Phish Cloudcast – Worcester – Night One – Fishman Themed Contest Results – Essential One

Welcome to another episode of The Philler. This time around we are announcing the results of our Phish short essay contest. The prize is one of our upcycled pieces from our collection. The theme of leg one was clearly the running tuck gag. We got our heads together in the workshop and began to develop a clock dedicated to the running laugh fest of our first string of shows. Click here to listen.

The winner is announced on our latest episode that you can listen to above. Ghostbusters fans will love this episode! We had some great entries and everybody won a little something for participating. Here is a picture of the prize for this contest without the clock hardware added. We will be adding it before we send it out to the winner!

Upcycled Fishman Tuck Clock

This episode of The Philler covers the submissions from the contestants and we also had a chance to grab Ed Krystosek for a moment to discuss our beloved Green Crew that selflessly takes care of the grounds in the towns where Phish lands to do their thing for all of us fans. Mad love to everyone involved in Green Crew both past and present.

I played some really fun stuff from the opening night of this tour on this episode. The opening night of this tour delivered. My speakers confirmed this to me over and over again as I brought my family together last night to peel apart the first installment in a great run of interactive Phish.

The glory came in the second set. However, this first set was nothing to forget or dismiss in any way shape or phorm. The whole thing was glorious! The band came out on stage and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are taking this whole thing even more seriously than previous comeback tours. Each tour since the comeback has gotten more refined and polished. We are only left to wonder the inevitable question. What can possibly come next? I am personally pumped for some new studio material. This is the golden age of Phish. I’ll be repeating that a lot on this blog because it is true.

“Nothing” was played for the first time since Camden in 2012. It was really fun to hear on the recording. The real treat for me was the live rebirthing of “Beauty of a Broken Heart” onto the stage and into the hearts of many adoring fans. Go Page! I’d love to see this song make her way into a more solid rotation. It can be the ebb or the flow for a show. It is a steady one either way you slice it.

“Torn and Frayed” popped off well. First night jitters? If Trey has any issue with it then he is a pro at hiding it because we got straight up solid playing from the guy on this night and throughout the entire string of performances. Welcome to the most professional touring act in the country! I’m sure I’ll be repeating that more than once on this blog too as we move forward. Sometimes the simplest phrases are the most clear. These guys are fucking professionals!

“Torn and Frayed” – Lyrics

Hey let him follow you down
Way underground, wind and he’s bound
Bound to follow you down
Just a dead beat right off the street, bound to follow you down

Well the ballrooms and smelly bordellos
And dressing rooms filled with parasites
On stage the band has got problems
They’re a bag of nerves on first nights

He ain’t tied down to no home town
Yeah, and he thought he was wreckless
You think he’s bad, he thinks you’re mad
Yeah, and the guitar player gets restless

Well his coat is torn and frayed
It’s seen much better days
Just as long as the guitar plays
Let it steal your heart away, steal your heart away

Well his coat is torn and frayed
It’s seen much better days
Just as long as the guitar plays
Let it steal your heart away

Joe’s got a cough, sounds kind a rough
Yeah, and the codeine to fix it
Doctor prescribes, drug store supplies
Who’s gonna help him to kick it

And his coat is torn and frayed
It’s seen much better days
Just as long as the guitar plays
Let it steal your heart away, steal your heart away

Well his coat is torn and frayed
It’s seen much better days
Just as long as the guitar plays
Just as long as the guitar plays
Just as long as the guitar plays
Just as long as the guitar plays

There was really interesting communication happening on stage between the musicians as is evident upon critical listening whether or not you attended the actual performance. The improvisation just kept on coming in set two. It was relentlessly coming in and out of every portion of that set two string of songs. I was completely moved to hear the band playing at such a consistent and creative level that I had to showcase the whole start of the second set through to “If I Could” on my program this week. It also deserves a spot on our radio station rotation due to the overall creative energy of the unified musical articulation. The band was playing as a psychogenic unit.

Lives were changed. Minds were adjusted.

Our community is filled with a myriad of different types of characters. Things propel us into our decisions at shows for different reasons. The music can motivate us to do things that may seem unreasonable to some people. It can create solid networks and can establish choices that we make outside of the concert setting. Unfortunately, it can also water a person down when it becomes the thing that controls such an individual that has been over saturated by too much Phish in a spell. However, in the case of the second set from night one of Worcester, I wouldn’t mind hearing four or five nights in a stretch of that exact level of musical virtue. I’d be able to justify four or five shows in a row for my spiritual pursuit.

We are all trying to get to One at the end of the day. Other people need more shows to get what they need. One day I will be on the road with my children at Phish shows. I personally could not abandon them for any real length of time. Thank God for that Noblesville and Alpine Valley run. We were able to see our children in between the shows and that was a great blessing to have a little break with our always ready and willing in-laws and on call baby sitters. Three weeks away from my children for a band? I personally could not do it with a clear conscious. I cannot wait to take them on their first road trip. We are blessed to have the official live streams from the band to get them prepped for the venue, lifestyle and congregation that can only be experienced when you just get in the RV and go for it!

The second set brought some elaborate instrumental work from everyone involved. “Carini” led us into the depths of the unknown plunge and the crowd was in for a welcome home that only affirms the evidence of seriousness and sophistication from the entire Phish crew. The jam out of “Carini” takes the listener into an exasperated introduction of several songs that romanticizes the mind into the hook that beckons the need to see more shows. Why? Look at what you might miss. The chase was fathomlessly on in New England and if you caught it then it was a blessing.

Pursuance. One.

The chase continues as Leg two waits to sweep us back into the mystic and back into the romance that is the musical expression of four men bound for synchronistic clairvoyance on the most auricular heights imaginable to those that chase it. The pursuit is deep. We are all getting there at our own pace. This string of songs show us perfect examples of the allowance of the mind to time travel while still residing in the body. We go back. We go forward. We initiate the present in the illuminated back drop of this great plunge that we allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to take together as a unified force. This is the true purpose of music. It can entertain. It can make you rich. It can get you laid. It can transcend the entire experience of human life. It can also do the exact opposite. However, we are not talking about the exact opposite. We are talking about the true shit. We are in genuine mode every time we open ourselves up to this magical network. The journey that the band takes from “Carini” through to “If I Could” is essential One. The openness is awesome and the channel circulates once again into an even deeper understanding of purpose and holism.

Siket throbbing, ambient statements, “Norwegian Wood” embellishments, uncharted romps through a “Ghost” that exposes the musicians for the truly collaborative voyagers that we know they are whether or not they are trying to do it with each and every song and the beautiful complexion of it all is it penetrates the audience. Their reaction says it all. It’s all right there in the radiating reaction of those East coast fans. We also got an exquisite use of the envelope filter as it bound one of the greatest transitions of the evening. The envelope following filter (auto-wah) made the bass line transition ever so thick as Phish laid down another strong Stevie Wonder classic. It was totally tasteful.

The envelope following filter “aka” auto wah. It is a sordid beast. When applied, it establishes a sonic experience that resembles a thick sitar milkshake from Mars that is distinctive and unforgettable as it resonates through a set of cabinets. It’s an essential funk sound that is always recognized once you know what you are listening for as an effect and Mike Gordon is a tasteful master of this deployment. Keep your ears open for it.

“Instead of the effect being controlled by a foot pedal, as on a standard wah-wah, the effect alters in response to the volume of the input signal.[1] Since the electronic circuits in the effect can respond much faster than a human musician can physically move a foot pedal, certain effects that a standard wah cannot achieve are only possible with auto-wah. The response of the effect is highly interactive with the dynamics of the input signal – this makes it possible to vary the response at will via slight adjustments to playing technique. Therefore it may take some practice before the response of the auto-wah can be wilfully controlled in order to achieve a consistent sound.

A typical auto-wah circuit uses an envelope follower to produce a voltage representing the overall volume of the input. This signal is then used to sweep the cutoff frequency of a filter. The filter usually has a low-pass or bandpass response. The Boss AW-3 is an example of such a device.

There is a variant of auto-wah that utilises a low frequency oscillator (LFO) instead of an envelope follower to alter the effect. The filter response varies constantly with time and is not linked to playing dynamics. The Boss AW-2 is an example of such a device. The difference in sound is subtle, but careful listeners will notice the constant period of the filter sweep. The song “Falling Into Grace” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is an example of an LFO controlled auto-wah applied to the bass guitar.

Typical controls on an auto-wah include a sensitivity control to adjust the input level to match the level expected by the envelope follower and other circuitry, a control for the initial cutoff point of the filter, and a control for the depth of the filter sweep. Some more sophisticated units offer controls for the resonance of the filter, multiple filter types, and options for sweeping the filter up or down.” – Wikipedia

“Boogie on Reggae Woman” came on proper as ever and the sequence culminated into an emotional roller coaster landing that slowed our nerves down into a graceful “If I Could” that left my ears gushing splendor through my entire central nervous system. I had to give this sequence props on my show. A major mind adjustment happened and we are blessed to even have this release as the Phish machine rolls on stronger than ever as a stage production.

