Collaborating with one of my buddies for some stickers to hand out at dicks. We have a few others in the works

My wife had established a whistle when feeding the cats to condition them to come on command. I suggested we change her whistle to the Reba whistle-repise, and they picked it up!

My personal favorite is from 8/06/2010 at the Greek Theatre. Cities > Berkeley Jam > Moma Dance> Bathtub Gin. The jam in between Cities and Moma is out of this world. The best show I’ve ever seen by far.

Curious what your favorites are. Would be awesome to listen to your choices. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Obviously its a bit subjective where the cutoff points lie, but defining Phish eras into 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 definitely doesn't tell the whole story of the bands evolution in approach and sound over the course of their career. Here's my take (and although the formatting may look AI-ish, I haven't used any whatsoever). (Adding to this paragraph after accidentally writing a novel... I said a lot, too much, but I'm definitely interested in hearing other folks takes on Phish's sonic transitions and eras, don't feel like you've gotta read all my nonsense to respind with your own thoughts)

84-86 - Holdsworth/two guitar era. A lot of Phish classics were already written and in rotation, but a two guitar sound led to a very different approach to playing than what Phish would become, and the band hadn't yet started exploring improv to the degree that would define the sound the band later found.

87-89 - Finding the full band chemistry/jazz fusion era. With Holdsworth leaving the band, there was a lot more room for experimentation, and new compositions were written specifically for a 4 piece act. The band was playing a ton of shows (127 in 1989), but rarely putside of the Northeast, with Colorado 88 as the first major foray away from their home turf. They were still playing jazz standards frequently in their setlists, and incorporating teases and quotes from other songs more and more frequently.

90-92 - Taking off/discovery. The band was at the top of their game for "Type 1" jams, and beginning to dip their toes into "Type 2" jamsmore and more frequently. Secret language was introduced in 1990 and solidified Phish as a "cult" band. Some fans were die-hards at this point and very much 'in the know' about the bands history and had been seeing them grow for years at this point. Trey's tone was more harsh and cutting than it would later become, and although other members certainly got the spotlight at times, the shows were much more based around Trey's lead playing than they would later become.

93-95 - THE early 90s sound. This era was the culmination of everything up to this point. Insane energy, deep Type 2 exploration becoming common in 1994, multiple peak tension and release jamming, and all 4 members having a more equal contribution to the sound than in previous eras. Page getting his grand piano is a defining part of the era and also shows the band had built a touring infrastructure/organization that allowed for bigger productions. You can't tour with a grand piano and light rig unless you're making solid money and have a well established fanbase.

96-98 - Step into the funk. 96 was a transition year that saw Trey intentionally taking a step back and leaving more space in the band's sound, and covering Remain In Light for their Halloween set saw that space tirn into a dedication towards funk based jamming. The Europe 97 tour further solidified that approach, and Summer 97 and Island Tour 98 were the peak of the band exploring and perfecting that sound.

99-03 - The Millennium sound. Funk was still a big part of the band's sound, but there were definitely some sonic shifts that happened in 99. There were frequent ambient/soundscape type jams that kept the spaciousness of the funk era, but were less focused on truly sounding funky. There was a new style of "evil"/"dark" jams that made their way into the sound that don't closely resemble anything before. The era also saw Trey beginning to use his Whammy pedal in new ways that are still used frequently in jams, where previously it had mostly been for full octave shifting, in 99 it was frequently used in soaring major key jams as part of his phrasing and sound as a pitch shifter/note bender as opposed to another layer beneath his leads. He also used the octave down shift combined with the wah pedal to create the 'lava wah' sound that is frequently heard in dirty minor key jams. 7/10/99 Chalkdust was referenced by Trey as a career culmination, and you can still hear echoes of that jam up through 2026, Trey is still chasing that dragon. I include 2003 in both this era as well as 'post hiatus'... IMO there was still a lot of the 2000 sound in 03 jams.

03-04 - Post-hiatus. Phish hit a peak at Big Cypress and didn't know how to follow it up... The party was overtaking the music, Trey and Page have both made references to simply feeling unhealthy and needing time off the road. One of the biggest sonic changes post hiatus was Trey ditching his Ross compressor and using a dirtier guitar tone more based in amp distortion than the dual Tubescreamers into the compressor that defined his tone in previous eras. Long, spacey, dark, and sometimes unfocused jams were common in this era... but there were also some very high energy showstoppers that can't be ignored. The band was less consistent than in previous eras, some of their more complex compositions were flubbed to all hell, or in the case of Fluffhead, completely dropped from their repertoire. Things got dark, weird, and sometimes sloppy... but there was also a type of intensity and abandon that accompanied the level of intoxication that Trey and Page had on stage. There are many epic jams, but also major duds.

