by Jada Lucarelli
Phish is an American rock band that formed in Burlington, Vermont in 1983. The band includes guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fisherman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the primary lead vocalist. They met on the campus of the University of Vermont and started off as just some young men who wanted to “jam” in their dorm rooms. Shortly after forming their band, they played a couple of times around their campus in places like the cafeteria. Then Anastasio got suspended for a prank and the band was forced to take a break. In 1984, they reconnected, named their band Phish and had their first real concert together. The name came from phshhhh, an onomatopoeia of the sound of a brush on a snare drum or a plane taking off.
By the late 1990s, Phish’s concerts were growing increasingly complex, with a continual effort to incorporate the crowd in the performance. Part of this growth had to do with Phish being one of the first musical groups to utilize the internet to their advantage. They are also known for their improv concerts where they would just go with the flow of the crowd. Their vow was to make no two concerts the same. This is what sets them apart from other bands. The audience would even react in a specific way based on a musical cue from the band in a special “hidden language.” In 1992, Phish introduced the “Big Ball Jam,” a crowd-band collaboration in which each band member tossed a huge beach ball into the crowd and played a note each time his ball was hit. In this way, the audience played a role in the creation of an original piece of music. They even sometimes performed while jumping on mini trampolines, and would often perform cover songs that the audience requested. You can tell how different Phish was from other bands. They were all about the performance and act, and although the music was most important, so was creating an entire show that kept the audience engaged.
Phish began to play outside of New England in the late 1980s, but their popularity truly took off in the 90s. Their concert at Geneseo must have been a huge hit, but specifically for true fans. Phish often had a secret language that only non-radio listeners would understand, to really connect with the fans. The concert also came right after their album Rift was released and this was the year of their first headlining amphitheater tour. Going to a Phish concert was known as a bucket list event for many American teens, and I’m sure Geneseo students felt no different. To have Geneseo be a part of their biggest year yet is quite astonishing and I’m sure the fans really felt that way. Fans then got to watch Phish grow into an even bigger band and know they were part of the band’s story.