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From Phish.com --- THEY ARE DONE


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Cant believe they are done. I really hope I am able to get money in time to buy tickets to the coventry show. Didnt really start getting into "jamband music" until around a year and a half ago. Havent got the chance to witness phish. Hope i do before they are done...150 dollars forsure doesnt seem like to much money anymore

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Well this was a day I'd like to soon forget. Woke up pissed about the Shaker, news I was to brain dead to process last night when I got home. Then the shit hit the fugging fan, Phish breaks up. Booche and i speand a couple desperate hours trying to find out the whole truth only later to succumb to reality. Went on a massive ticket hunt...all my show tickets were all very tentative, nothing in stone, and atdays end I have two Pavilions for SPAC and two lawns (i think, anybody need lawns?) and the status of my Coventry ticket is still unknown as our own Bradm has choosen this F$#@@%ing day to disappear off the face of the Earth, just kidding Brad, love ya for helping out, but man I could sure use an update right about now.

So as I blend myself into a deeper stupor brought on half by depression and half due to Calgary's commanding performance. I think to myself, life will go on, food will still taste good and I will continue to see in color...Thank good I got the Shaker this weekend to take my mind off.....ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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Im thinkin a big ol carpool for the skanks and settin up a big ol home for a few days of celebration of great music, good times and great friends... like i believe Esau pointed out earlier or on another thread... no one died here, we have to find a way to celebrate what we had and will always have... the tapes will always live on and the boys will continue to make great music one way or another im sure... that being said, im pretty upset about this still...

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If it was the wishes of just Trey, or all, it doesn't really matter. If Trey's heart isn't in it anymore I totally respect his decision to end Phish.

Do I wish that Phish would continue for years to come? Yes. Do I hope that they reform years down the line? Yes. Would I hope that the band would continue with one or many of their hearts not in it anymore? No.

I already had my Coventry tickets before this announcement and I'm currently debating tonight on possibly going to more shows. But if I don't at least I'll see the last gigs the band will ever do in their beautiful home state. I also have the memories of so many wonderful shows over the years.

Plus I will look forward to what Trey, Page, Mike and Jon do next on their own.

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Wow, that was alot to take in at once.

Great detective skills ST, and unfortunately it all seems to be too true. My first thought was sadness that the boys were giving it up again. I also know though that even if they "broke up" they would play again sometime, somewhere (even down in fish's basement (maybe acoustic???Mmmm)) until one of them passes. They gotta, it's in them.

Example (heard it from a friend's friend so not sure if it's 100% but...)

Pink Floyd supposedly attended a funeral for someone that worked for them in Australia and played 2 (count em, 2)songs for a very, very small crowd that was there. Wish You Were Here was one of them.

No one can say that they won't tour again, but chances are good that they may decide to play together again at certain points throughout their lives. They gotta, it's in them.

What Jaimoe said is true, they're boxers.

The thing that rattles me is reading on later about Trey's drug habits. I don't really see what that has to DO with it. Does he want to continue and the others don't, or is it him that doesn't want to (or can't) and the others do, or is it nothing about that and none of them really want to keep Phish going?? That I guess, we will find out. While on that, maybe I'm really naive (or just didn't care) but I can say that I've watched Phish's progression through the years as you all have, and as I saw more shows (haven't seen a show since '99? Deer Creek) I found it hard to believe that they even did hard drugs given the intricacy of their music, (how naive I guess I was) and all the changes they had to "remember" It's just sad because I think I thought the same about Jerry in 95 in Chicago, and spring tour in Tampa (last show of the tour also).

I drove all the way to Florida to see the last show of spring tour and

Jerry wasn't on fire like I thought he should be.

That's because he was on hard drugs and burned out

The crowd wasn't on fire like I thought they should be

They played Unbroken Effen Chain and nobody danced WTF!!!

That's because the crowd was on hard drugs and burned out

It was a little better for the crowd in Chicago but the band (especially Jerry) were just burned out. After all the shit that went down that tour (remember Phil's message: One way or another, this darkness has got to give...) they just ALL wanted to pack up and go home it had nothing to do with Jerry's problems at the time.

After ranting about all of this, I have to wonder if maybe Phish is "burnt out". They all have various other projects that occupy their time and maybe saying "goodbye" (I am still thinking of it as another hiatus)now will save everyone from perma-burn later.

On our way back from CTMF on Sunday morning, Mags and I listened to A Live One and it sure brought back some memories of some great Phish shows. I encourage everyone to grab your favorite CD (or drag out the tape player MoMack) and remember why you like the band Phish, That's why we traded all those tapes years ago!