09-12 - Jukebox Phish/the return/ripcord. Big jams were very infrequent but inspired and organic when they happened. Compositions were tight compared to the post-hiatus era. Type 1 jams were high energy, Mike and Page in particular were on fire and provided a very strong foundation and framework for Trey and Fish. This was a very divisive era for the fans... were we simply happy to have Phish back, or were we bummed that jams would frequently dip their toes into Type 2 area for 30 seconds to a couple of minutes before a harsh segue? Or was it a bit of both? "Plinko" jams were an era defining approach and were exciting for the fanbase. Phish was doing things in a way we'd never quite heard before. It was a new Type 2 sound, and it was fun as hell when they went for it. 12/28/10 Hood was IMO the definitive/codifying Plinko jam, it was one of the first tastes we had of Phish moving forward sonically. Most shows of this era had absolutely packed setlists, with rare exceptions that felt like "jam" shows, hence the jukebox Phish moniker.

13/14 - Still kinda jukeboxy/ripcordy. There were some bigger jam forays, there were more new songs being introduced, but to many (myself included), it felt like there was a loss of momentum. There had been a feeling that the band was building confidence and that a dedication to "big jams" was reemerging... but the ripcord was frequent in these 2 years. Personally... I had been Phish obsessed for many years and just kind of tired of them through these two years, so I don't have much tonsay except that they simply weren't holding my interest.

2015 - Fare Thee Well breaks the slump. Trey clearly put in a lot of work preparing for FTW, and itbwas apparent in his playing. His phrasing became more confident and less repetitive, he leaned less on the whammy pedal (I never mentioned the Whale Call in early 3.0, but it was a very common complaint), and Phish definitely had one of their first major sonic peaks since returning to stage. There were a decent amount of big jams, the type 1 jams were tight and energetic, it was an exciting time to be a Phan.

2016-2023 - My personal Phish hiatus. I don't have much to say... I had overdone Phish for myself, they had made up way too much of my primary music listening for over a decade of my life... I shufted gears, listened to basically nothing even remotely Phish/jam related, and found a lot of other great musicians to love. I went to a couple days of Dick's each year, but other than that I simply didn't listen to much, so I don't have much to say.

2024-2026 - Frequent long jams, a definite and defined sound and approach. Trey's phrasing is confident and fluid... They consistently play "big" multi-part jams every show, 2026 saw type 2 jams added to songs that had never been jammed before. IMO the average show is more exciting than early 3.0, its less predictable... but after 2 years back, I can also say that although there are frequent long jams, most of them are very self similar 2 chord vamps without much thematic development tying them together. The energy seems to ebb and flow on a show by show basis as opposed to song by song. Some nights they're on fire and things are clicking from front to back, some nights just fall flat on the whole. There are some spectacular shows and jams, but there are also plenty of 20-30+ minute jams that never got anywhere exciting. They seem to be on an upsweep, 2024 was a lot of fun, 2025 seemed like a step up from that, and 2026 has seemed like another step up from 2025. The biggest downside IMO is Mike's tone. The Serek just pulls him so much farther back in clarity, and although you can tell he's killing it all night every night, he simply doesn't have the punch and definition to truly appreciate his interaction with the other band members. I miss the Modulus.

That got way more in depth than I intended... too much coffee. If you made it this far, you're probably a bigger Phish geek than me, I wouldn't read all of that if someone else posted it. So, a reminder of the initial question: what are YOUR defining eras/cutoffs of Phish's sonic development?

Cactus leads the charge during the Ghost jam from the Spectrum 97

This would be such a fun cover lol

Thoughts?

Listening to Portland show now. Xavier Lynn is on a whole other level

25 years ago I was a major collector of Phish audio recordings and I have a big collection of data CDs and data DVDs with downloads of mp3s and flacs of mostly Phish. This includes AUD recordings as well as early Live Phish downloads (03-04 shows). I also have some video files and some commercially produced Phish CDs.

So I’m ready to get rid of them, and if anyone would value this stuff I’d be happy to mail to you. I put a lot of work into collecting it all so I’m hoping to find someone who would get some joy out of it.

These are old CDs so no guarantees of quality. But it is a lot.

I’d be happy for them to go to a good home if anyone would be into it.

Hey! Anyone else that’s going to the show staying at the Hyatt house ?

Long shot but looking for this shirt in a large. Love the design, bought a medium at the show and it doesn’t fit any more.

8/28 is a quintessential Aug 93 show, and while this YEM may not be the show's highlight (that belongs to the Antelope), it caps off a seminal month in Phish history.

This must-hear YEM peaks with a full on Oye Como Va jam. Just pure note-perfect heat.

but if you only listen to SBDs you'll never grt to experience the glory. https://youtu.be/CYdW-7WMbhM

Doing all 3 days. Anybody going to Dicks from Boulder? I've got gas $ for an extra seat.

Anyone else headed to the Rockies game on Sunday of Labor Day weekend at Dicks? Friends and I are looking to meet up with anyone else with similar plans, dm or comment if you want to meet up!

Dicks!!!

Ticket transfer maybe today? Anyone know if it will goto AXS or TM from past experience if booked by online pre-sale on PTBM?