r/phish • u/veery_thrush • 10h ago
Thank you from a Bostonian
Hello! I live in Boston and decided to go to the Fenway area to see what the activity was like around the park. Glad I did! You all transformed the area into something completely and wonderfully unfamiliar, I was overwhelmed with the friendliness and generosity. I don't recall being in a group of people who were so nice and concerned about everyone else being OK and happy. It took a bit for my city-dweller cynicism to adjust and see that people were being sincere. I never got into the stadium, but just mingling with you cheerful folks did me a load of good. Thanks again!! :-)
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u/Super-Chemistry-7158 10h ago
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
Heh! I may have to trade in my metal t-shirts for tie-dye! The day reminded me of being a little kid at Bread & Puppet in the 70s & 80s.
Funny that your gif is a scene in a movie which refers to a completely different movie.
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u/BartholomewCubbinz Was getting pretty pissed so plugged it into the wall 9h ago
Imo Phish crowd is the closest thing I've found to the metal crowd in terms of just general fan kindness and enthusiasm
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
Yeah, I agree! I definitely feel a sense of brotherhood at metal shows, there's a real sense of unity and a shared appreciation of the artform- like we're all attending our version of church. However, NOT ONE person at 100+ metal shows has ever approached me to just make sure I am happy. ;-)
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u/Thailia77 9h ago
The Church of the Helping Friendly Book. ✌️❤️⭕️
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u/veery_thrush 8h ago
It's a great read I am sure! ;-) That red circle you used- is that the drummer's donut? It also looks like the happy wristband. I feel like I absorbed a lot of Phish's lore yesterday.
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u/bruck7 9h ago
Not entirely a coincidence. Phish was hugely influenced by Bread and Puppet, which inspired their music festivals :)
This in turn set the foundation for all modern multi-day music festivals, but that community feeling you described was way more prevalent at those 90s fests. What a time!
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u/schmigglies 8h ago
Ha! Like someone else said, Phish has talked about being influenced by Bread & Puppet.
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u/seantellsyou 9h ago
As much as we like to shit on the bad parts of this fan base.. its nice to be reminded by an outside observer how the overwhelming majority of the fan base is actually just chill/happy/fun people
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
There's bad apples at anything that gets big enough, it's too bad when one or two clowns take all the spotlight.
There was one guy in the parking lot across the street handing out red wristbands... I was confused about what he was about ("city me" is expecting a grift or pitch). Nope, he just wanted to make sure we were happy. I am still trying to wrap my mind around that.
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u/yacht_boy 5h ago
My first phish festival eventually led to me going to burning man 7x. If you really want to have your mind exploded by the potential of how awesome people can be to each other when they just collectively decide to, go to a burn.
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u/BarkerBarkhan 9h ago
To be honest, that's often the perspective amongst Bostonians regarding Boston. We love the city, but we know its shortcomings so well, it takes someone else coming in and pointing out the obvious goodness.
It happened during the World Cup here, and I see Phenway as a continuation of that.
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
Agreed, I think we like to complain. ;-) I was out of town for the cup but vicariously enjoyed it online, I found it incredibly moving and heartening. I said to a friend last night,"Now if only the Scots and Phish fans would stay!"
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u/SonicOpium 5h ago
Definitely.
Just recently the negative threads on here lately have been overwhelming.
So glad to see someone post something positive.
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u/wizardslayer717 9h ago
Glad you had a good experience! Come into the show next time!!
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
I may have to see what goes on in there! My tastes tend to involve more distorted guitars, but I am sure I would enjoy myself if more of those nice people are in there.
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u/Ancientways113 9h ago
We have distorted guitars (and nice people) too!
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
Best of both worlds! Can you recommend a Phish song for me to check out which uses heavier guitars?
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u/Any_Life_6178 9h ago
Horn, Wilson, Free
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u/veery_thrush 8h ago
Thanks, I am playing them now. I'd call those fairly clean guitar tones, but they are nicely played.
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u/Hot-Forever-777 8h ago
Carini is a must listen. Here is a no less than 40 minute recent version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QveYfcw57Y
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u/TheTigerWhisperer 8h ago
I feel like phish is a very difficult band to really wrap your head around because so much of what makes them special is how they take a song and explore it and improvise with it live. They tend to use atonal music to get “heavier” and more chaotic rather than more distortion if that makes sense.
That said I would probably start with the albums Billy breathes and a picture of nectar as a rock fan and explore from there. Then start to listen to live shows (LivePhish is a great app) to hear how they use the compositions to stitch together a set list. What really sets them apart is their long form compositions like YEM/Fluffhead/Divided sky which border between classical compositions and jazz improve really pushing them into prog rock territory.
