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I don't wish to start any agruments, but am I the only one who thinks most of the newer jam bands around all sound the same. When I say this, I mean they don't do anything interesting with their music like what Phish does.
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Typically, newer jam bands establish a rhythmic syncopation and hammer out one chord while a band member solos. Phish has always been acutely unique to my ear because they improvise within the bounds of incredibly complex music and every band member is very facile with ear training and translating what they hear onto their instrument. Of course, Phish's simpler two-chord jams evolve as well, but I assume that's mostly a product of playing together for nearly 30 years.
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I agree with you both. When I first got into jam music I was introduced with phish, leftover salmon, the dead, umphrees, moe, SCI, Keller Williams ect.I went to big summer classic in 05
went to the dead in 06
I didnt see phish for my first time till alpine 09
Now When I saw all those other shows they were fun and I really enjoyed them all. I can still jam out to the SCI show from big summer classic it was a great show. Ive seen cheese 6 times after seeing phish and after their break up and I not saying the shows were horrible but nothing that blew me away.
Ive seen umphrees, moe, keller, numerous times at different festivals and the same thing. It was nothing that really took it like phish does it for me for a live show.
I just recently saw leftover salmon at ribfest and that was a good show I have to say and I would go again if I could. Moe played right after I stayed for half the show then left so I could go watch the live stream of jones beach.
I always get into with friends who come back from shows bragging about how awesome some jam was and they put it on and im just sitting there looking clueless like what are you talking about right now haha
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Just saw um, and I see where you're coming from.Outside of old school wsp, I've never been a fan of other jam bands. I dig galactic/anything Stanton Moore and mmw, but i dont consider them "jam bands." otherwise, the rest, disco biscuits, moe, sci, sts9, and um are not something I want to listen to regularly- or ever in some cases.
A lot of them lack the tension and release that phish provides. Um, which was an enjoyable one and done show, really had one speed- shred. Some lack creativity. Some just sound repetitive after a while.
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@phish_sticks The Dead w/ Warren and Jimmy (and just Warren) was meh but I hope you don't feel that way about the Grateful Dead. It's cool if you do but just saying.String Cheese and Panic I'll listen to quite a bit. And while I've never seen SCI, I've seen Panic 5 times and enjoyed each show thoroughly. I don't listen enough to download a ton of shows like I would with Phish, but 100-200 songs by each in ITunes is a healthy dose. UM is, imo, fantastic live and in the same category as SCI and WSP. moe. is hit or miss.
"Jamgrass" I'll listen to alot also because I think there is quite a bit of variety there and while "Jamtronica" isn't my thing I can enjoy it if the time is right.
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Also Warren Haynes is a god, I'm sorry but anything he touches is pure gold imo (except The Dead, but we'll cancel that out with his work for Phil and Friends haha)
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Bands and artists like moe., Keller Williams, and Panic I like, but bands like SCI i think are OK, but their jams are lacking. UM, I haven't really got into, their covers aren't bad, but their originals haven't caught on yet
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@Jerrytheband said: UM, I haven't really got into, their covers aren't bad, but their originals haven't caught on yetTo be honest, the majority of their songs really aren't very good (not all though). But if you're in the mood for the jams they can be pretty awesome. I was talking to a guy at a show, said it was his 50th or thereabouts and he asked me what half the songs were. Pretty sure he was serious.
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I have no idea if warren played with the dead in 06 when I saw them but it was a really fun show. I like the grateful dead but not like most people and I really know nothing about them and barely any of the song names as well. Theres a certain sound I like in the dead but some things are just very plain to me. I know Im weird Ive been told that a lot. I will say that last summer I enjoyed listening to the dead radio station on sirus. was about a week or so they played a lot of awesome showsI saw WSP at wakarusa 2010 and I ended up falling asleep during the show. Maybe due that I was exhausted from the weather and 2 days of partying but the music didnt really catch my ear that well.
SCI its not just about the music with them for me either that I dont like. My first show in 05 to seeing them again in 2011 was a huge difference. The sound, the crowd, the vibes. I did not like it. I feel like the jamming is very low and off and they do hit some break throughs from time to time but its a very rare thing. Then you have the crowd. In which I believe half are only there because they know who EOTO is and want to have an excuse to do drugs and yell rage and talk about how epic the show was. I know phish fans rip on DMB a little but man Ive never met so many SCI fans that hate phish and the crowd.
I also dont like the beatles. I dont know why just never really have. My parents were never into any of this type of music just country so I found it all on my own growing up and one thing that threw me off was that they went from being a pop band like n sync to a hippie band so fast. Its like having n sync stop dancing like douches and start playing instruments and acting like hippies. Thats what kept me away from them for so long. After going to so many small fests and shows in the city I started realizing certain songs I really enjoyed from bands ended up being beatles covers. As time has gone on Ive started to find more actual beatles songs I like them playing but I prefer hearing their music as covers.
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If a band knowingly aspires to be a jam band it typically indicates a lack of ambition/creativity. Not that you can't enjoy it but it isn't even close to the same thing that Phish aspired to when they formed and certainly nowhere the GD either. But the fact is there are a lot of good live bands that sound nothing like Phish or GD. I've enjoyed seeing live shows by Fiery Furnaces, Grizzly Bear, and Animal Collective as well as R.E.M. and Rolling Stones in recent years. None of that sounds like Phish. Personally, I put all other jam bands in an entirely different category than Phish and while it doesn't appeal to me, it appeals to a lot of people and some of them show up at Phish shows. No need to compare - "jam bands" is a marketing concept. If I am looking for something to deliver a similar feeling to a Phish, I typically only find that in good jazz performances like Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, MMW, Branford Marsalis to name a few.
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I think what OP is getting at is that all young upcoming jam bands have the same basic tone and simple structure to their theory and or the way they go about jamming. There are way too many jam bands like this and the fact is none of them are very impressive. It makes the jam band scene a lot less interesting and unique when all of these so called upcoming "jam bands" are just building 5 minute solos over simple chord progressions or simple loops. Most of these bands are simply taking ideas of phish Umphs sCI all of these well known jam bands and pretty much doing a much more simplified but yet musically plagiarized version of what other bands have already introduced into the jam band scene.
Sure, Phish can be identified as being "the next generations grateful dead" or being accused of doing the same thing the grateful dead did, but unlike new age upcoming jam bands, phish only took the idea of jamming from the grateful dead. Musically, the two bands are really nothing alike in the way the go about jamming. Phish took one idea and made it undoubtably their own and made a whole new sound, tone, atmosphere and musical encyclopedia.
All jam bands do now a days is take from bands like phish umphs moe. and bring it down to a much simplified, non unique dull jam that bands have done many times before.
I am waiting to see a band that is so unique in sound structure and jams that I will want to drop everything I do with phish and follow that band. But unfortunately there has not been a band like that emerge so until then, or until something unspeakable happens to Phish…I will continue my utmost appreciation to the greatest jam band this world has seen since '83.
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Widespread Panic is really the only jamband that I would put on the same level as Phish (The Dead don't count, they're on a whole different level). I do enjoy listening to Moe, but I think that a lot of their stuff just turns into noodling without direction. UM is fun to watch, but they're too fast moving and ADD for me to listen to them when I'm not watching them. I love String Cheese, but most of their songs feel very........hippie-dippie to me, if you get what I'm saying. There's a couple other semi local jambands (Ekoostik Hookah) and smaller jambands (Radiators) that I like. But, none of these bands ,again with the exception of Panic, create the same level of excitement I get, by simply listening to a Phish show on tape. That said, I love and respect all of these musicians. Edit: Except for Bisco. Can't stand those guys.
Edit two: I like that Story of The World song though.
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Not to be a dick but The Dead weren't touring in 2006. From 2004 until 2008 they were defunct. Phil did a summer tour with GRAB and Trey sat in most of the shows. Deadheads for Obama at Sandusky university in 2008 reunited the boys. That being said, there is no jamband that comes clOse to the complexity, dexterity and talent of Phish. In the early years GD jammed in another level like Phish always does. But from about 1982 on they were a "trading solos" band. No band in the scene comes anywhere near Phish.
