your life?

I sometimes do, and all I can say is i don't know where I would be without them. I'm a younger phan and saw my first show in 2009. I had casually gotten into them in sometime around 2008, after having listened to the dead for a few years, but it didnt really click right away.

When phish announced they'd be coming back in 2009, I began listening more and more, and it began to grow on me, but I didnt reall feel "it" yet. (that place in your soul) I got shut out of the hampton shows, but finally saw my first show at camden, and from the second I hit the lot I knew this was where I wanted to be.

There was just a feeling of everything being so new, and in the right place. As a junior in HS, I had no worries in the world, and despite having listened to phish, had no clue how heavily this night would change my life.

From the opening notes of chalkdust I was blown away. I had never seen thousands of people soo tuned into the music, and dancing so hard, everyone with smiles plastered on their faces. Something clicked that night, and 25 shows later, I love phish more than ever.

To me, it seems like Phish had filled a void in my life, and it was the scene/music that I had been looking for 17 years. I had finally found the music and scene that I was supposed to.

People often compare different years to phish but I think its important to remember that we are comparing the same band to itself, and while the peaks may night be as high now as they were in some people opinions, every single phish show, no matter how average, is a life altering, spiritual, beautiful moment for thousands of people.

We should all be grateful that this band has entered our lives, and never take it for granted. As much as I wish they would, phish will not last forever, so its pointless to spread negativity to a band that has brought light to so many people. Dont take it for granted.

Between the places ive seen, friends ive made, experiences ive had, amazing music ive heard, I will always be grateful for what phish has done for me.

I know this was kind of a rant, but I think I can speak for a lot of us. (otherwise we wouldnt be spending our time on a phish message board ;-P )

So thank you phish from the bottom of my heart. I truly appreciate it.

::starts tearing up::

I don't have to think about it, the evidence surrounds me everyday. I met my wife at a show. Just about every aspect of my life is a result of Phish.

Awesome post, OP!

I'm not really sure how Phish has affected my life other than having a great time at shows and a huge library of badass live music to listen to. They're one of my favorite bands, and I love talking about them on this and other forums, but I wouldn't say I'm obsessed or that they filled a void or anything like that. I just love the hell out of all the music they make.

So yeah, I guess they have affected my life! It's been nothing but a great thing so far!

All of the time, not only the impact on myself, not even North America, but the world as a whole. Pretty cool how many lives these guys have touched.

@rabblenans said:

all I can say is i don't know where I would be without them.

Lots of great stuff in this post. My days would be much more gray if I couldn't listen to the music of Phish.

That was pretty damn touching man. I share very similar beliefs myself and can relate to pretty much everything you have stated. I'm always thinking about how critical people are because they "aren't as good in 3.0 compared to 2.0" but I never got to experience that. With that said IMO the best phish is NOW phish because its all happening. With that said I cannot wait to attend my first Phish Fest after 24 3.0 shows=).

@rabblenans said:

As much as I wish they would, phish will not last forever, so its pointless to spread negativity to a band that has brought light to so many people. Dont take it for granted.

Bravo! [clap clap]

These folks who keep expecting every show to be "better" than the last are doing it wrong. All I ever asked was for every show to be different than the last. So far after 20 years they have never failed to meet my expectations.

The only thing that has stayed the same is the feeling I get when I'm at a show. Whether it was a bar in '92 where they just stamped the back of your hand at the door or a big outdoor shed in 2012 - with a fancy ticket with designs and electronic bar codes all over it.

I was worried my generation would be the last. Posts like this make my week.

@deBebbler said:

@Jimmymac03 said:

TL;DR

250 words, no pictures = TL;DR. Seriously?

Yes OP, they filled a huge void for me, and continue to...

Also said +1 anyway. Just being light hearted. I think it is safe to say anyone wasting their time on this forum gets where OP is coming from and can relate 100%.

im glad so many people share the same sentiment.

Sometimes I think im crazy following these guys around.



glad to know im not the only one!

@MJZ1974 said:

I was worried my generation would be the last. Posts like this make my week.

see the problem i have with this, is that your generation hate on us so hard. i've met a couple 1.0ers where i work, who havent been to a show in years (excluding a show during the nye 2011 run) and have moved on with their lives. when i talk about phish with them, they're all like man, when we were going to shows when we were your age (i'm 21), it truly was revolutionary, it was ours, blah blah blah, now they're at the garden selling out, now you know about them, now it's a huge thing.

this one guy went to far as to say that they should retire reba after watching the 12/29 or 30 webcast. WTF is that? you guys had your time, you can still go on tour, but don't try to take away my phish from me because you already did this 20 years before me and now you have obligations.

now it's [some of] our generations time to be blown away and be apart of something that can take us into outer space and back within the course of 3 hours..

i may have only been to 6 shows, and i may only have 1 lot shirt, but f***, the moment i heard everybody yelling back wilson to trey at sbix, that shit literally changed my life. as op said, the fact that 4 guys can have such an absurd influence and impact on so many people, and the fact that 4 people form together like voltron to make tens of thousands of people groove... f***, let me enjoy it while i can! and i certainly hope in 10 - 15 years i'll be able to take my wife/kid to a show and jam out.

fuck, even on the 28th walking down the stairwells to leave the garden, i said to some jaded guy next to me, man that was a good show. what did he reply? "that shit sucked." i said those exact words leaving umphreys at set break at the beacon last friday, not after seeing phish rock 40,000 faces off.

My life is constantly and forever being shaped and molded by Phish, the fans, the scene, the experiences, the people that make up the band, and so much more. It is all a direct response to the music they make and the many people they have filled up with it. Phish has brought me closer to my mom since my first show in 2010 than words can express. I have taken to atleast 6 shows with me. We just did the whole NYE run together. These are memories that wil never ever be forgotten. These are the times I will talk about one day to my children.

I am forever indebted to phish. I could go on and on. It does something for me that nothing else can. Phish has saved my life. It has helped me, most importantly, to break a 6 year habit of shooting dope and smoking crack amongst many other poisons I once had in my life. It has given me the light at the end of the tunnel.

It has showed me what life has to offer and has directly influenced my experience with said life.

It has given me a reason to wake up, to go to bed, and a reason to be the best person I can.
I love Phish with everything inside me. And although I am a younger head it thrives inside me like I know it does all of you. No matter how long you have been around or how many shows you have or haven't seen.

Phish continuously blows me away musically and touches my heart everyday. I can't tell you how many times I've broken down in euphoric tears during a jam. Nobody else in my life understands where I'm coming from when it comes to what Phish is to me. Everything about the band and everything else that comes with it is nothing but positivity.

Pretty schweet we all relate on this level about the band

Well. I am 23. Phish has been a part of my life since 1993, Contact was my sing along as a kid, Fee was a big one too. so, Phish has been my favorite band for 86.957% of my life.

I'd try to think about my life without them, but it would probably make my poor little brain lapse into an epic and terminal failure.

Great post OP, Phish is one of those few bands that you can actually think about the impact they have had on your life, if every bad luck thing possible happened to me tomorrow with extreme and long reaching impacts, I'd still consider myself lucky to have been introduced to Phish so young and to have many shows worth of memories to look back on and lift my spirits

@theemu - of course, the boys can do what ever they'd like with their music.. but to suggest to pull one of their best songs entirely out the catalog because some 40 year old guy doesn't think they bring it like they did before? that's absurd! but of course to pull it out of rotation for a while is something completely different.

@MJZ1974 - i wasn't saying specifically you, but i guess it could have been!

As you said its a generational thing. I'd think that most 40y/o+ are 1.oers and that's why I brought it up. Not necesarilly thay someone is 40 and has kids and a 9-5 but moreso someone who has responsibilities that don't let them see shows like they used to and inturn they think phish is done because of that.

Anyway I of course agree w op. Never was much a musical person. One day I asked my brother about some bands with a guitar that are good. He directed me to cortez the killer by neil young and also the allman brothers. Didn't do it. Few months later somefriends take meup to sbIX and now I have never listened to so much music daily.

Right on, @rabblenans, right on.

