Artist bio

See also: Trey Anastasio

When it comes to Phish, anything is possible. The four-member band has bucked nearly every rule of conventional music industry wisdom. They've become one of the most popular bands of their generation without significant radio airplay or MTV attention. They've sold millions of albums -- including a never-ending stream of live releases -- even though they encourage taping at their concerts. And they've managed to pull off at least four enormous sized rock festivals in an era when such events usually ended in burnings, slayings and general mass destruction.

If NATN's editors had to guess just one source of the band's success, we'd point to the live experience. In short: These guys rock, hard and long. Phish incorporate nearly every genre of popular (and unpopular) music from the past 30 years into their show. Each of the four members -- guitarist Trey Anastasio, keyboardist Page McConnell, drummer Jon Fishman, and bassist Mike Gordon -- are amazing musicians in their own right, but they play together like one well-fueled, tightly wound rock-and-roll machine.

Comparisons to the Grateful Dead are lame mostly because they tend to stem from the band's non-stop tour schedule and generalizations about its hippy following. Though Phish often dabbles in bluegrass, folk and other Dead-ish genres, the group's music tends to be a little bit more on the wacky, silly side. Would Jerry ever have asked you to "Wash Uffizi and drive you to Firenze?" We doubt it. For a good intro to the band's music, try 1995's A Live One and 1996's Billy Breathes, Or, if you're hungry for an intense musical mind warp, check out Vol. 4 of the band's Live Phish series.

Albums by this artist

New Year's Eve, 1995 (2005)

Undermind (2004)

Round Room (2002)

Farmhouse (2000)

Hampton Comes Alive (1999)

A Live One (Recommended) (1995)

A Picture Of Nectar (1992)

Lawn Boy (1990)

Concerts

August 13, 2004
Newport State Airport, Coventry, VT

August 14, 2003
Lincolnshire Regal 16, Chicago

Phish

A Picture Of Nectar

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» BEN FRENCH | CO-DIRECTOR

Phish A Picture Of Nectar Elektra, 1992 RiYL: God Street Wine, Bela Fleck, Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead

Phish made a signifigant transition professionally with A Picture Of Nectar, the group's third album, as they began to understand the difference between a studio recording and a live performance. By reigning in their jammy tendencies significantly and further exploring the rock end of their sound, the band produced a group of eclectic songs that are thoughtfully crafted.

Radio-friendly this album is not. But Nectar is the Vermont band's first work to have more than one track you would even remotely want to call "catchy."

The highlights of this album -- songs like "Llama," "Guelah Papyrus," and even the Latin-tinged instrumental "Landlady" -- are short and to the point; they provide the foundation for the record. Only two songs, the fantastic "Stash" and the somewhat longish "Tweezer," would really press the patience of an everyday listener more than "Stairway To Heaven."

Seven of the album's 16 tracks clock in under three minutes. Unfortunately, the shortest songs are the worst on the album. Between the obviously pointless ("Catapult," "Manteca") and the downright retarded ("Glide"), the band loses its focus.

This is a group of extremely talented musicians that likes to stretch things out a bit and explore the boundaries of instrumental rock. And that's... okay. "Tweezer," the longest track on Nectar, is also the album's most compelling. Contrary to the multi-part rock operas of Phish's first two recordings, Junta and Lawn Boy, "Tweezer" is a straight-up modal jam, which sounds a lot more funky and gets your head nodding.

More important than the funk flavor on this record is its added rock punch, almost completely missing on prior efforts. "Chalkdust Torture," a straight-up tribute to classic rock acts like the Who, is a strong candidate for the album's best track. Not only does guitarist Trey Anastasio structure a song beautifully in the classic rock tradition, but he also broadens the scope of the formula with his invariably singular guitar style.

As always, Anstasio is the clear leader of the outfit. But each band member puts forth a solid effort on the album, including the hard-to-notice piano player Page McConnell. Though the jazz style of "Eliza" might be out of place on this album, it still sounds very sharp.

This is essentially Phish's first "major label" effort -- in spirit, anyhow. And therefore it features many of the band's best studio songs. A worthy pick-up for the lighthearted Phish fan and an oft-forgotten favorite of the die-hards, A Picture Of Nectar may be the band's most enjoyable batch of studio-recorded material.

BEN FRENCH | Ben founded NATN in the winter of 1998-1999 with fellow IU alums Troy Carpenter and Jonathan Cohen. During the day time, he's working for Nielsen Business Media, publisher of Billboard. Ben's favorite acts include Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys.