Phish Go Swimming Again
After 676 days and roughly nine hours on self-imposed hiatus, Phish
have announced their return. The band will take the stage for a
three-set New Year’s Eve gig at New York City’s Madison Square
Garden, and will follow with a three-night run at Hampton Coliseum
in Hampton, Virginia, January 2nd-4th.
Further dates have yet to be announced, but the band is planning
a tour next year and a new record in late 2003 as well. The four
band members — guitarist Trey Anastasio, drummer Jon Fishman,
keyboardist Page McConnell and bassist Mike Gordon — announced
their break on October 7, 2000, following a performance in San
Francisco, citing their relentless work schedule over the span of
seventeen years as the reason.
To help fans make it until the reunion, the band will release
the third installment of the Live Phish series on October
29th. This time, a theme is involved: Over the course of their
history, Phish has been known to don a “musical costume” for
Halloween gigs, covering a classic record in its entirety. The four
releases will be their takes on the Beatles’ “White Album” (from
1994), the Who’s Quadrophenia (1995), the Talking Heads’
Remain in Light (1996) and the Velvet Undergound’s
Loaded (1998). The band will also release Phish: Live
in Las Vegas, the band’s first full-length DVD taken from a
2000 show, on November 12th.
Despite the break, Phish’s individual members have not
disappeared from public view. Anastasio recorded and toured with
Oysterhead (with Primus bassist Les Claypool and Police drummer
Stewart Copeland) last year, released an eponymous solo record
earlier this year and toured regularly with his own ten-piece
band.
McConnell has become a band leader in his own right, fronting
Vida Blue, a trio featuring drummer Russell Batiste and bassist
Oteil Burbridge. The band released a self-titled record on Elektra
and just recently finished a cross-country tour.
Bassist Mike Gordon has focused on both the visual and musical
mediums. He released Outside Out, his first feature film,
and Rising Low a documentary about the making of Gov’t
Mule’s two The Deep End albums, which feature numerous
prominent bass players — including Phil Lesh, John Entwistle,
Bootsy Collins and Les Claypool — honoring late Mule bassist Allen
Woody. Gordon is also working on a record with guitarist Leo
Kottke.
Fishman has been busy playing with the Jazz Mandolin Project and
his own band, Pork Tornado. The latter will release their
self-titled debut on October 1st on Rykodisc. The band also hits
the road for a lengthy six-week tour in October.