Phish – NTelos Pavilion – The Confirmed Jedi

Before I get into my rant I just wanted to send a sincere thank you to everyone that has shown support for our website over the past few months. We have grown dramatically on our Facebook page over the course of the past two months and have collaborated with some great people along the way. A lot has happened since we started plugging away with the new site. Let me take a moment to tell you what has been going down.

Robert Champion – Nederland, Colorado

Pins – We have dove head first into the pin world with a little help from our friends @ ww.treethugger.com – Ryan Getz and I met in rec.music.phish back in the day and have reconnected to bust it out. Check out our pin section and if you buy now you get a great bracelet free of charge from our workshop. We’ve got Page’s House, Reba, Side A in our multiple tape throwback series, Side B coming soon and Big Red all available right now on our site. There are a ton of pin makers out there doing some great work. I was able to hang out with two of them this past tour in Noblesville. A special shout out to Adrian Sharpe @ StuPINdous Creations and Tripp Shealy @ Tripps Prints. We escaped to the lawn on night one of Noblesville even though I had a pavilion seat and hung out for some of the set. These two guys are doing great work and I was able to interview them for an upcoming episode of The Philler. Stay tuned for the goods. Check out their work and check out our pins if you’d like – remember that we give 20 percent to The Mockingbird Foundation on a regular basis.

The Phanatic Phone App – We are being included on the new update for the Phanatic smart phone app powered by Phish.net. We are super pumped to be pairing with this great application that I personally use almost every single day. Stay tuned for a future episode where we pick apart the finer details of this app and hopefully we will be getting the development team on a future episode of our show.

Upcycled Wood Projects -We are also happy to announce that we have sold two of our upcycled wood projects since beginning the journey. Stay tuned for more pieces in the very near future.

The Tela Collection – We have added a new element to our website in an attempt to diversify our fund raising for The Mockingbird Foundation and our radio portal. The Tela Collection is a series of jewelry pieces crafted with the Jam Band fan in mind. They are all high quality pieces. Take a look. They would make the perfect gift for that special someone.

Radio – We recently launched our 24 hour radio station which is hosting all of our cloudcasts and other programming by The Sloping Companion. We are also happy to announce that we will be offering live and diverse programs in the very near future on the weekends. We are always looking for funny and interesting bits and pieces for the radio station. If you have something that you want to get off your chest then give us a buzz by calling the hotline @ 1-630-317-7033 – We’ll use it on the air!

Advertise on our station! – We are looking for people that want to advertise on our station. I will produce a professional advertisement in my studio to run in rotation on the station and during the cloudcasts for a small fee to help support the hosting costs of the radio station. We can work out a great plan for you. If you are interested then get in touch!

Our Blog Needs Contributors – If you would like to contribute written pieces to the blog then we would love to talk. We are interested in all perspectives of the Jam Band culture. Send us your written work and maybe we can make something happen.

Funds Raised – We have raised $221.70 cents for The Mockingbird Foundation as of 07-10-12 and it’s just the beginning. Buy an item today and help support a great foundation.

We’ve been partnering with some really solid people and I am pleased with where this project is going. Tell your friends to check us out and dial in to our portal. Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter if you have not already and we are always here to chat if you want to reach out. We are constantly looking for writers and contributors to our blog. If you or someone you know has an interesting perspective on the culture then hit us up. Extreme team building is under way. Listen…Read…Rage

06-19-2012

NTelos Pavilon

Portsmouth Poster – Summer 2012

It’s couch tour. It’s 2012 in June. This sure as shit is not 1995 and it isn’t hidden far away. It’s right here in my serene living room and it’s right in front of me. Honestly, it probably sounds better than some of the more unsavory spots in the very venue where it is taking place. However, it’s not an equal replacement for actually being in the thick of it but it is an amazing supplement and a wonderful turn of events in the favor of modern technology. Phish gave us another exquisite live installment via Live Phish and a little virtual swipe of my debit card. I don’t believe in credit. However, let’s give credit to Phish for ascending their business model and giving their dedicated fans that cannot attend like they could back in the day a much needed midweek break as life, kids and the ladder keeps on growing, growing and growing.

http://www.littleragers.com – A community for parents and kids into Phish.

We began the evening with “Sample in a Jar” and it was by the book. It was short…It was sweet. It was Phish welcoming their attendees and viewers to two nights of what I originally speculated was going to be another feather in the cap of the most professionally prolific band in America. “Party Time” kept the first set going and I was eagerly awaiting the next one. Then, something next level happened that reminded me that you should never tell yourself that you have gotten comfortable with Phish. Carl Gearhard made his way front and center with his brass and “Party Time” became “Party Time” plus to render it into a song that cannot be thrown away into the forgotten banks like most versions. Check out a fun interview that Mockingbird did with Carl by clicking here when you get a chance.

My stream cut out during the ending of “Simple” and I missed the best part of this otherwise pedestrian version of a classic Phish song that is always welcome for me in any live set due to the historical context of it. I got up and refreshed the player. I wasn’t really upset about having to refresh the player. This technology is still new stuff. This is not perfect technology even though we want it to be. However, look how phucking far we have come ladies and gentlemen?The quarter note snare hits of “Axilla” cannot help but to propel the audience into an immediate rhythm that aligns with the heartbeat and intrinsically speeds up our insides live from the living room or right there on the rail. Then, the stream cut out for the second time and I had to get up again and refresh the player. Still, it was exquisite. Still, it was a simple virtual swipe of my debit card. Still, it has been another great year of music, life and the spiritual pursuit of One. Church was in session through the invisible and penetrating waves of wi-fi and unknown consequences of said invisible forces as they travel through our bodies.Still, we were pursuing it because that feeling in the heart is the feeling that makes it all worth the risk. Sacrifices, unforeseen and invisible waves penetrating through our bodies so we can be this dialed in as it is happening live on stage.Trey adds an insane blues lick into the weaving “Tube” and the audience gets their request. Again, it was short and sweet but was also locked in and solid at the same time. The band had not really opened up at this point in the broadcast but you know it’s going to happen. If we know anything about anything then this is for sure. It’s so stupendous!

The conduit is alive and well. The channel is open. The new lighting elements are winning me over. Noblesville calls my name with each and every bit of bytes as the show all unfolds in Lombard, Illinois and throughout the invisible waves as they penetrate deeper and deeper through our bodies.

We get a really nice and jammed out version of “Kill Devil Falls” in the first set. Fishman is all smiles as it ends and the stage goes black with the exception of a few blue lights pointing directly down. The king of transitions (CK5) sets the stage for the next element of this journey.

CK5

“Water in the Sky” comes next and I immediately know where this is going. I don’t hate this song. However, I really need something more at this point even though I am surrendering to the flow. We get a “Horn” and the guitar solo is probably one of the most under-appreciated pieces of composed parts ever played by Trey Anastasio and I will always feel that way. So many fans list it as a throwaway tune. I could spend hours debating that with the strongest of fans and welcome that argument at any time. Feel free to comment.

My son did an interpretive dance during “Bathtub Gin” that would have won him an award on lot. Someday Waylon….Someday soon.

“Bathtub Gin” opened up nicely and got super manic at the end leading me to another opportunity to teach my son about the constructs of meter and the technical art of playing between the tones. Bonding is the best and it’s even better when music is involved. I’m already exposing Waylon to chord charts on the keyboard in our basement. I have no idea if he is picking up on any of it but the boy does like to dance. We all have to start somewhere.

Phish had to get goofy as shit right? They delivered an “I Didn’t Know” and Tubbs shined with his Electrolux calling card. However, it got really weird up there as Jon Fishman tucked in his outfit into his shorts in a true Poindexter meets Geritol meets I didn’t just see that moment.

Again, the weird was brought and I knew that in a little over a week I would be completely comfortable letting my own phreak flag fly as we stepped onto the lot in Noblesville, Indiana for the beginning of our four day mini vacation that will culminate at church. Another resounding thank you to the Phish machine for reminding us all that we have a place to flourish and not feel ashamed to let it all out and just be ourselves without fear of the normal ridicule of the larger society as a whole. Are we completely free from it at a Phish show? The answer is no. Does the band make it easier by providing a landscape for some of us to flourish regardless of the seepage from dominant society into our beloved traveling show? The answer is a resounding yes! Tuck…Tuck…Tuck.
“Run Like An Antelope” – “Everybody tuck in your dresses” – “Tuck…Tuck…Tuck…Tuck…” – Tick – Tick – Tick Tock – The countdown to Noblesville is shining through tonight. My wheels immediately began to spin and I had a great new idea for an upcycled wood project. We started manufacturing these plates out of wood and will eventually be converting them into clocks to sell on the website. If you are interested in one to commemorate an amazing run of shows for Leg I then please hit us up and we will make you a clock. They are hand painted and glossed. I tried to bust out a few to take to Noblesville in time and we got some good feedback on this item. These are built to last a long time and 20 percent of all the sales will go directly to The Mockingbird Foundation @ http://www.mbird.org. Hit us up.

An interesting little bit of information about why the Fishman frock print is so deeply embedded into our psyche. If you desaturate the two official colors then you get the exact same shade of grey. This is a subconscious piece of psychedelia that is doing a number on our minds without us even knowing it. Well…now you know it. The invisible eye is playing a trick on us every time we see it. I’m not sure if this was the intention of the band but it sure is a mind screw once you start playing with the colors.

Set II

“Get Back on the Train” opened up the second set. It rolled along nicely enough but I am hoping for more tonight. Then, my hopes become granted wishes as Phish cuts deep into the root to propel the second set forward with “Rift” as my passion is sparked. However, there is nothing terrible about it. Trey is nailing the written solo for the most part and is showing a nice touch of multiple dynamics as he midway delves into a mezzo piano and then brings it into the forte range towards the end to pass it off to Page and his part. Trey sure fires his way through the next written solo while embellishing a short intro beforehand to make the second go around a whole new musical idea.This is a perfect time to talk about another musical term. The term is dynamics.

In the world of music, dynamics refers to the volume of a sound, note or tone. It can also refer to virtually any aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc.) or functional (velocity). The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics. Dynamics are relative. The two most basic forms of dynamics are p or piano – indicating a soft variation of the music & f or forte – indicating a loud variety. There are several forms within these two basic structures that indicate a more varied expression of dynamics in relation to the volume in a portion of music. Some of the more subtle variations of the two basic dynamic marks are mp or mezzo-piano – indicating moderately soft and mf or mezzo-forte – indicating moderately loud. Even still, there are several more variations to give the written work a wide dynamic range based on the whims of the composer.“Rift” is a practice in listening to your other players in a way that takes developed training unattainable by many musicians. The entire song is a chase and then a synch between the musicians. The whole thing relies on knowing where you are in a song. Many songs do not demand knowing. Phish can thankfully do this and still make the entire delivery unique every single time they execute it on stage.My hopes for more continue to be granted as the band quickly goes into “Split Open and Melt” and sets up the weird. My son is literally passed out and snoring on the couch. It’s not an obnoxious snore.How can the snore of a two year old be obnoxious? Instead, I move him to his bedroom because Dad has a feeling that he might need to turn up the volume…In 3…2…1

There we go…

“Split Open and Melt” – Phucking weird. It has literally turned into the most psychotic lulla-bye ever in the history of psychotic lulla-byes. My favorite playing psychedelic band is finally being psychedelic with their instruments for the first time tonight in the exploratory sense of the word. Sure, “I Didn’t Know” can be considered psychedelic. Poindexter Fishman? Poindexter Fishman is also psychedelic but that “SOAM” was a head full of exploratory and maddening phun.

The invisible waves from this wi-fi world that we live in flow through me with every song. I can literally feel it flowing through me. Who knows how this technology is going to change the human race on a molecular and cellular level? The invisible waves bring gifts like this Phish stream and, not unlike Phish, they bring uncertainty as to what they are doing to us in the long term. This is why we need to hit the road and dial it in a different way than we are dialed in here on the home front. We are too dialed in on the home front. We need to expand the space, gas up and hit the road. We need space. We need spaces.

Adult life is an adventure in of itself and it also poses a fine set of anxieties and pressures that demand an escape every now and then as we move through it. The road is needed. We need expanses. We need to feel less confined. We need to control these invisible waves instead of the waves controlling us.

We need One. We need to just get in the phucking car and go.

Happy…Happy.

Then, it happened. It fucking happened. Phish…The band Phish…In the year of 2012…In June…Interacted with their audience.

Confirmed

The kids were asleep. I was witnessing live Phish in my home with my wife. There were light sabers. We just had to smile. Interactive Phish. It doesn’t get any better for me when listening and experiencing music. May the phorce be with you.

May the phorce be with you.

We are truly blessed to be living in this time. This truly is the golden age.

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