The Phish Companion
The Mockingbird Foundation
Whilst many bands attract devoted audiences who hang on their every note and utterance the top echelons of the 'jam band' phenomenon possess audiences who take this to another level altogether. There are actually several good reasons for this.
Firstly bands such as Phish, the Grateful Dead, moe. (the lower case m and full stop are deliberate), and the Disco Biscuits can be pretty much guaranteed to turn in a radically different set list every night and even where the same songs are played they will often be performed very differently.
Secondly such bands actually
encourage audience recordings of their shows on the proviso that
recordings are traded or distributed on a non profit basis. From
a fans point of view this means that pretty much every show they
can collect is going to be interesting and unusual and the search
for the best version of a particular tune, the best set, the best
segue or the rarest of tunes becomes an almost grail like quest.
I hope that this goes someway towards explaining the existence of
the Phish Companion and similar tomes such as the Pharmers
Almanac and Dead related Taping Companions. Contrast this to
standard music industry practice where a band will perform the
same set often with the same solos note for note (and in extreme
cases same between song banter) every night. I mean what could be
more boring!
Rambling again! Get on with it Weston
So what's in the Phish Companion? Well unless you are familiar
with this type of thing (i.e. the 'jam band' scene) you will
surprised to find that it contains:
- a setlist for almost every gig the band have ever played since
1984
- a short history of every song both original and cover that the
band have ever played
- a whole load of very interesting fan show reviews (probably the
best part)
- statistics covering how many times each song has been played
and other such interesting subjects
- lists of every time a song has been played and what the band
played before and after it
- in depth fan essays on what it all means (including one
entitled 'Dangerous Women In Phish's Music'!)
- in depth discussions of the bands most usual jam-vehicle songs
- interviews with the band's lyricist, tape archivist and early
collaborators (the second best part)
- a guide to building a collection of live recordings (at a rough
estimate I have about 100 hours - approximately 50 shows of non-officially
released material and that is a tiny collection compared to your
average Phish phan or Dead head).
- details of most if the venues that the band have and do
frequent in the USA
- an admittedly subjective guide to the best versions of such
sacred Phish gems as Reba, YEM, Stash and Mike's Song (extremely
useful in the grail search)
Is it a definitive biography of the band? No, if you are looking
for a biography of the band this isn't it (I would recommend 'The
Phish Book' produced in conjunction with the band for that
purpose and advise you to avoid the tabloid-esque 'Go Phish!').
If however you are seeking the definitive off-line (i.e. non
internet) guide to every gig and song that the band and it's
individual members have ever played then this definitely is it. I
would suggest that the two essential hardcopy purchases for the
wannabe Phish obsessive (Phanorak?) are this and the aforesaid 'Phish
Book'.
Is there anything missing? Well having said that this isn't a
biography I would have liked to see a detailed section on the
Gamehenge saga, this never recorded (in a studio anyway) or
released 'best progressive rock album you never heard in your
life' is to many Phans a crucial part of Phish mystique. Still,
if you are reading this you are only a couple of clicks away from
any number of in depth accounts of the saga and I guess you can't
have everything.
Is it as good as 'The Pharmers Almanac"? Definitely and it's
made better by the interviews, in depth reviews and phan essays.
Also it's for a good cause.
Should you buy the book? Well if you already have some or all of
the band's published musical output and are desperate for or even
just interested in what other delights could be available via the
internet or through trading then this is for you. Hopefully my
introductory paragraph will have helped to explain why. It's a
lot more convenient than logging onto the net every time you want
to check out a certain detail and of course you can take it
everywhere with you.
David
Weston January 2000
"This Book Benefits Charity"
"The Phish Companion was compiled by The Mockingbird
Foundation (www.phish.net/mockingbird/), a non profit group incorporated in
1997 to benefit charity through Phish fandom. All of the
Foundation's proceeds from this book support music education for
children."