folks never mention The Slip anymore. i guess they effectively broke up -- god it's been years, hasn't it -- but for a while i'd've stacked them up against any other 'jam band' on *any* metric. unbelievable passion, feeling, great chops, a wonderful vibe at the shows, a growing following, some breathtaking songs...

what's most interesting about them to me, now, is that they essentially *abandoned* 'jam band' music in favour of something more complexly simple. they started out playing lots of long, winding, somewhat instrumentally sparse freeform jams (they were just a trio), and drew in a lot of local phish fans. (i got turned on to the slip at MIT in 1997, playing an almost entirely freeform set at a basement show. it seemed to last all night.) but in the early 00's they made this turn toward richer sonics, more contained improvisations, and a deeper engagement with each song. (sound familiar?)

by the time they dissolved, they weren't really a 'jam band' anymore, just a great band.

it seems to me *that* is the true measure of affinity with phish: 'jamming like phish' isn't hard if you don't care about making anything new, but if you work hard to be true to a musical vision you'll end up having something in common with trey and his band. and that's what we're actually responding to in this music! not the goddamn scales and chord changes they use, not how long the jams last.

the slip parted ways, if memory serves, so 2/3 of the band could play idiosyncratic chamber pop in montreal. kind of a phishy move if you ask me.

trey's the one who turned me on to My Bloody Valentine and Rufus Wainwright. (ok, MBV isn't so much a band as it's a horrific psychosocial condition which makes a tiny amount of enjoyably formless music possible.) 'heir to the throne'? why in the world would you want someone else's throne? it's hard to find your voice when you're noticing how someone else kept the seat warm.

sidebar: christ almighty but a whole lot of Europe '72 is just gold. maybe i don't give these guys enough credit? heh.