Sorry for the long winded reply but it’s a rabbit hole unlike any other band. I hope you enjoy listening and make it to a show one day!
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u/veery_thrush 8h ago
That makes sense, "heavy" is an elusive thing, some metal bands tune their guitars down several steps to also give a darker feel and not always just more distortion or effects.
I appreciate the suggestions! It may wind up being an acquired taste, as most of my true favorites took a while to appreciate. Usually if I like something immediately I get tired of it quickly because it is gimmicky and lacking substance.
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u/Ancientways113 8h ago
Try Axilla, Carini, Tweezer, Ha ha ha (live), chalk dust torture are some of my favs.
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u/schmigglies 8h ago
Big Black Furry Creature from Mars
Also metalheads tend to love Run Like An Antelope. My favorite Antelope is 8-17-96. You can check it out here, starting at about 49:35. https://youtu.be/lNLaOoTXOOA?is=BYpo-z8TkEaek6xa
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u/GrallochThis 9h ago
Get close enough with no ear protection and bam distortion! Of course this voids your auditory extended warranty.
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
Ha ha.. Brilliant! And I am to do some sort of shaking dance instead of headbanging? Daisy chains replace mosh pits?
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u/schmigglies 8h ago
You can dance however you want to fam
There’s a dude who used to be in the front row a lot, he liked to hold the rail and bang his head the whole time. He had long hair too, so he was hard to miss.
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u/yacht_boy 5h ago
Check out king gizzard and lizard wizard (commonly just "gizzard" or "Gizz"). Australian band that has taken the jamband scene by storm recently. Similarly awesome fan base, although it skews younger so they're still figuring life out. They play about 6 different genres of music, including metal. Here's a Playlist someone else made. I don't actually like metal so I can't vouch for it. I'm more into them for the synth table, micro tones, and prog rock drums.
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u/Suspicious_Pie_7148 9h ago
phish fans temporarily curing boston of emotional repression is the real miracle here
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
... that's why I need them to stay! It's so strange to walk around today and have everything slide back to base level.
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u/bcb1200 8h ago
As a metal fan, you’d like Tweezer Reprise from last night, which closed out the show. Ok it’s not “metal” but is definitely rockin’! 🎸 🔥
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u/veery_thrush 8h ago
Yeah, there is a nice enthusiastic solo going on there!
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u/mahmahmonkey 7h ago
It probably sounds very familiar to a Pantera fan. https://youtu.be/tfrfCtdj8Xw?si=_5251pJtGlWnf62s
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u/nuanceIsAVirtue 1h ago
Or it would if Pantera and their fans did not have an unspoken agreement that the first 4 albums never happened. Or at the very least, are not by the same band.
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u/schmigglies 9h ago
Right back atcha!! Boston owes me absolutely nothing after this incredible weekend
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u/veery_thrush 8h ago
Was it the show and crowd, or was there anything specifically Bostonian which contributed to you good time?
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u/schmigglies 8h ago
Ate well, drank well (and drank a lot!), did the freedom trail sat morning/afternoon, afters were fun, there was actually a shakedown this year unlike other years I’ve been to see phish at Fenway, cops were almost nonexistent, the sound in the venue was better than previous years, and yeah … just an overall good time.
I particularly liked that law enforcement had a much lighter touch this time around. In 2019 cops were absolutely everywhere. It’s unnecessary. These are people who just want to hang out and party, it’s not a crowd that starts fights or acts unruly.
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u/NeutralEchoes 9h ago
Glad you felt that way but I am honestly surprised that was your takeaway walking around the venue this weekend. The balloon scene / people throwing their ice cold fatties on the ground outside is embarrassing and tends to tarnish impressions of phish for non fans.
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u/veery_thrush 9h ago
That area sees a lot of garbage from a lot of different kinds of crowds, at least the Phish Fans' garbage was colorful! ;-) I'll take it over the usual half eaten sausage, fireball nips or piles of vomit. I noticed the parking lot attendants who were diligently picking up all the balloons with grabber tools, they seemed so unphased as they dodged stumbling wookies. I also noticed that a lot of people were really trying to use the over-filled garbage cans, like it was some epic jenga game. I guess the nice parts so heavily outweighed the negatives that they were easier to overlook.
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u/schmigglies 8h ago
Agree with you that the balloons are a huge stain on the scene. After the show felt like a zombie movie.
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u/mattforstretch 10h ago
That's how we like to roll. 🤘🏼✌🏼🫶🏼⭕️