For such a group of seemingly casual guys, there's nothing casual about Phish. Even people who dislike them hate them with a passion arguably as intense as those who drop off the grid to follow America's greatest party from city to city. I try to gauge my love or disdain of bands based on their live act, and for the uninitiated, Todd Phillips' Bittersweet Motel (2000) offers a look at everything that makes Phish one of rock's greatest cultural artifacts: unique songs, masterful improv, humor, and the scene, man ...
Commissioned by the band, the film overly features Trey Anastasio, the creative, virtuosic force without whom there could be no band. At times, Trey comes off as a down-to-earth character who lives for music, but at other times, he's a total prick with an ego the size of a festival audience of 70,000 adoring fans. He's probably no different than any other lead figure in a larger-than-life rock band, but since he's a nerdy Vermonter, it's easy to see how his dexterity with the guitar inflates his sense of self. Thankfully, Phillips presents him -- and the rest of the band -- in both shades, and the viewer is free to decide if each clip is authentic or not.
Phillips follows Gamehendge's troubadors throughout a legendary Winter 1997 tour that culminated a year where the band grew into a funkier, more relaxed sound and improv style that defined them until their hiatus in Fall 2000. The band's earlier material obviously contained extended improv, too, but jams in the early 90s featured more tension-and-release buildups where Trey's solos were more intricate, fast, and prominent. As the band kept trying to make somewhat coherent studio albums in the early and mid 90s, arena rock anthems like "Down with Disease", "Free", and "Character Zero" laid a more traditional foundation (though the band still jammed, obviously).
After a spacy cover of Talking Heads Remain in Light for their 1996 Halloween show, Phish's jamming grew into even more esoteric space where bassist Mike Gordon and keyboarist Page McConnell began to find more territory to explore as Trey played more with loops and textures. These differences probably aren't apparent to a casual listener, but hardcore fans can often pinpoint specific recordings to years, tours, or even specific shows just by listening to the quality of the recording, Trey's tone, Mike's prominence in the mix, and the flow of the setlist.
Memorable moments from Winter '97 clips include a sick "Down with Disease" jam from Rochester, NY on 12-11-97 (the first Phish bootleg I ever had after a friend acquired it in high school, coincidentally) and moments from Phish's biggest night every year: New Year's Eve. Phillips also followed Phish through a tour of Europe and finally ends with 1997s summer festival The Great Went. While I advise anyone that you can't understand Phish without seeing a live show, you really can't understand them until you dedicate an entire vacation toward traveling to one of their elaborately planned festivals. The Great Went was the band's second large festival taking place in the middle of nowhere at Loring Air Force base in Limestone, Maine. The band would later return to Limestone in 1998 for Lemonwheel and again in 2003 for the IT festival. The film's greatest moments from the Went include a photograph of over 1,100 nude fans, a band/fan art installation and subsequent bonfire, and the beautiful "Simple" jam, not to mention some hilarious fan interviews.
It's hard for me to write about Phish and avoid getting overly personal, praising, or critical, but like Trey points out in the film, the band opens itself up to that kind of love and scrutiny. Every show is taped by legions of tapers who dedicate all of their recreational time to recording and distributing the band's music - for free. Now, every show is available for soundboard-quality download within minutes upon the show's conclusion - every single night of every tour. Tickets come with a free download code for the show, and the band webcasts high-demand shows (and fans then pirate the streams on sites like Ustream). With yesterday's lot kids growing into professionals and parents, couch tour has become a viable business venture for a band that once thrived on the personal connection of witnessing something original LIVE and in person. Just as culture continues to evolve, so will Phish.
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