Attendance Bias

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. When Attendance Bias was first getting off the ground about two years ago, it seemed like every guest chose a show or a jam from the summer of 1999. Even though I didn’t see any shows from that tour, it seemed that within a few weeks, I became an expert on that time and place of Phish history.

Then, as more and more guests came on the podcast, we ventured all throughout Phish history, and summer ‘99 took a back seat. But today’s guest is here to bring us back to our roots. That guest is Jenn Moore, who you may have previously heard on the Helping Friendly Podcast. Jenn chose to discuss set 1 of July 25, 1999 at Deer Creek.

Surely, there is a virtually unlimited supply of special moments from Deer Creek, but Jenn chose this set for many sentimental reasons that you’re about to hear, but also because this set, with its bustouts, rarities, new material for the time, community vibe and goofiness, sticks out in her showgoing life.

So let’s join Jenn to talk about New York hippie towns, traveling through the midwest, and being a budding hippie in law school, as we discuss Phish’s first set from July 25, 1999 at Deer Creek.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. When Attendance Bias was first getting off the ground about two years ago, it seemed like every guest chose a show or a jam from the summer of 1999. Even though I didn’t see any shows from that tour, it seemed that within a few weeks, I became an expert on that time and place of Phish history.

Then, as more and more guests came on the podcast, we ventured all throughout Phish history, and summer ‘99 took a back seat. But today’s guest is here to bring us back to our roots. That guest is Jenn Moore, who you may have previously heard on the Helping Friendly Podcast. Jenn chose to discuss set 1 of July 25, 1999 at Deer Creek.

Surely, there is a virtually unlimited supply of special moments from Deer Creek, but Jenn chose this set for many sentimental reasons that you’re about to hear, but also because this set, with its bustouts, rarities, new material for the time, community vibe and goofiness, sticks out in her showgoing life.

So let’s join Jenn to talk about New York hippie towns, traveling through the midwest, and being a budding hippie in law school, as we discuss Phish’s first set from July 25, 1999 at Deer Creek.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. In the film Almost Famous, which I’m guessing is a favorite among many Phish fans, there’s a scene toward the very beginning where the hero’s older sister leaves home and secretly donates her extensive record collection to her younger brother. He sorts through them, settling on The Who’s Tommy and plays “Sparks.” That scene is the literal transition from the character being an immature young wallflower, into a young man with solid musical tastes and a sure sense of what he was put on earth to do.

While today’s guest is not Cameron Crowe, that scene from my favorite movie came to mind more than once as we spoke. Today’s guest is AJ Masko, and he chose to speak about Phish’s performance of Down With Disease into While My Guitar Gently Weeps from July 15, 2000 at the Polaris Amphitheater. AJ was not exactly brand new to Phish, but he was still in his honeymoon period where every new discovery from the band takes you back to your classic rock phase that you cherished and loved for so many years. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then don’t worry; you’ll still be able to appreciate today’s conversation.

On top of that, AJ also captures the feeling of late-1.0; the layered ambient music, the exploding population of the scene, the dangers at the edges, and the post-Cypress glow of the entire Phish experience. Even though we didn’t see many of the same shows or tours, AJ and I had similar Phish feelings around the time of Y2K, and this conversation was a true pleasure.

So let’s join AJ to talk about 11-minute jams, the need for more late 1.0 soundboards, and godlike ferris wheels, as we discuss Down with Disease into While My Guitar Gently Weeps from July 15, 2000 at The Polaris Amphitheater.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. In the film Almost Famous, which I’m guessing is a favorite among many Phish fans, there’s a scene toward the very beginning where the hero’s older sister leaves home and secretly donates her extensive record collection to her younger brother. He sorts through them, settling on The Who’s Tommy and plays “Sparks.” That scene is the literal transition from the character being an immature young wallflower, into a young man with solid musical tastes and a sure sense of what he was put on earth to do.

While today’s guest is not Cameron Crowe, that scene from my favorite movie came to mind more than once as we spoke. Today’s guest is AJ Masko, and he chose to speak about Phish’s performance of Down With Disease into While My Guitar Gently Weeps from July 15, 2000 at the Polaris Amphitheater. AJ was not exactly brand new to Phish, but he was still in his honeymoon period where every new discovery from the band takes you back to your classic rock phase that you cherished and loved for so many years. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then don’t worry; you’ll still be able to appreciate today’s conversation.

On top of that, AJ also captures the feeling of late-1.0; the layered ambient music, the exploding population of the scene, the dangers at the edges, and the post-Cypress glow of the entire Phish experience. Even though we didn’t see many of the same shows or tours, AJ and I had similar Phish feelings around the time of Y2K, and this conversation was a true pleasure.

So let’s join AJ to talk about 11-minute jams, the need for more late 1.0 soundboards, and godlike ferris wheels, as we discuss Down with Disease into While My Guitar Gently Weeps from July 15, 2000 at The Polaris Amphitheater.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Although it’s arguably the most important year of Phish’s career, not many Attendance Bias guests pick shows or jams from 2009. It’s understandable–2009 isn’t exactly overflowing with standout jams from Phish’s entire catalogue, but this podcast is about what’s special to the guest; not necessarily the most mind blowing music out there. However, today’s guest–Lindsay Hope–chose a show that has it all: August 7, 2009 at The Gorge.

Any Phish show at The Gorge is special by its very nature. But in 2009, it felt like all of us who were into the band in 1.0 or 2.0, were getting a second chance to experience everything we’ve always wanted to do with Phish. Even though the music wasn’t always mind blowing, there were dozens of special experiences, and Lindsay had to face her share of obstacles to make her dream of seeing Phish at the Gorge come true.

So let’s join Lindsay to talk about the Denver police department, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and windy condoms, as we discuss Phish’s show from August 7, 2009 at The Gorge.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Although it’s arguably the most important year of Phish’s career, not many Attendance Bias guests pick shows or jams from 2009. It’s understandable–2009 isn’t exactly overflowing with standout jams from Phish’s entire catalogue, but this podcast is about what’s special to the guest; not necessarily the most mind blowing music out there. However, today’s guest–Lindsay Hope–chose a show that has it all: August 7, 2009 at The Gorge.

Any Phish show at The Gorge is special by its very nature. But in 2009, it felt like all of us who were into the band in 1.0 or 2.0, were getting a second chance to experience everything we’ve always wanted to do with Phish. Even though the music wasn’t always mind blowing, there were dozens of special experiences, and Lindsay had to face her share of obstacles to make her dream of seeing Phish at the Gorge come true.

So let’s join Lindsay to talk about the Denver police department, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and windy condoms, as we discuss Phish’s show from August 7, 2009 at The Gorge.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Derek Hartley of Portland, Maine. Derek chose to speak about July 26, 2017, better known as Powdered Night of the Baker’s Dozen at Madison Square Garden.

Two nights of Phish’s landmark residency have already been covered on Attendance Bias, so I initially wasn’t sure what else could be said, but immediately after emailing with Derek, I was brought back to the absolute splendor that was Powdered night. Since it was played, I’ve considered it to be the best night of the Baker’s Dozen, musically speaking, and this was a great opportunity to hear someone else’s view of it, to dig a bit deeper into what made it such a successful night.

Derek is originally from northern Maine, and since he got into Phish right at the end of 2.0, he didn’t have much opportunity to see the band live. But he and his wife took a fortuitous trip to New York City in the summer of 2017 to make up for lost time, and hit what was arguably the best three consecutive nights of the dozen.

So let’s join Derek to talk about calling songs during the dozen, Raspberry Beret, and the best beers in Maine as we discuss Phish’s performance from July, 26 2017 at Madison Square Garden.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Derek Hartley of Portland, Maine. Derek chose to speak about July 26, 2017, better known as Powdered Night of the Baker’s Dozen at Madison Square Garden.

Two nights of Phish’s landmark residency have already been covered on Attendance Bias, so I initially wasn’t sure what else could be said, but immediately after emailing with Derek, I was brought back to the absolute splendor that was Powdered night. Since it was played, I’ve considered it to be the best night of the Baker’s Dozen, musically speaking, and this was a great opportunity to hear someone else’s view of it, to dig a bit deeper into what made it such a successful night.

Derek is originally from northern Maine, and since he got into Phish right at the end of 2.0, he didn’t have much opportunity to see the band live. But he and his wife took a fortuitous trip to New York City in the summer of 2017 to make up for lost time, and hit what was arguably the best three consecutive nights of the dozen.

So let’s join Derek to talk about calling songs during the dozen, Raspberry Beret, and the best beers in Maine as we discuss Phish’s performance from July, 26 2017 at Madison Square Garden.

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Chris from the Phish Just Jams website and app. We all love Phish songs, but sometimes you just want to get straight to the jams, and that’s what Chris, and his brother Brian, created: a database that allows fans to do just that. In addition to Just Jams, Chris is here to talk about the second set of an out-of-nowhere, or in the middle of nowhere, show: November 16, 1996 at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.

1996 has taken a little bit of a beating on this podcast and in general when it comes to Phish. We’ll get into it deeper, but myself and many guests have referred to 1996 as an “off year” or an “in between year” when it comes to Phish’s development. I’ve certainly realized the folly in that description, and according to Chris, it this type of show that caused that type of generalization in the first place. While the 2nd set is everything anyone could ever want in a Phish show, the first set is nothing remarkable. So in a time when it wasn’t so easy to just pick and choose which part of a show you wanted to hear, anyone listening to this first set may incorrectly assume that there’s nothing special about the show in general. That’s one reason that we are reviewing just the second set of this 1996 show in Omaha.

So let’s join Chris to talk about Trey’s percussion setup, standing up during Kung, and turkey legs as we discuss the second set of Phish’s performance from November 16, 1996 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.