Mike Gordon
With the excitement over their 30th anniversary tour growing, Phish have whet the appetite of fans by offering up yet another brilliant archival release, a box set entitled Ventura. This six-CD collection contains two full-length performances from the band’s 1997 and 1998 summer concerts at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, California. Both of these shows paint perfect pictures of just how well the
JEMP Records has released a promo track from their newest box-set release, Phish: Ventura.
On December 11, 2011, Mike Gordon and his band performed at The Egg in Albany, NY as part of a quick November/December weekend run of dates. The show quickly became a fan-favorite and was cherry picked for a brand new live release, simply known as "The Egg".
Topics
“Never miss a Sunday show.” This has long been word of the wise from many Phish fans when it comes to experiencing a run of shows. On top of that, the date 12/30 has always been a legendary night for the band. Walking into Madison Square Garden that Sunday night I expected to hear an entertaining show and hoped for some longer extended jams. After all, the opening two nights had overall solid set lists, but there was definitely room for more experimental jamming and improvisation.
It's the age old debate (Or at least one that’s been fretted over for about the last 10 years or so): “Couch Touring” Vs. the “In Person” experience.
I have been privy to those who claim couch touring is not a valid way to see a performance; In fact, I’ve heard people say that those who have streamed shows in the comfort of their homes can’t really count that as officially “seeing the shows”. In other words, if I’d been to 30 shows, but 15 were on couch tour, I’ve technically only seen 15 shows.
Sometimes we don't realize just how good we have it these days. High Definition video has given us unparalled clarity, especially when it comes to live concert recordings. In recent years Phish have embraced current technology and have given fans not only super clean live web streams of their shows, but also crisp high-def DVD recordings such as recent releases Alpine Valley 2010 and Live at Utica.
Ahhh…the fall of 1997. It was an interesting time for America. Bill Clinton was still fresh into his second term, Steve Jobs had just returned to managing Apple after a “hiatus”, people were flocking to the theaters to watch the Titanic sink, a woman in Iowa gave birth to seven children, internet companies were booming, and I was back at college in Minnesota for junior year studying sociology and tearing up the majestic lacrosse field at St. John’s University.
Archived news
- October 2020 (261)
- September 2020 (207)
- August 2020 (176)
- July 2020 (212)
- June 2020 (145)
- May 2020 (142)
