Over those three nights, they played long shows and lots of songs. The jams themselves weren’t so very long—no fifty-minute “Tweezer” or jammed-together strings of songs. The sheer number of songs
performed was impressive: twenty-eight on Friday, twenty-seven on Saturday, thirty (if you count “Happy Birthday,” which they sang to Fishman’s dad) on Sunday. Nearly ninety songs, and not a single repeat. And they sounded sharp and tight, executing the hairpin-turn shifts in the composed sections with aplomb.
Hampton is an old survivor of a coliseum—an oval-shaped small arena with festival seating on the floor and assigned seating in the loge. It was entirely appropriate that Phish, a band of survivors themselves, chose to launch their reunion there.
Countless bands have played there, and Phish’s epic stands would rate among its greatest moments. Counting the reunion stand, Phish has performed sixteen nights at Hampton Coliseum since 1995, including three of their first four post-hiatus reunion shows in 2003.
Hampton came even more alive in March 2009, when Phish proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were a band reborn. Demand for tickets was so great that people were paying as much as $1,000 per night. Hampton’s big, swampy bowl of a main floor was packed sardine-tight with delirious Phishheads. Despite the lack of elbow room, people found a way to dance. And everyone was friendly. I’d forgotten that part of it: falling into conversations with strangers like you’d known them all your life. Sharing facts, trivia, road stories, and the excitement of having Phish back in the house.
The band didn’t talk much to the audience. The music, and the effort and energy they put into it, said plenty. Before the encore on the final night, Anastasio did step to the mike to utter a few words: “This has been an incredible weekend,” he said, and 14,000 tired but jubilant fans roared their agreement. “Obviously, it’s felt a lot like a reunion . . . family members and friends, all of us together again . . . ”
Sharing in the groove.
The good vibes and solid playing resumed in the summer with a tour kickoff at Boston’s Fenway Park (their first stadium show). At a show in Asheville, I sat behind the stage, where I got a close view of the interactions among the band members and the faces of the crowd pressed against the rail. Onstage, Anastasio stood between Gordon (to
his left) and McConnell (ensconced among banks of keyboards to his right). It was a return to their classic Nectar’s set up. There was much conferring among the three of them between songs, with Anastasio walking back and forth to consult with each of them and Gordon relaying the group’s next move to Fishman. One couldn’t help but notice the shared smiles and relaxed demeanor. Anastasio’s posture, and constantly tapping foot, conveyed his contentment and engagement.
Several nights after Asheville, Phish performed two shows at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, outside Manchester, Tennessee. Even though Bonnaroo was basically built from the blueprint of Phish’s festival campouts, Phish had never before played there as a group. Their first show at Bonnaroo broke new musical ground and their second show at Bonnaroo 2009 made a bit of history, as Phish performed for three hours, including a three-song mini-set with Bruce Springsteen. They did spirited versions of Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” and two old favorites by the Boss: “Bobby Jean” and “Glory Days.” It was another memorable moment in a career full of them.
The projects started coming fast and furious as Phish gained momentum. In early September came the release of a new album,
Joy
(their first studio album in five years). On a personal front, Anastasio took his boldest step yet into the world of classical-rock fusion by performing with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in September. Phish announced a three-day festival in California at the end of October. Festival 8, as it was dubbed, combined an outdoor campout concert marathon with a chance to cover another artist’s album on Halloween. Who would disagree that a world with a healthy Phish in it is a better place?
As Mike Gordon put it, “We’ve come up with a body of music that is unique, and we’ve developed a way of going on musical adventures on a regular basis and brought a lot of people along with us.
“It’s a very rare and lucky occupation and combination of people. Just a uniquely fortunate situation.”
I spoke with Trey Anastasio in July 2009, after I’d finished—or thought I’d finished—this book. We had last talked prior to the release of his solo album
Shine
, and then came the bust and a period of years during which he worked hard on getting himself together. It was good to talk with him again under such positive circumstances.