Brian Fellows

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think its maybe a matter of you start a rock band when you're a teen and you rock and rock and rock and one day it doesn't seem as cool, fun or inspiring as jazz or orchestral arrangements or deeper personal ballads or whatever that convey something more of who you are now and better show off the talents you've developed (drug addled mind and all :: )

but you and your buddies who've been playin rock for 25 years are stuck in that rut together so you have to step outside to grow

or MAYBE all them phans who bitched out Undermind without givin it a chance blew it for everyone by lookin like whiney ingrates who aren't worth goin the extra mile for ;)

(kidding, kidding)

sure there's lots of fantastic music waiting down the road from the band's seperate and collective talents... bout time for a solo Page album no? no complaints on Trey's solo work yet at all

as far as replacement events go I think the evolution of jam festivals goes a long way in that direction... back when I started seeing Dead shows there certainly wasn't the range of choice and diversity when it came to choosing your festivals for the summer... likely that'll form its own runs and followers, unique musical stylings and cultural ambiguities (Slip becoming the next big band would sure be a wierd scene... bunch of kids with shaved heads in kimona's waving their japanese fans and running about all night)

(christ, ya go to write one sentance)

the drug use is all rumour and really a personal matter for anyone doing them and those who're closest to them and none of my affair far as I'm concerned

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yea moe.ron, to none speakers of my lingo. Certified. and stalling on crossing seas or heading south. But hey, do I know you? ...Is it in the Key of Beotch?..lol.. :o.. By the way, the show was tribe ::. Just got back. Can't say more, im in the after show stateomind and its a crazyplace... Huh, you know, its been a while since I posted but today I did a few, breaking the stagnent film that had progressed into my Lurker status..It was getting to be a weird felling. But now I reseek to flow through fingers my thoughts that occure while glancing threds..I think..Or maby juss now maby,....I dont know.

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[color:"black"] Man, you think you had moved on and the wave of nostalgia gushes over you...trying to score drugs at Hershey Park in 96, my first show, Plattsburg madness, Boston New Years's 96 super euphoria hackey sack balloon, following the sun going in circles, ny city rollercoaster ride, the mindfucks from trey, looking oh so forward to the next album so I could smoke a j and put on the headphones, fleeting enlightenments, raucous road trips a plenty, on and on...

A part of me grew up with Phish. I just feel grateful for all the good times.

"Your hands and feet are mangoes, you're going to be a genius anyway."

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A part of me grew up with Phish. I just feel grateful for all the good times.

Exactly. Hell, I was 21 when Jerry died. Old enough to have seen a dozen or so shows in GD's final five years but with lots of formative years to come. With Phish, that's where I hit the road with people like Brian Hamilton, now one of my best freinds, really got to know people like Cyberhippie (Trevor) on those trips, those trips to Deer Creek and Columbus with all those beautiful people that are now among my dearest friends (secondtube, Momma Ginny, Sara Evans....), the Florida expeditions with TimmyB and hamilton and the rest of the crew, not to mention Laurie - I still remember hanging with her at Oswego, before we were a couple, lives were changing, experiences unfolding, and Phish was the soundtrack through all of it.

So, I feel like I'm losing a friend. Hey, I know it's not a big deal - it;s only a rock band, right? My life doesn't have some empty void in it - maybe that's where being 30 helps a little. But I am disappointed. I honestly thought I'd be seeing Phish shows for years to come.

As an editorial aside, I'm also disappointed because, unlike a lot of other people, I happen to really like their new sound and material and never really understood why they weren't featuring it front and center, instead becoming a lot like the "nostalgia" act Trey so desperately wants not to be. Seems to me the choice was theirs, they didn't take it, and here we are today.

So I say thanks to Trey, Page, Jon and Mike for all the great music and for providing the vehicle for me to bond in friendship and love with some really great people who I will treasure forever. It was a long, strange trip.

phish-group.jpg

(I wish I could do Coventry but it is not to be for me, SPAC will be my goodbye weekend for Phish - I intend to celebrate! ::)

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my picture hanging beside me from Big CYpress will always remind me of the greatest time of my life!

From left to right in the photo.

Zack, Me, Train, MarcO, Hamilton, then Tuner (good ole tommy gardiner!)

Then the memories of that summer tour. Four nights in the creek. Starting with Dylan and Phil, then FIVE nights of phish, with one night off.

Those were the days....I'll remember Darien Lake as my last show, but i'd rather remember that summer tour 2000 as my last. 7-14-00, the most UNDERRATED phish show EVER. I could go on forever....Last night really helped though.