I stopped going to festivals for the above reasons. Just because a band can set fire to a hot set of licks does not constitute jamming. Although PL&F does, they're rarely around anymore.
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@jonstolethings said: @Jerrytheband said:That was my main um complaint- their songs blow. The singer annoys me too. Ditto moe on that last one.UM, I haven't really got into, their covers aren't bad, but their originals haven't caught on yetTo be honest, the majority of their songs really aren't very good (not all though). But if you're in the mood for the jams they can be pretty awesome. I was talking to a guy at a show, said it was his 50th or thereabouts and he asked me what half the songs were. Pretty sure he was serious.
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What specific bands are you referring to OP?I've seen bands like moe. and SCI get thrown around in this thread but they are by no means "new jam bands."
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@RovingReporter said: Not to be a dick but The Dead weren't touring in 2006. From 2004 until 2008 they were defunct. Phil did a summer tour with GRAB and Trey sat in most of the shows. Deadheads for Obama at Sandusky university in 2008 reunited the boys.your right I just pulled my stub out and it was july 24 2004. man it for sure in my head looked like 06 haha
That being said, there is no jamband that comes clOse to the complexity, dexterity and talent of Phish. In the early years GD jammed in another level like Phish always does. But from about 1982 on they were a "trading solos" band. No band in the scene comes anywhere near Phish.
I stopped going to festivals for the above reasons. Just because a band can set fire to a hot set of licks does not constitute jamming. Although PL&F does, they're rarely around anymore.
wow its been that long
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i just realized that after I saw my first dead show that day just 5 days later I went to my first festival which I havent missed since. All of this brought me where I am today and its awesome!but still nothing gets me off better than phish
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@Abrahm said: What specific bands are you referring to OP?Guilty. Good point.
I've seen bands like moe. and SCI get thrown around in this thread but they are by no means "new jam bands."
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i didnt really care for Um. i loved the act that opened for them. The London souls, check em out.I've been to one moe. show, and it was alright. they dont go as deep as phish but had a decent work ethic i think.
SCI was great, saw 2 nights in nyc, really enjoyed them. musically they didnt get as deep as phish either but theyre so great and generally playful that its just such a good time
i met some brah at the DCU center '10 who told me to check out the mclovins. i still haven't.
the mike gordon band however is f***ing outstanding. they are a tremendous jam band
phish is the source!
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I've seen moe. about 25 times now, and they are always a fun show. Chuck and Al are good guitar players, (chuck more than al) and they can jam, but things never really stray from the structure of the song. Umphreys is a lot better at progressing their jams. Hell, Jimmy Stewart is always always always different, it is 100% improv. And being a fan of progressive music, I like umph songs. I've seen them about 15 times, and I always walk away completely blown away.
SCI I've seen once, and they are all excellent musicians, but I'm not a big fan of their jams. It's like they reduced phish's jamming style down to a formula, and just use it all the time.
Other, smaller tier jam bands are notorious for sounding the same IMO. It seems like all they do is jam over 1 or 2 chords, for every one of their songs, and occasionally throw in a fun cover. It's like listening to middle school kids playing moe. songs almost.
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Everyone needs to listen to The Jauntee out of Boston very good friends of mine, the guitarist is from my hometown have a lot of potential to be the next great jam band, they also do a lot of Phish covers along with their originals.
Jauntee Show Downloads or as we call them "Jaunts"
Jauntee Show Downloads or as we call them "Jaunts"
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Widespread isn't new but they are amazing. Anyone who says they suck is a complete idiot. Jimmy Herring is as good as a guitarist as there is today. I really like Lotus too. Really funky and full of synth
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@CrosseyedAndPainless said: Everyone needs to listen to The Jauntee out of Boston very good friends of mine, the guitarist is from my hometown have a lot of potential to be the next great jam band, they also do a lot of Phish covers along with their originals.And at least one of them is a .netter
Jauntee Show Downloads or as we call them "Jaunts"
A while back someone posted a link to their show (one of the dudes from the band) and I checked it out. Def enjoyed it. If you live in their neck of the woods check them out, I would if I did... but I don't... so I won't.
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Im going to take a lashing on this one but Iv seen the biscuits 5 times and 3 out of the 5 where excellent. When Barber isnt a sloppy mess they can actully pull together some real nice jams. Their old classic bisco stuff is pretty awesome very jammy and clean. Seen UM twice and I loved it. Chris myers is an absolute beast on the kit. Jake is a bit shreddy for me but all in all they are some top musicians. My $.02
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I've seen no mention of Tea Leaf Green in this thread. Is no one interested in these guys or what? I have a personal connection to the band though I am not particularly into jam bands so I don't keep up with them. Just curious what those of you who do like that type of music think of them.
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Outside of Phish and the Dead, I don't really listen to too many jam bands.Having said that, I have seen UM 37 times(all but one between 2002-2004). They may not be much now, but when they were a band you could go see for $5 at some small bar, they were f***ing awesome. And in that era they were playing in and around Chicago like 4-5 times a month. I've had many a great night at UM shows. I have barely listened to them at all in the ensuing 8 years. I went to check em out this past 4/20 down in Austin, and it served as the "nail in the coffin" for my UM fandom. They were awesome when they where a straight up prog band(with just a little jamming). Now its tons of pointless, bisco-esque, jamming. The music is worse and the scene blows. All their really great songs are the ones they wrote '98-2002. i.e. Get in The Van, Andy's Last Beer, Tribute to Spinal Shaft, Kabump, Dump City, etc.
Also, I don't enjoy their shows or their scene, but WSP has, by far, the best albums of any Jam-Band.
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@23piper said: I've seen no mention of Tea Leaf Green in this thread. Is no one interested in these guys or what? I have a personal connection to the band though I am not particularly into jam bands so I don't keep up with them. Just curious what those of you who do like that type of music think of them.I like em a lot. Mainly because their songs are good. They have that happy fresh vibe to them and are fairly original Imo. They don't jam too much (read long) either, which in their case is good
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@Jimmymac03 said:
@CrosseyedAndPainless said:camped out next to these dudes at superball. they had different musicians coming and going all weekend jamming all different tunes and improv. they did a nice jammed out version of 'deal' complete with mandolin, bass, and drums. it was incredible. i have not heard any of their jaunts but i will make an effort to listen this weekend. good dudes indeed.Everyone needs to listen to The Jauntee out of Boston very good friends of mine, the guitarist is from my hometown have a lot of potential to be the next great jam band, they also do a lot of Phish covers along with their originals.And at least one of them is a .netter
Jauntee Show Downloads or as we call them "Jaunts"
A while back someone posted a link to their show (one of the dudes from the band) and I checked it out. Def enjoyed it. If you live in their neck of the woods check them out, I would if I did... but I don't... so I won't.
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as far as I'm concerned, first there was first the Grateful Dead, then there was Phish (who are obviously proceeded by some other influences, namely Zappa, King Crimson, Yes, etc...) and then there are some terrible things called "jam bands" that I can't stand.
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@RovingReporter said: please don't tell me the later Dead was just trading solos. They got pretty rough around the edges but continued to access deep space.
In the early years GD jammed in another level like Phish always does. But from about 1982 on they were a "trading solos" band. No band in the scene comes anywhere near Phish.
miami 89 Dark Star
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I have a lot of friends that listen to the newer "jam bands." I can't tell one from the other. There's not much difference between how papadosio jams and how lotus jams and every other grab bag bisco-inspired group out there. I get especially demotivated when I see laptops up on stage with these guys. This dancy jamtronica crap... I don't know why you'd want to spend your time recreating digital dance music with largely analog equipment. It seems like a step backward to me and a cheap on at that. Really, at that stage in the game, its more about what how much and what kind of drugs you can pump into your scene moreso than if you're actually creating quality original music.
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it's really quite heartening to see that the Phish community (or at least the dotnet community) has NOT succumbed to this horrible virus. one of my biggest fears about getting back into this band, was how the fans would be. At the shows this summer, I did meet a lot of people who simply couldn't understand the difference between our pals from VT and everyone else, but I met a few folks who could dig them some good music. I feel that .net is only a small sampling of the general fanbase though. I also suppose that the people posting in a thread called "new jam bands sound the same" is an even smaller sampling. I'm going to go listen to Gong now.
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@TwiceBitten said: @RovingReporter said:They did go deep, yes. What I was saying is that the Dead weren't the same band in the latter years. There are many factors to this, and I am NOT putting them down. I love them, an in fact have a huge 13-pointer tattoed on my arm. I was merely stating they didn't "jam" in the sense that they did earlier on, when they could match so many varying themes into a cohesive piece.please don't tell me the later Dead was just trading solos. They got pretty rough around the edges but continued to access deep space.
In the early years GD jammed in another level like Phish always does. But from about 1982 on they were a "trading solos" band. No band in the scene comes anywhere near Phish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4XQD-MDI64
miami 89 Dark Star
The Grateful Dead is, and always will be, my favorite band. But there is no denying that 30 years into both Phish's and the Dead's career, Phish still has it fully together while Jerry and Co. were hanging on. Not only did it show in the music, but Jerry himself said in multiple interviews that he needed a break from the music and that they were doing it for the money.
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Jerry tried to get them to take a break after Brent died and basically management pushed back too hard - there was an entire village of people dependent on them touring. At the point when your lead guitarist is so unhealthy and shakey that he turns his guitar down so as not to ruin the music, it seems like it's fair to say they didn't really have it in them anymore. Still there were golden moments in those post-Brent shows. My first show was 4/2/95 and I had already been a very big head but only of bootlegs and official releases. That show changed my life and was truly magical. That said, listening back to it, aside from the memories, it just isn't great GD. There were was magic in that collective and though I know many people disagree, that magic died with Jerry in my opinion.@RovingReporter said:
@TwiceBitten said:@RovingReporter said:They did go deep, yes. What I was saying is that the Dead weren't the same band in the latter years. There are many factors to this, and I am NOT putting them down. I love them, an in fact have a huge 13-pointer tattoed on my arm. I was merely stating they didn't "jam" in the sense that they did earlier on, when they could match so many varying themes into a cohesive piece.please don't tell me the later Dead was just trading solos. They got pretty rough around the edges but continued to access deep space.
In the early years GD jammed in another level like Phish always does. But from about 1982 on they were a "trading solos" band. No band in the scene comes anywhere near Phish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4XQD-MDI64
miami 89 Dark Star
The Grateful Dead is, and always will be, my favorite band. But there is no denying that 30 years into both Phish's and the Dead's career, Phish still has it fully together while Jerry and Co. were hanging on. Not only did it show in the music, but Jerry himself said in multiple interviews that he needed a break from the music and that they were doing it for the money.
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I think the reason that newer "jam bands" sound so similar is because they lack the balls to take anything to the next level. However, I do believe Umphrey's Mcgee is one of the bands right now that is capable of tearing it up(this years bonnaroo set). For the most part there is a serious lack of risk taking in the modern jam scene. It all comes down to that, the fans know when the music on stage is being forced instead of occurring naturally.
What we need is a band that is crazy. Crazy good, and isn't afraid to do something crazy to see if the crowd comes along for the ride. What a beautiful ride it will be.
What we need is a band that is crazy. Crazy good, and isn't afraid to do something crazy to see if the crowd comes along for the ride. What a beautiful ride it will be.
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I think the problem with modern jam bands is that we can't help but compare them to Phish. There never has, nor will there ever be, another band like Phish. No other band will jam as fluidly as Phish did. Phish is kind of like Wayne Gretzky, or Michael Jordan. Although it is "possible" I guess, there will likely never be another athlete in their respective sports that comes close to equaling them, and I don't mean just in athletic achievement. I also mean popularity, cultural effect, and longevity. Those athletes were the right guys at the right time, kind of like what Phish was in 1995 when Jerry died.
So if you keep comparing jam bands to Phish, you will never be satisfied. No band will ever come close to creating something like the Denver Ghost, or the Fukuoka Twist. However, it is not fair to say that the newer jam bands all suck. Many of them are extremely talented. As others have mentioned, Umphrey's is an incredible band, and their guitarists would each make Trey look, I hate to say, dated, if they were to jam together. Listen to Umphrey's song "JaJunk" from their best buy theatre shows back in January (01/20/12, I think?), and tell me if those guys don't "have it." They just didn't come along at the right time.
Moe has the same problem. Moe is the closest thing to an equal I think Phish has seen in the jam scene. Moe circa 2001/2002 is absolutely incredible. If you haven't heard the 06/22/02 Recreational Chemistry... then you should certainly give it a listen before you say they are crap.
It is natural for us to compare bands to Phish, but once again it is like comparing all the current basketball players to Michael Jordan. No, Kobe, Lebron, and Durant will likely never be as "big" as Jordan, but to never watch them for that reason would be a shame, because you would be missing some truly amazing players.
Also, FWIW, keep in mind that to non-Phish fans, all Phish jams the sound the same. Do I really need to post the "Phish shreds" youtube video to remind you guys of what Phish sounds like to mainstream America?
So if you keep comparing jam bands to Phish, you will never be satisfied. No band will ever come close to creating something like the Denver Ghost, or the Fukuoka Twist. However, it is not fair to say that the newer jam bands all suck. Many of them are extremely talented. As others have mentioned, Umphrey's is an incredible band, and their guitarists would each make Trey look, I hate to say, dated, if they were to jam together. Listen to Umphrey's song "JaJunk" from their best buy theatre shows back in January (01/20/12, I think?), and tell me if those guys don't "have it." They just didn't come along at the right time.
Moe has the same problem. Moe is the closest thing to an equal I think Phish has seen in the jam scene. Moe circa 2001/2002 is absolutely incredible. If you haven't heard the 06/22/02 Recreational Chemistry... then you should certainly give it a listen before you say they are crap.
It is natural for us to compare bands to Phish, but once again it is like comparing all the current basketball players to Michael Jordan. No, Kobe, Lebron, and Durant will likely never be as "big" as Jordan, but to never watch them for that reason would be a shame, because you would be missing some truly amazing players.
Also, FWIW, keep in mind that to non-Phish fans, all Phish jams the sound the same. Do I really need to post the "Phish shreds" youtube video to remind you guys of what Phish sounds like to mainstream America?
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Yes, sir. I would like to see that "Phish shreds" video.@RR1994 said:
I think the problem with modern jam bands is that we can't help but compare them to Phish. There never has, nor will there ever be, another band like Phish. No other band will jam as fluidly as Phish did. Phish is kind of like Wayne Gretzky, or Michael Jordan. Although it is "possible" I guess, there will likely never be another athlete in their respective sports that comes close to equaling them, and I don't mean just in athletic achievement. I also mean popularity, cultural effect, and longevity. Those athletes were the right guys at the right time, kind of like what Phish was in 1995 when Jerry died.
So if you keep comparing jam bands to Phish, you will never be satisfied. No band will ever come close to creating something like the Denver Ghost, or the Fukuoka Twist. However, it is not fair to say that the newer jam bands all suck. Many of them are extremely talented. As others have mentioned, Umphrey's is an incredible band, and their guitarists would each make Trey look, I hate to say, dated, if they were to jam together. Listen to Umphrey's song "JaJunk" from their best buy theatre shows back in January (01/20/12, I think?), and tell me if those guys don't "have it." They just didn't come along at the right time.
Moe has the same problem. Moe is the closest thing to an equal I think Phish has seen in the jam scene. Moe circa 2001/2002 is absolutely incredible. If you haven't heard the 06/22/02 Recreational Chemistry... then you should certainly give it a listen before you say they are crap.
It is natural for us to compare bands to Phish, but once again it is like comparing all the current basketball players to Michael Jordan. No, Kobe, Lebron, and Durant will likely never be as "big" as Jordan, but to never watch them for that reason would be a shame, because you would be missing some truly amazing players.
