ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE KINGDOM OF CASPIAN

To: The Mockingbird Foundation
Attn: Charles A. Dirksen

Dear Mr Dirksen et al:

We don’t know one another, however, it has come to my attention that you have bestowed upon me an unfortunate nickname. I’m not entirely certain what’s been done to incite such anger, however, if you’ll allow me to pontificate for a moment, I think you’ll find it most unjustified.

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The Stones went from being a band I really liked and admired to being my heroes in some ways now that they weren’t before. And not just because they made that album. Though the full thing, from cover to cover, is the most soulful, least mental album, and it sounds like the sound of fun. But as I’m getting older and I’ve been in a band now for twenty-five years, I look at the Stones with nothing but reverence. You understand why U2 is an opening band for the Stones.

To be in my situation, in a band that’s been together only twenty-five years, and to look at them, you go, “Wow!” They’re playing really well, and their values are in the right place. I feel like I can look to the Stones now as an example of almost everything to do right. There are so many examples of what not to do, and they’re all part of the boneyard. So, by deduction, it’s: I’m not gonna do what Hendrix did, and I’m not gonna do what the Grateful Dead did, and I’m not gonna do what the Beatles did…. I don’t want to fight about money, and I don’t want to sleep with anyone’s wife like Fleetwood Mac did, and I certainly don’t want to be the Eagles…. [laughs] Here are the pitfalls to avoid, but where’s an example of how to do it right? The Stones!

I admit it: I’m a setlist snob.

I started formulating this realization on the field in Indio, when ZZYZX turned to me and said, without the condescension implied, “I remember when I was chasing bust-outs.” And my response was succinctly “If we’re going to hear a 10 minute jam, I suppose I’d rather have the jam be off of a song I haven’t heard before rather than one I’ve seen a dozen times.”

But as true as that is, it’s not the real story. The real story is that I am chasing bust-outs. Not just bust-outs, but “interesting-ness”. And “interesting-ness” changes with the seasons. I’m actually chasing anything at a show that makes me think “Interesting!”

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Making music has always been the single most important, enduring obsession in my life. I’m truly grateful for what music has given back to me in return for my attentions. Teaching others often reminds me how much i long to live in a world that values music as i do. I was raised in a “real folk” household where I saw music played regularly by my Dad and his friends… it helped me to form the understanding that music was created by real humans with practiced skills, as opposed to originating from the radio. Our culture often seems to send the message that the importance of music is found in the grandeur of the spectacle, the celebrity of the performers, or the number of units sold. I think this unfortunate message can be offset by passionate music professionals and teachers who kindle the flame, “pass the torch” to others to follow, and in the process build more discerning, “tuned in” audiences to play for. Here’s hoping it continues!

In our effort to continually add enhancements to the Phish.net website, we are pleased to announce links have been added to all Phish.net setlists to any soundboard recordings available through LivePhish.com (“LP”).

The LP links can be found on each setlist page for which there is a LP recording (every show since 2002 and previous LP CD releases ##s 01 - 20 documented on the Phish.net website here). Click on the “link” icon or the show date to bring you to the setlist page for the show where the LP link is (between the setlist itself at the top and the rating stars and show reviews underneath).

The Mockingbird Foundation (the fan charity which maintains Phish.net) is now a marketing affiliate of LP (which is a joint venture of Phish and nugs.net). We get a small fee from nugs.net when you buy a download by clicking on the Phish.net page links.

As the LP webpages already say, and phans already may be aware, the band already donates a portion of its LP proceeds to the Mockingbird Foundation (and has done so since LP went live in 2002).

If you appreciate the work of this several dozen volunteers who staff this site and keep the setlists, song histories, stats and other goodies coming your way, please consider using our links to buy from LP.

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It has been nearly a decade since I last visited Hershey Park, on 9/15/00. If this visit is anywhere as memorable as my last, it will be as sweet as southern iced tea. 9/15/00 musically was a standard good Phish show for 2000. “Piper” and “Tube” were muscial highlights for me.

One of the most memorable experiences of the show however, was the appearance of a ‘naked’ guy who showed up beside us center mid field during the “Antelope” in the first set. While Tom Marshall and one of his daughters came onstage to sing the “Rye, Rye, Rocco” lyrics, everyone around us had their attention forced away from the stage. Things had progressed from funny to awkward. The naked guy had decided to make himself a bit ‘freakier’. As security came to escort him off the field, the crowd in the stands were chanting, “Naked Guy”, “Naked Guy”. The incident lasted through “Golgi” and finally was over by the “Bittersweet Motel” set closer.

This go around at Hershey I look forward to pre-show free chocolate, seeing friends I haven’t seen since Miami, and most importantly seeing Phish destroy Hershey for my first show of the summer tour. How sweet it is!

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When Phish returned at Hampton, waiting until two weeks out before shipping tickets made a lot of sense. It made scalping slightly more difficult and then anything that did that was a good thing. However 2009 has become 2010. Far from being a popular thing to scalp, people are now lucky if they can get face value for their extras for most nights.

The delay can definitely cause issues. If you get a partial tour fill, tickets could come when you’re already on the road. When you send tickets out this close to showtime, it doesn’t take much of a shipping delay to cause issues. And while scalping is something worthy of stopping, plans can fall through. The shows you think you’re going to in March might not be your actual June plan. Selling tickets to friends for face has always been part of the Phish community and that also is made more difficult by the delays.

Yes, the intent was good, but the problems outweigh the advantages. Free the tickets! Let Fed Ex packages fly!

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In an attempt to bring Phish Stats to the 21st century, there now is a Facebook page. The goal is to have a new blurb (limited to the 420 characters of an update) somehow related to Phish Stats every work day except for when Phish is touring, then the last 3 times played update will run.

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I get asked sometimes why I continue to read Phantasy Tour despite all of the negativity there. I have a few standard answers: there’s information there that you can’t really get elsewhere, there are some very good threads if you know which threads/people to ignore, but there is another reason that makes it worthwhile. Sometimes the negative reviews reset your expectations.

The reviews of Phish 3D on PT were largely bad. Between the endless complaints about the song selection and the jump cut editing, I went in expecting to see the Coventry “Glide” on endless repeat with the camera switching every tenth of a second. As a result, there was no way I could have been disappointed.

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I'm just hoping it'll last another year, or however long it'll last -- as long as we keep getting along and stuff.