Talking with kenny about shows he attended in 93!!!! Getting calls from all over NORTH AMERICA, chatting with broken hearted tour heads...

Yet it was ok. It was closure.

Please, everyone going to see this summer, ENJOY IT. DONT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED! Please.

Steve

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Well, it hasn't sunk in yet, even though it has. I didn't think it would come down like this, because it feels like they had so much more to do with Phish. I guess they didn't. I am glad that I was able to see them as many times as I did, and my one and only regret (as close to you as you can get to regretting something, I suppose) was missing Cypress, but realistically, it couldn't have happened. I almost made it happen a couple of days before, but logic dictated against it. I wonder what would have become of the baby had I gone? Its a question I will never know the answer too, but my financial situation would have been close to bankruptcy.

Well, I am certainly devoid of spending money on the road, chasing that show. It happened so many times, from my first at the Clifford Ball to last December's Albany. In between, I saw some heavy hitting Phish. Sometimes, I feel lucky to have caught those bad-boys, but at other times, I wonder if I was biased, and unduly creating what I thought was better than the rest. Ah, to see Phish and think your concert was better than the one your buddy saw. I will miss that competitive side of things. We never took it seriously, it was more of a "Dude, you GOTTA hear this version of Bathtub Gin" more than anything else. Well, I suppose it will still be there to an extent, we always have the tapes.

I have to thank too many people, but I am only going to list one, Sam Stevens. Almost everyone I know from around that time period of 5 years can thank Sam, whether you met her or not. She used to cop all my Maxell's that I purchased, filling them with the blissful sounds of Jerry Garcia and whomever he was playing with that night. One day, as I was dropping off and picking up, she asked me if I had heard of Phish. "Not really, aside from seeing a couple of articles in Relix" This was 94, and she was done with the Dead, which I couldn't fathom, at the time.

"Andre, you gotta see these guys. I will put them as philler for you."

First song I heard was Harry Hood, and I didn't get it. Not at all. Still, they kept creeping around my back door, until we realized that eventually, we were going to have to see that band. All resources may have been tied to the fat-man in the black t-shirt, but something was happening. We bought DaveyBoy, A Live One for his bday, the year it came out, and made our way to Clifford Ball about a year later. Jerry had moved on, and so did we. I loved every track on the album by this point, so opening with Chalkdust Torture solidified the deal. What's more, at the end of the first set, I couldn't have told you if they played 3 songs or 12. I was lost in a psychedelic sea of confusion, and loving every moment of it.

Aside from when the demons tugged on my soul, but I strangely enjoyed that as well.

We didn't see them until the Great Went the following summer, and in and between Portland, Oregon and Albany after that. One of the best sets I ever experienced was second night Gorge in 98. That 2001, Jesus Christ man, the fucking smoke machine with those lights! So simple, so beautiful. The jam between Mikes and Weekapaugh (that's right, just Mikes and Weekapaugh) was thundering. Trey was in heavy metal mode, head bobbing and shaking his guitar like I had never seen, even though my eyes were closed for most of it. It was the first time I ever witnessed him 'conduct' as well. He was playing a stop-start game with the rest of the band, and dancing during his stops. The energy those boys could create was magnificent.

The best show I saw is Rochester, 12-11-97. Check out the Punch opener, to Disease onto Maze. Seeing Trey doing laps around the stage during Big Black Furry Creature From Mars was a joke some people didn't get. It made me think of Frasier during that Cheers episode. "I am running with scissors". What a couple of geeks! Still, I loved the fact they joked, even though I hated most of them. It was the first time anyone of us had ever heard Roses Are Free, so we all thought it was a new tune they wrote. Frig, were we proud of them for that accomplishment until we learned better. Well, we were still proud of them, they sure pulled it off like it was one of their own. Damn, that song did have its moment in Phishtory, didn't it?

Summer Tour 98, and we flew out to Portland to catch the beginning of the US run. We had transformed DogAtTheStation, and he was coming with us to his first show. FIRST SHOW, FLYING OUT WEST! Give that man a round of applause, because he had balls the size of a moose to do that run. Everything happened there, see earlier with my favorite set, but it was the one and only time I was in the first row. I'll never forget, hands on the rail, dancing my lungs and legs out to Chalkdust, and Trey staring at our group in 'get-off' mode. If anyone has experienced it, you wont discount me. For others, I don't blame you if you do. Until it happens, you never seem to believe those stories. Staring that red-headed fuckface in those crazy eyes during an insane jam is something I will hold until the end of my days. I love how he would do the inside-arm pull on his guitar, bend his knees, pop back up, and give a nod to you, as if to say "Did that get you off, jerkwad? You aint seen nothing yet."

