Phishin Gone 'Merry If all goes well, somewhere during the day Tuesday, I landed in the United States. History to finish the year on a festive note, with four concerts by Phish chained in five nights. Yes, I know, it's much, but to be honest I had originally planned to attend five shows in total. The storm that struck the northeast coast of the States and hundreds of flight Cancelled ensuing forced me to postpone my departure for a day. And in fact, at the time I write this, I'm still not sure that my plans will proceed as planned. In an hour, I'll put myself en route to Brussels airport, and pray for a miracle, or rather a succession of miracles. It must first my flight to New York is maintained by American Airlines, which is not certain. (11:42
EDIT: Bingo! What crap. See below) Although the blizzard seems to have dissipated in these situations the air traffic is still a few days to get back to normal, and flights may be canceled as a precaution, lack of crew, equipment, etc.. Then it must be flight hour, another challenge, this for the same reasons. After once crossed the Atlantic, it is necessary that the queue at immigration counter is not too long, there are taxis available, the snow on the road is cleared, and that there is not too much traffic to get up to Manhattan. The simultaneous realization of all these events seem as complicated as the chain reaction that led to the emergence of the first living molecule on the planet Earth, but now admit be my lucky day, if all goes well, I will arrive early afternoon at the intersection of Columbus and 82nd Street. I'll meet him at the counter Pauly a car rental agency. We will then wait for an afternoon of driving north-east, and if the road is clear and mild traffic, we arrive early evening in Worcester, shitty little village situated forty terminals in Boston, and time hour for the concert, the second of the "Holliday Run annual Phish. We have already asleep and missed the first show, taking place right now, I'm sobbing listen via streaming
Live rotten quality established by a fan using his iPhone. After the next day, back in New York and head for the legendary Madison Square Garden for three nights in a row, and enter 2011 with a smile.
I saw Phish thirteen times in fourteen months. At this point, even the most forgiving my readers must be wondering what pushes me to go see this band again and again across the world, spending a significant portion of my disposable income and my paid vacation. Rather than laying a new pavement to try to explain everything there is to magic, sorcery, generous in music and the live performances of Phish, otherwise we will proceed with a compilation made by me that I invite you to download by clicking on the link below:
Phish for Dummies
No easy to present a group as rich in only 90 minutes. Phish is not a group "tube" which can be summarized into a dozen songs. 25-year career, they played on stage more than 800 different songs, original or not. Only during the 13 concerts that I attended, I heard 178 unique compositions! (I assure you, I'm not crazy enough for fun calculating that statistic myself, there is a site that does it for you, a sort of Hendon Mob Concert Phish). And the songs I've heard several times, each time it was a different experience.
short, consider this compilation (
live, of course) as an introduction, a bait, a gateway to the universe of the group, but not a true picture. Instead, it is just a selection of songs available, easy to listen and to love. While the heart of Phish, what are their bravura of twenty or thirty minutes, these lengthy compositions complicated with endless solos to the delight of fans but unlistenable for the neophyte. This is a jam band
, after all, not a pop training. (I still put the 13-minute
Slave to the Traffic Light, because it is the favorite piece of Pauly, and just a very, very beautiful piece of music). I have included several times, after all, Phish is considered the best cover band
of America is the only thing they can do well, say the malicious gossips. There
Roses are Free by Ween,
Good Times, Bad Times , perfect imitation Led Zep,
Thus Spake Zarathustra (a classic found among others in 2001
Kubrick's who is always a great time to live), and especially
Cities , Talking Heads, arguably the best Remember my thirteen concerts unforgettable.
Another way to discover Phish would look
Bittersweet Motel , the documentary that has devoted Todd Phillips (yes, the director of
Hangover ) in 1998, and playable online for free on Google video (below ). More interesting than the average rock Docus, this film presents a rather accurate picture of the group, his music and his world. You see them on stage and off, we meet their fans at the very specific mentality, the images move and we can understand why gradually the rooms are full every night despite the lack of promotion on MTV, very few TV passages, and no
hit single.
course, only by seeing Phish on stage, visually, we will truly be converted. But despite persistent rumors, there was still no mention of a tour in Europe, they are not coming here for twelve years. That's why I will now go to the airport, and pray very hard to make my flight appears on large monitors in the lobby.
EDIT Tuesday 11:42: Immediately after crossing the sliding doors of the hall of Zaventem, I knew it was screwed. Immediately after entry, the counter sales of American Airlines, with a queue as long as your arm that faces sad, serious, depressed, already resigned to damn vacation or returning home again repulsed. This could only mean one thing ... Quick glance at the departures board ... Yep, canceled flight. I took my troubles patiently in the queue was endless as the options relief offered to the passengers were all terrible, and everyone was trying to negotiate a better solution, "you're no better than in four days to my departure?" Came to my turn, I did the same thing, of course. I was offered a direct flight to NYC ... January 1. Needless to say after the battle. I explain that I am ready to fly to any European capital to any city within five hours of jalopy to the Big Apple. New proposition: a flight connections to Boston, 30. Arrived very late at night. It only remains for me now more than two concerts. Not terrible, I still prefer to cancel. I insist, there's really nothing today, so I'm a big smile, then, that way you'll find me something, huh, say, go? The girl continues to pound on his computer ... And I finally found the flight that will - perhaps - to save my vacation, but it will be at the cost of a trip ending. Take off from Brussels at 12:45. Arriving in London at 13:05 local time. Three half hours later, off to ... Chicago, where I arrive at 19.20 local time. Again, three hours of waiting, then a flight to Boston, where I arrive Wednesday at 1:30 in the morning, if all goes well. Here I am left to myself, five hours from New York jalopy. I will probably go to the hotel, before boarding a train at dawn. In short, assuming that I am finished with the bad-air beats, I arrive at their destination in about thirty hours. It's better than nothing. As a bonus, I will go through the security check for each of these three flights, and I have already sounded the gantry during the first audit. I think it is the button of my jeans. So I have two body searches at the crotch that await me within 24 hours. Owl. That said, I actually planned the coup, taking a bottle of Valium full.
EDIT Wednesday, 5:32 p.m., New York time : I eventually get there. It was not that difficult. Just a little long. All my planes were on time. During the eight hours of flight London-Chicago, I only sleep - but very badly, I woke up every twenty minutes and finally exiting the plane with cervical pureed. Still, I'm snoozing dry in the third and final plane, and was able to fall apart in a hotel room in downtown Boston at about three o'clock in the morning. At dawn, I was at Central Station. SNCF U.S. is more effective than what I had suggested, the train drove smoothly for four hours through this gigantic suburb that is the northeastern United States, and early in the afternoon, Manhattan aparaissait in all its glory. Here I installed the eleventh floor of an old-fashioned but very comfortable hotel - the room is very large and offers a beautiful view of the United Nations building. I met Pauly. The holiday can begin. Quiet evening to begin. Tomorrow, the real fun begins with the first of three concerts at Madison Square Garden.
