The Chameleon

Question?

Who else thinks that when Bobby wears shorts he plays better?

I have seen Bobby on many an occasion and it seems when he wears shorts the shows are always red hot.

When he wears his spants/capri/yoga pants its 50/50.

When he wears pants it's generally a subdued show.

Is there any truth to my theory?

Yes, it can and will happen again, but you (us / we) might not get it. And it won't be the same. Phish is not GD. Trey / Marshal have never been the songwriter that Jerry was. But that wasn't important to me when I fell in love with Phish. It was an escape, it represented a rejection of the social norms that I was pushing at University.

phorbesie threw out ICP. I don't get their music but they represent the same escape to a different group of people. There are plenty of bands that have rabid fans that can fill arenas. Pearl Jam, Tool, Widspread Panic, Radiohead, all of whom have been evolving and pushing their own boundaries over the years.

Will there be another "Jam Band" as big as phish or the Grateful Dead? Probably. Will we dig it? Maybe. Will it change someones life. Absolutely.

It's a love of the feeling that music gives us that ties this board together, and I'm sure ya'll agree that countless generations will be as confused as we were and they'll sit back and listen to the music play, and it will all make sense, if only for a moment.

So i'm gonna crack another Carlsberg and let the music show me yet another reason to be happy...

I agree with your sentiment but every one of those bands you mentioned started around or before Phish so they too are in the same boat in terms of mass popularity in the social conciousness that can allow for regular touring on a large scale.

I agree the Slip and Umphryree's are great and talented bands and I have enjoyed thier shows and music but do we really see those type of band filling the Greek theater and going on amphitheater and stadium tours? Will we be listening to thier songs in 25yrs?

I guess my thinking is I am not sure how it is possible to reach as many people as a Phish or Grateful Dead did playing thier style of music given the changes in the music industry.

Totally hope I am wrong.

So not to get too sappy but I just came off tour and saw 6 shows on this tour in both legs.

What struck me is that Phish is now playing as good as I've ever seen them. (My and my first show was in '93 when I was a teenager and to date I've probably seen 80+. So I have a little perspective.) And I cannot imagine another band I would commit that much time, interest or money following.

What keeps me coming back is the same thing that kept me coming back for the Grateful Dead when they were around. Lots of improv., huge repitore, melodic playing and the feeling you never know what could happen next not, to mention the festival like vibe in the parking lot and the kindred spirits that followed these bands.

However both Phish and the Grateful Dead are/were from different era. Phish started in '83 and the Dead in '65. During those years, there was a vital and strong college/university scene and niche local scenes were they played constantly in each bands early years which led to the groundswell of popularity they both enjoyed.

Phish was also fortunate to be a part of the H.O.R.D.E. festival for a couple years (1992-1993

) which gained them national exposure. The Dead had similar massive performance opportunities early in their career (Monterey, Woodstock, Watkins Glen etc.).

My point is that today everything is corporate controlled from the venues to the tickets, to festivals themselves. There are no tours like H.O.R.D.E. anymore. Therefore there is no mas introduction for new bands to play in local markets. There is no radio play whatsoever due to Clear Channel owning evry radio station and the fact that DJs to not program any music period. They just announce while stations hire a programming service out of LA or somehwere which is out of touch with any local scene.

The college/University music scene that once was a vibrate, hip, cool and vanguard is now totally corporately controlled, contrived and listening to Lady Gaga and they will forget about her in like a year..

Record companies are dead or dying, and that isn't all bad, as record companies were basically loan sharks anyways. But now there is such a glut of music product on the internet of all types, due to the ability to produce and promote your own music cheap, everything is very scattered and lots of amazing bands go unnoticed and unsupported. The internet is a sea of information that bands who do it themselves drown in and rarely get noticed.

In the mean-time were are not promoting, distributing or fostering quality musicians that will give us our next Phish or produce our next "Dark Side of the Moon". Not because they are not out there but there is no central focused means of delivering this type of music anymore.

The people who do control the mass media that could promote such artists (and once did) choose not to as they are not looking for something significant or long lasting they are looking for the next quick disposable return and then on to the next flavor of the month. This has been going on since the 80's but is now reaching a critical point.

So what are your thoughts? Sorry for my rant.

How the hell do you download these? Every time I click on dowload folder nothing happens?

Looks great though

I am going to Deer Creek and Alpine. See yall in the lot.

I have to disagree totally.

for me the best years for Phish I saw live were 1995-1998.

I would say now they atre playing the best they have sionce those days hands down. The technical mastwery is awesoem and now that Trey is clean they are playing the most confident I have seen in years.

As a live band they are at the top of the heap by far these days.

I consider this the Phish renaissance.

I've read on a few boards related to Furthur tour discusssion and dead discussion that Bobby was most certainly doesed and he hasn't does for like 25yrs or more so it was a suprise.

apparently after the show Jill Lesh, Phil's wife and Furthur tour manager tore a massive strip off the crew suspecting that someone in the crew did it for a joke or to get thier 15min of fame.

In any case I think all things considered he handled it very well and played the second set in a better state.

I don't think they administered charcoal or any of that. I think they calmed him down, drank lots of water maybe hit the pipe to mellow him out and then he was able to comprehend what was happening.

Bobby's a trouper!

...

personally I think Beiber dosed him.

Not suprised by this at all. Having worled as a music supervisor on a few documentaries I can tell you licensing music is very tricky especuially if the music is at all popular.

Unless the people who have created the music are behind you and beleive in your project, you can pretty much forget licensing the music.

GDP has licensed very little music over the years. The only film (not including GDP produced videos) I can recall with GD related music was Zebraski point and that was in 1969 and moastly Jerry solo stuff anyways.

My take is they don't trust this project nor beleive in it.

This is not good.

Seems like only yesterday I was gheaded down the road to the Palace at Auburn Hills. Little did I know in 1995 that would be the last time.

Wish Jerry was still here.

Thanks for sharing this amazing show Brad. hey how do you download all the files at once as opposed to one at a time on archive? Can't figure that out.

If you could pick you all time favorite expos All-star team to take the field who woudl you choose on your team..

I miss them.

Oh my.

the raptors deal for Barbossa and Tyson Chandler looked good. Now we only get Barbossa.

This is typical as I think many NBA stars fear Toronto like the plague and who can blame them considering we are have been in a constant state of rebuild since Vince Carter left.

Can we just give the 2011 title to Miami now and get it over with?

In my opinion the best NHL enforcer all time.

Are there any enforcers left in the NHL these days?

Got my tickets I'm in there like swimwear!

Booognish!

I will be there. I am dead center 16 rows back. Great venue love it weverytime I am there. Can't beleive Furthur sold it out!

However they are on fire right now. Those of you at Rochester would know.

I have been to many of the mainstage Nathan Phillips Square jazz events and you can totally hear everything from right outside the tent. You certainly can't see much but you can hear it well.

Happy B-day from all of us at the CHameleon Project.

and many more bro!

I can't wait until we start hearing Gregg Allman liver donor raps at Allmans show ala Phil Lesh.

In all seriousness I pray Gregg recovers fully.

Even if I had a million dollars I wouldn't pay insane concert ticket prices. I'd love to see Tom Petty but there's no way I would drop that amount of money on seeing him.

I think it's completely ignorant of these nostalgic artists/bands to charge a shitload of money to see them. What is the younger generation supposed to do? They're just discovering this bands or artists music and they'll likely never get to see them live unless their parents are rich or they wanna save up every dime they've earned in the last 6 months working at a shitty job just to see some faded memory of what was once a great live act.

Most of these acts that charge over $200 a ticket have MADE their money off album sales. I'm not going to feel sorry for them because now kids can download their albums with ease. Some artists are intelligent enough to move along with the times too. Look at Neil Young putting out live stuff on vinyl.

The situation is these older/legacy artists like Petty and Clapton etc. Don't care about developping younger fans as they will be dead by the time that generation is 30.

The reality is these artists who made thier names in the 60's and 70's are now in thier sixties and are in the "las time around the track phase". They are currently collecting as much money as possible for retirement so they can sail off into the sunset comforatbly and they can no longer rely on record sales.

Also for the most part, unless they were finacially savy, the money they made off record sales in the 70's is long gone and they are not getting royalty cheques like they once were and cannot rely on that.

Why do you think int he last three years you've seen all these reunions: Police, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, Genesis etc...

This is thier last time around or so.

I personally hate paying anything over $100 for a show but I'll do it to see these legends while I can as the time may soon come where less of them tour.

Let us also not forget that everything has gone up in price dramatically since 1990 and it costs a hell of a lot more to tour a large show than it used to.

Sad but true is the fact that the live show is the last place to make money in music these days on a substantial scale.

Having said that hats of to Phish and Furthur for keeping tickets prices reasonable.

The concert industry is tanking to some extent. Look at it as trimming the fat. People have less monety to spend and therfore have to pick thier spots and can only afford so many $100+ tickets.

Having said that concert ticket prices for major headlining acts are never coming backdown.

Given the fact that no one really makes money off selling albums anymore the live show/merch sales combo is the last real revenue stream artists have. This is why concerts are now regularly $100+

Met him a couple times at some of the 7 parliament/funkadelic shows I have seen. Sadly he was a chronic crackhead and cocaine machine much like George Clinton.

Great talent that dissolved into a hopeless junkie.

AMAZING! GIl-Scott Heron is a lyrical genius and his new album is killer too. Glad to see his prison problems are behind him.

Here's hoping he makes it to Toronto.

AWESOME! thanks. Some classic Bobby solo stuff here. You don't come across this era of Bob shows often. :content: