Finding Happiness with Phish

FunkyCFunkyDo 6/17/12 4:25 pm

Seeing too many "drought" threads recently. These coming on the heels of seeing too many "They play (song x) too much" threads. Stop with the entitlement, start with the thank yous.

The ticket you purchase and the stream you listen to guarantees you one thing, to have some fun with Phish and thousands of your best friends. I for one think that any Phish show is worth the price of the ticket (and then some) or the patience of dealing with the free stream, regardless of which songs were or were not played, regardless of how long the jams were, regardless of the ->s and the [1]s. I think this because of the smiles and goosebumps, the memories and the stories, the music and the experience -- all of which will live within me forever.

I understand people want to see certain songs, are chasing songs, or just prefer certain songs. I get it and that's cool. But understand that you are not Phish. Phish is Phish. Pre-cursing each show with, "They HAVE to play (song x) tonight" or "I hope they don't play (song y)" will usually lead to disappointment -- something that should never occur at a Phish show, regardless of the setlist. Have an open mind and zero expectation, do this and your happiness will become euphoria.

Be happy that Phish is happy. Be happy that Phish is healthy, both physically and musically. Be happy knowing that on any given night, it could be "THE night." Let them play what they will and prepare to shake your funky bad self for three and a half hours.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you're still asking yourself, "Yeah, but how do I do this? I REALLY do want to see a YEM." Here is some advice from some very smart folks:

"The trick is to surrender to the flow..."

Happy tour everybody!

Score: 18

me_no_are_no_nice_guy 6/17/12 4:29 pm

Score: 10

FunkyCFunkyDo 6/19/12 6:06 pm

Hypocritical, honest bump. I dislike complainers and complaining about Phish, but AC N3 S2 left just a little something to be desired. Folks tonight and tomorrow night are in for a treat.

Boogie on every body!

Score: 0

_________________________ 6/19/12 6:16 pm

@FunkyCFunkyDo said:

Hypocritical, honest bump. I dislike complainers and complaining about Phish, but AC N3 S2 left just a little something to be desired. Folks tonight and tomorrow night are in for a treat.

Boogie on every body!

I heard a ton of groans when they started up Bug

Score: 0

johnnyd

6/19/12 6:17 pm

I think I'm the only person that likes Bug.

Score: 3

beach 6/19/12 6:22 pm

@johnnyd said:

I think I'm the only person that likes Bug.

I don't mind Bug. In fact, on several occasions while listening to 2011 shows, I have found myself thinking that Trey's solo in Bug was one of the best of the night.

Score: 0

LedZeppelin 6/19/12 6:24 pm

I'll take Bug over Alaska

Score: 0

FunkyCFunkyDo 6/19/12 6:30 pm

I like Bug a ton. But it's placement in this particular instance was kinda meh.

Score: 0

_________________________ 6/19/12 6:34 pm

I like Bug a lot. Way more than Caspian and Roses are Free, in that set

Score: 0

MySoula 6/19/12 6:34 pm

Lose all expectations.

I was going to make a thread about this the other day. This is the first year I can honestly say I've shed expectations of a selfish nature (I think). The ball really started rolling for me last year during SBIX and carried into UIC, but I still felt I "wanted" something other than JUST the music of phish.

This year I am excited but haven't put any pressure on myself or what "is to come" of the shows. I feel as if in the past I've wanted to hear this or that song but it usually turns out that the songs I wasn't focusing on end up being the highlights.

We are a crucial part of the experience but you can only really dictate what happens internally...which is where I think many (including myself) go or have gone astray at times. The band chooses the songs and plays the music, our only job is to get down. I think as a collective we need to stop worrying about this or that and just let loose/surrender to the flow/listen to the music play/etc.

Score: 1

FunkyCFunkyDo 6/19/12 6:35 pm

@_________________________ said:

I like Bug a lot. Way more than Caspian and Roses are Free, in that set

Agreed. Roses was such a cocktease.

Score: 0

phan83 6/19/12 6:44 pm

@FunkyCFunkyDo said:

Pre-cursing each show with, "They HAVE to play (song x) tonight" or "I hope they don't play (song y)" will usually lead to disappointment -- something that should never occur at a Phish show, regardless of the setlist. Have an open mind and zero expectation, do this and your happiness will become euphoria.

I agree with most of what you said, but I think you're implying that all 'song-guessers' are generally disappointed if they don't get what they want.

I forget where it was... some show... I was wearing a YEM shirt. I really wanted a YEM. They didn't play it. I was not sad about it at ALL... until I was approached my a friend of mine and she said "too bad you didn't get your YEM" .. feeling sorry for me. That's when I felt disappointed. Mostly with her, though... for feeling sorry for me.

You kind of remind me of her.

Maybe I should have kept this to myself... maybe not... where the f am i

I think i need to go to a meeting

Score: 1

zipriderson 6/19/12 7:03 pm

i'd argue that Phish would not be as good as they are if the fan base were not as invested as it is. By invested i mean loyal, participatory, and yes, critical. i think the band appreciates the fact that we do dissect these shows, their performances, their decisions, etc.

Score: 2

FunkyCFunkyDo 6/19/12 7:25 pm

@phan83 said:

@FunkyCFunkyDo said:

Pre-cursing each show with, "They HAVE to play (song x) tonight" or "I hope they don't play (song y)" will usually lead to disappointment -- something that should never occur at a Phish show, regardless of the setlist. Have an open mind and zero expectation, do this and your happiness will become euphoria.

I agree with most of what you said, but I think you're implying that all 'song-guessers' are generally disappointed if they don't get what they want.

I forget where it was... some show... I was wearing a YEM shirt. I really wanted a YEM. They didn't play it. I was not sad about it at ALL... until I was approached my a friend of mine and she said "too bad you didn't get your YEM" .. feeling sorry for me. That's when I felt disappointed. Mostly with her, though... for feeling sorry for me.

You kind of remind me of her.

Maybe I should have kept this to myself... maybe not... where the f am i

I think i need to go to a meeting

I see where you're coming from and I think we're actually on the same page. I have no problem with hoping or guessing for a song. I too (like almost all other fans) go to every show hoping for certain songs -- a Llama opener, Mound, Weigh, Crosseyed and a bevy of others ... none of which I have ever seen -- yet I have never left any show disappointed. I relish every opportunity I get to spend with Phish and all of us fans.

My hangup is when people start to complain and speculate why this song or that song was or was not played and create excuses to cater to their own opinion. Guessing setlists and songs is part of the fun of following this band. Making excuses when your guess is wrong is not.

Score: 0

_________________________ 6/19/12 7:34 pm

I find to weorst part about post show critwques to be when some f***ing idiots says something like "If instead of Alaska > Wading, they played Reba and YEM, that set would have totally rocked

Score: 2

stunkyunks 6/19/12 7:53 pm

more david bowie

Score: 0

Busta_Move 6/19/12 8:20 pm

@johnnyd said:

I think I'm the only person that likes Bug.

I love Bug.

Score: 2

Penn42 6/20/12 12:44 am

@Busta_Move said:

@johnnyd said:
I think I'm the only person that likes Bug.
I love Bug.

Me to!

Score: 1

landladylover 6/20/12 1:08 am

Me 3!!

Score: 0

jerryguscia 6/20/12 1:47 am

@landladylover said:

@Penn42 said:
@Busta_Move said:
@johnnyd said:
I think I'm the only person that likes Bug.
I love Bug.
Me to!
Me 3!!

Me also

Score: 0

forbin1 6/20/12 2:12 am

@jerryguscia said: "@landladylover said: "@Penn42 said: "@Busta_Move said: "@johnnyd said: "I think I'm the only person that likes Bug."

I love Bug."

Me to!"Me 3!!"Me also "

I prefer the old school bug, myself

Score: 0

Jimmymac03 6/20/12 6:17 am

@jerryguscia said: "@landladylover said: "@Penn42 said: "@Busta_Move said: "@johnnyd said: "I think I'm the only person that likes Bug."

I love Bug."

Me to!"Me 3!!"Me also "

I. Dig. Upon. This. Song. Bug! Also enjoyed the recent version.

Score: 0

dscott 6/20/12 7:27 am

@johnnyd said:

I think I'm the only person that likes Bug.

You're not the only one. I like bug. A lot.

The melody, the lyrics, the dynamics - what's not to like??

Score: 0

Halfway 6/20/12 8:05 am

I love Bug too!

Score: 0

TheWaves 6/20/12 8:38 am

nah man, placed well in the set, i love Bug. I get chills with that beautiful Simple-> Bug at SBIX.

Score: 2

mfhgreyboy 6/20/12 9:57 am

I agree with the premise of this thread....

And I really dig Bug as well.

Score: 0

Sanudila 6/20/12 10:02 am

What about complaining about song placement as well? People think they know better than the band what song should be played and when? These same people complain about stale sets. Doesn't make sense. If every song only has one spot in a show then you run the risk of every show being the same, or maybe only having like 5 templates they can choose from on any given night. the whole point is that they can play any song at any time and you never know what is coming next. At least that is what I have always enjoyed. Maybe you should practice what you preach and try relaxing a little bit and enjoying the show as it happens.

People that are sick of hearing DWD or Possum or whatever maybe should go to fewer shows until they get the hunger back and can appreciate the fun time that is being presented to them.

Score: 2

BigPimpinNYC 6/20/12 10:09 am

Me and my friends I go to shows with have been picking 5 songs we want to hear at every show since the island tour. Whomever picks the most songs correctly gets a free beer in the lot after the show.

We even used to keep cumulative standings but they got lost sometime after 2004. Nobody has ever been "dissapointed" they didn't get their song, it's just something fun that us dorks like to do. I think "song chasing" can be fun if you don't actually take it very seriously.

PS - I successfully picked A day in the Life on Sunday

Score: 1

BigPimpinNYC 6/20/12 10:10 am

@Sanudila said:

What about complaining about song placement as well? People think they know better than the band what song should be played and when? These same people complain about stale sets. Doesn't make sense. If every song only has one spot in a show then you run the risk of every show being the same, or maybe only having like 5 templates they can choose from on any given night. the whole point is that they can play any song at any time and you never know what is coming next. At least that is what I have always enjoyed. Maybe you should practice what you preach and try relaxing a little bit and enjoying the show as it happens.

People that are sick of hearing DWD or Possum or whatever maybe should go to fewer shows until they get the hunger back and can appreciate the fun time that is being presented to them.

Also, when Phish is really "on" every song in every spot is just awesome and it really sometimes doesn't even matter.

Score: 0

PosterNutsack 6/20/12 10:23 am

Um I'm not sure if I'm in the right place.......

but, I also like bug....... and I love possum.

Score: 0