At some point at pretty much every show I'll take a few moments to scan the crowd. What you describe (a life altering, spiritual, beautiful moment for thousands of people) is what I'm looking for. I remember what it was like for me. And although I'm sure I can't, I feel like I can see that play out on others faces (although it's probably just the mahlz). So if I can take a moment, and appreciate what I believe to be happening to someone else...it's kind of like it's happening all over again to me. Seeing someone else get "IT", and knowing the profound impact "IT" will have on their lives - that's something that keeps bringing me back.

nailed it.

no

I WAS LITERALLY THINKING ABOUT STARTING THIS EXACT SAME POST YESTERDAY! You read my mind man! Yeah for real I've been going through a really tough time (girl broke my heart and treated me like shit, legal troubles, drug court ( YES JUST LIKE TREY WENT THROUGH! Shit ain't easy believe me) financial troubles, cant do any drugs, finding who your real friends are etc.) and Ive gotten into this band extremely hard during this time. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for this band, but IMO I'd have gone crazy already if weren't for this band.

I could go on but the bottom line is this band, it's music and it's amazingly friendly community that has kept me from going off the proverbial deep end. When life has got me stressed or down, I just put on some headphones, close my eyes, put on a 10 minute plus phish song, and let all my troubles just split open and melt away..... 8)

lol i got voted down for answering the question honestly.

@mymindisgoo said:

see the problem i have with this, is that your generation hate on us so hard. i've met a couple 1.0ers where i work, who havent been to a show in years (excluding a show during the nye 2011 run) and have moved on with their lives. when i talk about phish with them, they're all like man, when we were going to shows when we were your age (i'm 21), it truly was revolutionary, it was ours, blah blah blah, now they're at the garden selling out, now you know about them, now it's a huge thing.

Brother, just let that crap go.

Be thankful you've only been hearing it a couple years. As a 1.0er myself, I've had to listen to these type of guys for 17 years. They always had this kinda attitude, and there were a lot of them. I jumped on in 1996 and all I heard was how the real fans were around before Jerry died, and the small club shows were the good stuff, and you're not here for the good s#!t, and blah blah blah.

Ignore it for what it is - horses#!t. Just give them a copy of Dick's 2012 and tell them you're sorry they are too old and out of touch to enjoy it.

If they get personal with their attacks after that, you know you hit 'em where it hurts.

this one guy went to far as to say that they should retire reba after watching the 12/29 or 30 webcast. WTF is that?

This, however, just may find some support from me.

@me_no_are_no_nice_guy said:

lol i got voted down for answering the question honestly.

I notice that happens here a lot.

Changed my life? More than I ever thought something other than a religious experience ever could. In all ways, visible and subtle.

I was 32 when I saw my first show and fell hard for Phish and the community. I sometimes think that it's silly that a rock band has changed the course of my life so dramatically and explaining it to anyone who isn't a serious fan is arduous, complicated, and - well - has just proven impossible for me do sufficiently.

But whatever my rational mind's opinion of it can't change the fact that discovering Phish did alter my life's trajectory permanently and radically.

Did it change my life for the better? I think so, most definitely.

I had few close friends before. Now I have dozens.

I had no real passions outside of work. Now I have music (not just Phish).

I had only one, linear, logical way of understanding things. Now I see truths that are greater than the sum of their constituents.

What is it that emerges from the music that made all this possible? I'm slowly starting to accept the fact that I might just never figure that out.

Anyways, great job, OP. It's always good to be reminded that "I'm not the only one".

Amen OP.

I saw Phish for the first time in '09 when I was 17 too and feel the exact same way! So grateful to have found this amazing band and all the amazing experiences that have stemmed from it. Well said OP!

Its become a big part of me. And while it was good at first now I am starting to question it. It scares me a little bit. I know this may sound strange but I think that frankly it is getting to the point where my love for this band, the music, and the laht scene has changed me in ways that are not for the better. I am a little scared of how much it means to me. The fact I may see next to no shows this summer is always weighing on my mind because after 16 shows over the past 3 summers and a new years run this is unbelievable for me. Not to say there hasn't been good to come out of it, but my thoughts lately have been in the aforementioned style. 2009 was life changing in the fact that I found out how awesome these guys and also one of the most life changing years of my life.