Also, FWIW, keep in mind that to non-Phish fans, all Phish jams the sound the same. Do I really need to post the "Phish shreds" youtube video to remind you guys of what Phish sounds like to mainstream America?
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UM is a glaring exception to the crappiness factor of current up and coming jamdom.
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bump
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I didn't know there were any new jambands.
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the title "jam band" isn't about music....it is about marketing.It is a double edged sword.....plan a multi-band event.....get one well known "jam band" to headline....then hitch a bunch of unknown bands on like train cars.....poof jam band festival
the other edge of the sword........throngs of 18 year old's pack the place, smoking salvia and munching on dirty pressies.....long discussions about skeletons from the closet
.....just be patient kids.....the headlining band will have lights that actually move
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I have two problems with this thread.
One: The comment that read something a long the lines of 'Trey would sound dated while jamming with Umph's Guitarists." How is that even possible? All music is "dated" virtually every idea, riff or chord progression has been written before in one way or another. In music everything is dated, people just forget/don't understand the framework.
Two: "just be patient kids.... The headlining band will have lights that actually move" What are you getting at? Only bands with expensive light rigs can be good? If that is what you mean then you are representing what is wrong with the "scene". How can you expect a band to get to the point of having a rowdy light show without being on the bottom first. Phish has always fed from the bottom, but clearly they would have just been another shitty "jam band" without those heady lights brah.
These two comments are outrageous.
One: The comment that read something a long the lines of 'Trey would sound dated while jamming with Umph's Guitarists." How is that even possible? All music is "dated" virtually every idea, riff or chord progression has been written before in one way or another. In music everything is dated, people just forget/don't understand the framework.
Two: "just be patient kids.... The headlining band will have lights that actually move" What are you getting at? Only bands with expensive light rigs can be good? If that is what you mean then you are representing what is wrong with the "scene". How can you expect a band to get to the point of having a rowdy light show without being on the bottom first. Phish has always fed from the bottom, but clearly they would have just been another shitty "jam band" without those heady lights brah.
These two comments are outrageous.
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I heard a band at a local festival that was really good, young guys low 20's, id guess; extremely enjoyable to hear "good" music the first time live, nothing like it.
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@Jerrytheband said: I don't wish to start any agruments, but am I the only one who thinks most of the newer jam bands around all sound the same. When I say this, I mean they don't do anything interesting with their music like what Phish does.The easiest thing to copy about Phish is 'Let's play one chord for ten minutes and call it "jamming."' Every shitty 'funky' jam band ever formed has done this.
The hardest things to copy are
1) Trey's songwriting
2) the four guys' devotion to this one band over decades
3) Phish's freakish systematic approach to group improvisation and listening.
It seems to me that (1) is the thing that sets them apart on first listen, and (2) is what's made them last (those long practice hours!!), but (3) is their most unique quality in the long run. I don't think there's ever been another band that's worked so hard at this one peculiar, particular aspect of its playing. (There are plenty of telepathic jazz bands, say, but none have practiced the 'Hey' exercise system for a decade. Y'know?)
No one jams like Phish, because no one approaches jamming in the weird pseudoscientific way Phish does. Not to say there's no good group improvisation to listen to (duh), but Phish are the most coherent improvising band I've ever heard, in any genre, at any time.
(They are, in other words, almost the opposite of the Dead. But let's not start that conversation again.)
Score: 6
Yeah, so I literally saw SCI 3 days ago in flagstaff with on site camping. 1) on site camping makes everything better
2) I liked their scene a LOT
3) I can see what some of youze guys are saying about SCI
These guys brought it. They have fun. Melded a sound around dead/phish and created something unique (IMO).
I had never seen or heard their music before and I enjoyed them. I COULD see myself going to hornings or a festy just to see these guys. that's saying a lot for me.
Maybe it was the venue and remoteness of flag that kept some of that shitty element from their scene away but all I saw was smiles for miles.
I saw UM like this also and left 1/2 way through. They were terrible and I didn't get it or want to get it. I will have to check UM again but I wasn't impressed. I was in the same mental state for each show.
Score: 1
bump
Score: 0
SCI jamming puts me to sleep.
Score: 1
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