It always felt like I hadn't seen anything yet, and more was on its way. I suppose, in many ways, that's true. Who knows what the future holds (Trey, why in the fack did you say "never"...........dumbass). I do have to thank them for easing me back into the musical universe after Jerry passed, and I certainly have to thank them for Hiatus. I discovered a pile of bands during that year and half. I am happy I will get to see more TAB shows now, but they wont feel the same. Something is missing in my world, and I am unsure exactly what it holds for me. I guess I am still in the bargaining stage, because it seems like with one phone call, and having never spoke to him, I could talk that guy into keeping Phish alive.

I am sure we all could.....................................or at least think we could.

At least I am not angry anymore. That is never a fun stage, and had no place when Trey, Mike, Jon and Page took theirs. Who really knows what stage they were at when this all went down. Maybe, with time, we will find out and get the answers we are looking for, even though there aren't any that will make us feel better or understand. In the meantime, throw on watchya got. I think Greg has a great line:

Only the formation has changed,not the art.

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I fully respect the band for this. I felt like I was going to shows now only to try and capture the one special show that I never seemed to get. Not that I did not enjoy every show I saw....it's just that feeling of having to be there weighs me down some time. This'll save me cash and maybe get me out to see younger bands and more festivals.

As to the announcement being from Trey, I think it is fair to say that the rest of the band forced hime to write it cause he most likely was the catalyst for the breakup. I bet he just wants to tour with Dave Matthews now and get on top of that 15-18 yr old scene.

And to top it all off....who cares about Phish when we have Cavern!

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After thinking it over, looks like I'll be going as well. I'd regret missing the last fest, as I've caught all 6 so far. Knowing Phish, I'm sure they'll make it memorable for all.

Big Cypress will always be tops for me. The last Shoreline before the hiatus was pretty special too. Concession to do this show will be bagging moe.down :( But atleast I'll still be doing the Vibes fest.

Heading with a few friends, and meeting a bunch of great folks I know from New England. See y'all in VT :)

ps- so when is nero gonna announce playing the lot?

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Once when describing a show to larry jr....it gushed out of my mouth..."for lack of a better word, it was...epic" I feel the same way about their/our journey.

For as unfortunate as I feel, never to have seen the dead, is i guess how fortunate i feel to have had phish along the way. they have consumed my travel plans for the last nine years...and i thank them and you for the craziness .clifford ball, boston NYE97, cypress, nassau spring 98, and nassau feb 28 2003 are amongst my fondest memories of 'tour'. guess i got one last trip to make....newfoundland to vermont for a weekend, the journey continues,...

and i hope to see you all there.

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And now...... from www.phish.com

A LETTER FROM PAGE 05.28.04

Dear friends,

As we wind down the Phish career, it is done with both great joy and great sadness. The joy comes from remembering the incredibly good times we’ve experienced, the successes we’ve enjoyed, and knowing that even in our closing we are honoring the band. The sadness is obviously driven by the fact that something I love will not be a part of my life anymore. To me, we have been the greatest band in the world and have had the greatest fans ever.

I still love the music we make but the situation feels different to me now. I guess in my heart I’ve known for a while that something had to change, but it wasn’t until this last weekend that my feelings really began to coalesce. I’m old enough now that I am able to look to the future without feeling that I need to balance it with my past. I find it ironic that half of my life has to go by before I am able to focus solely on the future. As a member of a successful rock band, it seems that every aspect of my profession encourages me to extend my youth as long as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I like feeling young, but more importantly I need to be honest with myself.

The pressures and schedule of this work can take its toll personally as well as creatively. As someone who has recently been through a divorce, I know how traumatic change can be. But, I also know that if you are able to let go of things and embrace change there is the potential for incredible personal (and creative) growth.

If I sound unusually candid in this statement, I am able to do so because in my mind I’ve already moved on to the next phase of my life. This is a feeling I believe I share with Trey. I have a four-year-old daughter and there is nothing more important to me than being with her. Come August, I’m not going to have to tell her how many days ‘til daddy comes back from tour. Combine that with my perception that the band’s vitality is not what it once was, and it’s easy to see how my mind quickly begins to move in one direction instead of a hundred directions all at the same time.

I will miss it incredibly, but I have no regrets. The pride that I feel for the band, our fans, the organization and all of our collective accomplishments is overwhelming. I love you all and know that we wouldn’t be here without you.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Page McConnell

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