We began with the new beginning, discussing Phish’s three-night run of shows in Hampton, Virginia, which kicked off their reunion in March 2009. As the conversation unfolded, Anastasio spoke openly and emotionally about the changes that life has brought in recent years. The word
gratitude
came up quite a bit. So did the word
happy
.
ME: I saw the reunion shows at Hampton Coliseum. I did not want to miss that moment when you all came onstage and hit the first note on the first night. Describe that moment from your perspective.
ANASTASIO: It felt great. The most exciting thing for me was that all seven kids were onstage. They might have been a little hidden,
but they were in the back corner. The reason I bring that up is because when we left the stage at Coventry, there were 3,500 people on the guest list. No exaggeration. Our scene had devolved to where it was eating itself. At Hampton, there were approximately ten people backstage, and seven of them were our kids. And it was such a relief. It was quiet backstage. I had my wife and my kids with me. It was all family, and everything just seemed to be back to normal.
Not that we don’t love all of our friends, and there were many of our friends at the Hampton shows. But the most important thing to me was that we managed to get back on track. We had a practice room backstage. We were working on music. We weren’t socializing. And it showed, I think. That’s the way the whole tour’s been going, and it’s made me very happy. When we went onstage, I saw a lot of people I knew in the audience. It all just felt . . . I was moved and filled with gratitude to be back with my friends playing music again.
Over the four years we were apart, everybody took time to get their personal lives back on track. The fact is, we’d started at the age of eighteen and had been going at a ferocious pace without a real break. I mean, we took that hiatus, but I just went right back on the road during the hiatus without a real break. It’s a much more healthy atmosphere, and it’s made me so happy. I really can’t describe how filled with gratitude and happy I was at those three shows. And actually I’ve felt that way the entire the tour, every night.
ME: You talked about the backstage scene. I’ve known you guys long enough that when I first came in, it was more similar to what you’re describing now than what it became from 1997 on. It was family and close friends backstage, and it wasn’t a wild, overrun scene.
ANASTASIO: Not at all! I’m so glad you remember that. You know, I don’t drink anymore, which is great for me. I’m thrilled about that and have been for years now, actually. Sometimes people
will say, “Is it strange with the band?” And I say, “No, it’s not strange at all. As a matter of fact, it’s a lot stranger that that ever really happened. If you had been around, the amount of time that that
wasn’t
going on was so much bigger than the amount of time that it was.”
It all seems like it’s back to normal. I think we just were not equipped—as so many people are not equipped—to contend with the tricky landscape of becoming big or famous. I don’t like the word
big
, but whatever it was, we had it. We even had a bit of a naïve attitude toward employing people. Everyone was our friend and we loved to have our friends around, so we just said, “Hey, yeah, you can come back, too.” I remember in ’96 when we started playing arenas, there was nobody backstage, not one person. To the point where it was kind of boring, actually. [
laughs
] And then in ’97 and ’98, we opened the door, and there it went.
Anyway, when you take the distractions away, there’s so much energy to focus on practicing and the show. So now, before the shows start, we find ourselves back in the practice room. One of my favorite parts of Phish is that when it’s just the four of us practicing, there’s such a deep sense of humor. I mean, everybody’s laughing and cracking these jokes that you have to know all the previous references to get. It’s like seven jokes deep. Mike will say three words, and it’s referring to a joke that happened last year. It makes me really happy that we have the ability to have that time together.
ME: One of the things that you noted and mourned after the breakup was the fact that Phish had stopped practicing. You’ve actually said that you liked practicing as much as performing.
ANASTASIO: I do. Do you know that twentieth-anniversary film Mike made? Well, there’s all these shots in there from band practice. Like when we’re doing “All Things Reconsidered” and Fish falls down in front of the camera. That was our practice room in Winooski, and it just brought me right back. But now we are
practicing. As a matter of fact, we’re starting practice again in a couple of days.
It wasn’t just that we weren’t practicing as much. It was that practice had gone from being just the four of us to having a lot of crew members around. If you’re a club band, you don’t really have a big crew, so whatever. Then you become an arena band and there’s a keyboard tech, bass tech, drum tech, guitar tech, soundman, monitor mixer, and so on. So it’s kind of accepted that when you do band practice, all those guys come in, and they’re all wonderful people, but it’s just not the same. You’d think it would be simple for us to say, “You know, we’d prefer to practice alone in a little room, thank you.” But we never really did that, and now we
are
doing that. When we practiced before Hampton, we got a little room with a Fender amp and said, “Have the guy from the studio unlock the door, and we’ll lock it when we leave.”
It’s funny because I notice it in . . . I have a pretty strong personality versus Page, who’s a little quieter. And when there are a lot of people around, he might not—he’s different when it’s just the four of us, and he’s very, very smart and has a great point of view that is crucial to the decision-making dynamic. Page comes at things from a more rational point of view, and that’s really important. When there’s a bunch of people around, he might just retreat, and all of a sudden the whole balance is off. And that’s when it falls apart.
That’s at the base of what actually happened before. I remember a lot of frustration from Page, and there were times when I was thinking, “What is the problem here?” And now I get it. God’s honest truth is that as long as the four of us are together and have a protected, quiet and comfortable atmosphere around us, then we can make decisions with the dynamic that has always existed.
ME: I have a philosophical question for you about risk-taking. You’re a risk-taking musician, and personally, you know what it’s
like to take risks as well. How do you separate the two? Is it possible to separate creative risk-taking from personal risk-taking?
ANASTASIO: I think that today my view would be that a solid personal life and a solid spiritual life is a necessity for creative risk-taking. I feel very grounded today on a personal level, and yesterday we announced that I’m going to play with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. I can tell you, that’s a musical risk, and it’s a pretty significant piece of music we’re going to be playing.
That’s why I keep mentioning how happy I was that my family was with me onstage. I feel so lucky to have this wonderful family, and I always wanted to find a way to combine family life with life on the road. That’s tricky terrain, and it wasn’t working out so well seven years ago and today it is. And lo and behold, here comes this big orchestral piece, “Time Turns Elastic,” and Phish is playing long sets, and it’s like a springboard.
ME: For Phish’s second show at Bonnaroo this year, you played for three hours and were joined at one point by Bruce Springsteen.
ANASTASIO: A little singer-songwriter from New Jersey! That was a blast. He’s a very nice guy.
ME: How did it work out that Springsteen appeared with you?
ANASTASIO: He was there and somebody said, “Do you want to go on Bruce’s bus and meet him?” And I said, “Yeah, of course.” My wife Sue grew up in Freehold, New Jersey. Jersey girl! Sue’s dad—and this is a completely true story—sat next to Bruce’s dad all through grammar school up until Freehold High, so they had a lot of mutual friends. So we got on the bus and Sue and Bruce started talking and names were flying. I kind of felt like a fly on the wall while they were talking. But we all got talking on the bus, and it was a thrill.
ME: When we spoke in 2004, it struck me that you had about as much on your plate as any one person could handle, just in terms of musical projects: working with an orchestra, your solo band, Dave Matthews, and, of course, Phish. I thought to myself,
“How does he do it?” and “Is this healthy?” Are you pacing yourself differently nowadays?
ANASTASIO: Well, I’ve spent the last three years working on my personal health and my family. The last tour, we all went together for the whole tour. If you look at the calendar, tour started the day after school got out and ended when the kids’ Shakespeare camp was about to begin. Then we’re going back out, and it ends again before the school year starts. I’m not saying that’s always going to be the case, but that was such a. . . .[
trails off
]
Crazy stuff happened in those last three years. Obviously, I publicly went through an arrest, and I had to stop and re-evaluate. I was racing around too fast, and I was putting my health last. And today I go to bed early and keep myself in shape. Most importantly, it’s more about spiritual health than anything and trying to keep priorities in line. As long as I do that, everything else seems to not be a problem.
I just feel a lot of gratitude today. It’s a subject that’s constantly coming up among the band, that we’re very lucky to still be together with all four original members twenty-six years into our career. Fish has said to me a number of times that when Phish stopped, he didn’t even know where he lived. He had a house, but he hadn’t even really moved in because we were on the road all the time. We stopped, and he was able to move up to the place where he lives now. He lives on a beautiful farm with animals, and they’ve got three children. They’re very settled in. Same with Mike. We stopped, he got married during the break, had his first child, built a studio in his home, and got his own band together so he could play outside of Phish. I think we all really had to do that, and when we come back together now, there’s such a feeling of gratitude that we made it over a big hurdle.
ME: Do you see any reason Phish can’t have longevity now?
ANASTASIO: I don’t see any reason today not to believe that. But I think that today I’m really trying to—okay, one of the things with this last tour, I said, “Before I set foot on this tour, I’m going
to set a rule for myself that whatever show we’re playing is the only show. There is no tour.” Because with all those projects you mentioned, I was getting really tired of spreading myself too thin, racing around and thinking of too many things at once. What I try to do now is look at one show, and it all seems to take care of itself.
I remember we were in St. Louis and somebody was asking, “Are you excited about Alpine Valley?” And my response was, “I’m in St. Louis. This is the most important show. This is it. Tomorrow may never come.” So I think if you have that attitude, there’s no reason that Phish couldn’t go on for quite some time.
ME: As long as you take it one day at a time, right?
ANASTASIO: It’s pretty much one day at a time. Am I talking like a sober guy now? [
laughs
] I could tell you right now that getting arrested in that car was the best thing that ever happened to me. I wrote a thank-you letter to that guy. Just to slow down and reassess and put everything back in its proper perspective.
ME: One of the best new songs, and it bears on the whole issue of survival and moving forward, is “Backwards Down the Number Line.” Tom Marshall told me about sending it to you as a birthday poem, and that became the point where you two resumed your collaboration.
ANASTASIO: Yeah. And it’s the first song on the new record. It
had
to be the first song on the record. I love that song. When I was in upstate New York, I wasn’t actually allowed to leave my apartment for fourteen months. The first year, I basically didn’t talk to anyone except my wife. Literally, no one. I just turned off the phone. I didn’t visit with anyone. I couldn’t, really, except for people I met in my tiny little world there. And it was such a necessary thing and a relief. It just had been such a whirlwind for twenty-three years.
I hadn’t talked to Tom or anybody, really. I’d not really seen the guys in the band—I mean, I called Page every once in a while just to say hi. And then on my birthday Tom sent me this e-mail,
which was “Backwards Down the Number Line,” the lyrics. I had a multitrack, an eight-track machine, in my apartment, and I recorded the demo in about ten minutes.
The guys from Phish eventually came up a couple of months later, and we had dinner together for the first time since Coventry. We had seen each other before. Mike and I had gone on tour. But we hadn’t been all together alone, and we went out to dinner, and it was such a great night.
I’m just thinking that song really summed up the way I feel about the guys in the band and stretching out to the people in our community and the Phish fans. I mean, it’s all in there, with those lines about, “You decide what it contains / How long it goes / But this remains / The only rule is it begins / Happy happy, oh my friend.” And, you know, “We pushed through hardships, tasted tears.” It’s really strange how it just emerged,
boom
! I couldn’t wait to play it and invite everybody else back into the party.
ME: It’s a real rebirth sort of song, and I have to say I almost got choked up when Phish played it for the first time.
ANASTASIO: I
was
choked up the first time we played it to the point I might have even missed a line or two. I still get choked up when I hear it.
ME: You’ve taken on new management, and the band appears to be deliberately traveling a lot lighter these days. Is that a fair statement?
ANASTASIO: Much lighter. It was a huge, enormously important change for us. That being said, can I say for the record that my dear friend John Paluska [who ran Dionysian Productions, Phish’s original management company] is not only the most wonderful person and brilliant manager ever, but I miss my daily five-hour talks with him. He’s just loaded with integrity and vision. This is a guy who used to walk around arenas and cover up ads. He was such an enormous part of what people loved about
Phish. The attention to detail and the focus on integrity—a lot of that was embodied in him, and I hope that we continue to carry forward that tradition.