves discussion. So Andrew and I agreed to talk about set one from October 9, and set two from October 10.

When Andrew and I began speaking before I began to record the conversation, I knew that this episode would be a good one. Not only were we digging into an under-appreciated tour, but the energy he brought when talking about the New York State capital is infectious and undeniable.

So let’s join Andrew Matranga to talk about Strangefolk, the original TAB trio, and October 9 and 10, 1999 from the Knickerbocker Arena, in Albany, NY.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. As we all know, 1999 is a very popular year to discuss on Attendance Bias. However, the overwhelming majority of shows or jams from that year on the podcast are from the summer. It’s a little more rare that a guest picks something from the fall or December tours to break down. That is the case today as our guest, Andrew Matranga, chose the two night run that closed the fall tour–Albany ‘99 from October 9 and 10.

It would take a four hour podcast episode to cover both nights, as well as an overall look at the tour. But this two night, tour closing run, deserves discussion. So Andrew and I agreed to talk about set one from October 9, and set two from October 10.

When Andrew and I began speaking before I began to record the conversation, I knew that this episode would be a good one. Not only were we digging into an under-appreciated tour, but the energy he brought when talking about the New York State capital is infectious and undeniable.

So let’s join Andrew Matranga to talk about Strangefolk, the original TAB trio, and October 9 and 10, 1999 from the Knickerbocker Arena, in Albany, NY.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Every once in a while, Phish acknowledges their musical inspirations in interviews, by playing cover songs, or in some very rare cases, playing a certain band’s style within Phish’s own original songs and also acknowledge something that’s going on outside the insular world of the show. When they blend it all together successfully, we all win and go home happy.

This was the case on June 25, 2010 at Camden–the first anniversary of the death of pop icon Michael Jackson– when the band started up 2001 right in the middle of the 2nd set and infused several teases of Michael Jackson’s songs into a spectacular version of 2001.

Today, Scott Marks–member of phish.net and the mockingbird foundation–returns to the podcast to break down that jam, as well as the larger picture: phish in the summer of 2010, separating the art from the artist, and crowd reactions to unexpected twists and turns. So let’s join Scott to talk about “2001” from June 25, 2010 in Camden.

The Mockingbird Foundation
Neighbor

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Every once in a while, Phish acknowledges their musical inspirations in interviews, by playing cover songs, or in some very rare cases, playing a certain band’s style within Phish’s own original songs and also acknowledge something that’s going on outside the insular world of the show. When they blend it all together successfully, we all win and go home happy.

This was the case on June 25, 2010 at Camden–the first anniversary of the death of pop icon Michael Jackson– when the band started up 2001 right in the middle of the 2nd set and infused several teases of Michael Jackson’s songs into a spectacular version of 2001.

Today, Scott Marks–member of phish.net and the mockingbird foundation–returns to the podcast to break down that jam, as well as the larger picture: phish in the summer of 2010, separating the art from the artist, and crowd reactions to unexpected twists and turns. So let’s join Scott to talk about “2001” from June 25, 2010 in Camden.

The Mockingbird Foundation
Neighbor

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. A few months ago, I arranged an episode with a guest who wanted to talk about Phish’s performance of “Free” from August 2, 2022 at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. After trying to set up a recording date and time with the guest, things eventually fell through. I was left with a great jam and a boatload of notes with no one to talk to about it.

I put out a call on Phish Twitter and got such a response! It seemed like everybody wanted to talk about this jam, and I can see why. Luckily, we were able to arrange two guests for this fantastic jam: one returning guest–Mike Lowe, who was previously on Attendance Bias to discuss the all-time version of “Fluffhead” from Alpine Valley ‘99, and a brand-new guest: Mercedes from Phish Twitter, or you may know her better as ZzBenz. Either way, it was a perfect way to blend the familiar with the new to go over what several people referred to as the 2022 Jam of the Year.

Moving through several sections, Phish took the second set opener and took the audience on a musical journey that felt like it was composed and spontaneous at the same time. But I don’t want to spoil it. Let’s join Mercedes and Mike to talk about Summer 2022, planetarium music, and Hansen, as we discuss “Free” from August 2, 2022 at Blossom.