Personal milestone for this show — while I wasn’t in attendance, this was my first Couch Tour experience. I tried and failed miserably watching their previous webcast (8/1/98 Alpine) on my parents’ dialup AOL connection, but had no issues watching this show live via my college’s ethernet. It was truly one of those rare “holy shit, we’ve reached the future” experiences.
I love the Halloween ‘98 Wolfman’s Brother. I might feel differently if I attended this show. I think it’s the spookiest thing, musically speaking, the band has ever performed on October 31st. It’s incredibly bold in retrospect that Phish, arguably at their pinnacle of their popularity and performing on a showcase date, would unleash 30 minutes of music that so quickly abandons the structure of Wolfman’s Brother and then dispenses with song structure altogether. And we’re certainly not talking a “conventional” type 2 jam which is often still a very busy and insistently rhythmic affair. The “Type 3” moniker never really stuck, but I think this is an archetypal example of this jam style in action. Woozy, unhurried, disconnected, uncomfortably devoid of identifiable tempo, key, or measure, a truly ambient walkabout with no map, no compass, and no destination in mind. Fear and loathing and smooth atonal sounds in Las Vegas.
As you note, and has been speculated online for years, it obviously doesn’t seem like all the band is on board with this abstraction on one of the brightest spotlight nights on the Phish calendar. Trey’s end of set walk-off is unprecedented as far as I know, and a tell that something is not quite in alignment here. Vegas party favors playing tricks? Impatient band mates not enthused about recreating the candlelight Lemonwheel ambient set in front of a jacked-up Sin City crowd? I guess the source of this awkward tension will have to stay in Vegas. As usual Rob, a well-researched and deep recap of a momentous show.
Long time listener - first time caller. I love this project - thank you, Rob for keeping on keeping on. Its interesting on the audience recording that when Loaded begins there is not a burst of cheers or an eruption of energy. Its almost like the audience has no idea what they are listening to, and that lack of energy reflects on the sounds coming from the stage. On 11/02, one can hear the pop of recognition and pure delight from the first notes of Dark Side, and thats a far smaller crowd in comparison to Vegas. I was surprised when listening, but it reinforces this dynamic of a sort of culture clash with what the core of ‘98 Phish headedness was at the time, and what the band was feeding into their monocultural fans’ heads (even though a phan might consider themselves to have a “diverse” and “wide-ranging pallet”). I remember being at Star Lake ‘99 and not knowing the Pavement cover and recognizing that most of the audience did not either. Phans’ listening tastes could be stubborn at a time when the diverse soundscapes of the late 90s were blooming. The 3rd set in vegas rips, and probably showcases the best playing of the Vegas run and beginning of the Fall ‘98 tour.
Thanks, Mark! What I'll say about the '99 Pavement cover (and will likely write at length about next summer) is that the immediate response of the fans in attendance was curiosity. Since I was loudly freaking out about it, I had a bunch of people in my section ask me what it was, and it was all people were talking about during setbreak. After that, Pavement was a "sanctioned" band and you'd hear them in lots and such. Now, if Pavement had covered "Tweezer" in 1999, I don't think their fans would have responded so positively.
Yes! I agree - a funny double standard. Similar to the Roses are Free dynamic you wrote about during ‘97. I don’t think anyone at Star Lake ‘99 was mad or opposed to them playing a Pavement song, it just was most of the audience was ignorant at the time because of their natural musical biases, that now in hindsight, point to how everyone consumed music and musical information. Everyone definitely wanted to know what they were playing and were quick to learn more about what the band was pointing them towards. I think the same goes for VU’s Loaded and the audience’s real time reaction to it. Its not like anyone could perform a quick internet search on their smart phone during the concert to figure out what was going on if they weren’t in the know. I think its interesting considering we all did not have access to that much fluid and accessible music at the time - you really had to know what you were looking for or take a chance on sounds that might only be described in a musical reference book of some sort (this is how I navigated alot of musical discoveries during that time) to know what the new sound you were listening to was. All this to say that yes, If Pavement played Tweezer, they might lose some of their fans. There were definitely more stratified notions of musical taste as well as understanding of what we now understand as the “intersectionality of it all”. Perhaps this was a dilemma Trey was having with the rest of his bandmates at the time, or perhaps a frustration the band would have with their audience at this time - and maybe thats why the sounds in the jams we were hearing could sometimes be jarring or hard to comprehend. I think this is kind of what you are putting forward with this particular essay and it brings up a lot of interesting interpretations of that particular moment in time both in the bands orbit and culture at large.
Great post — the take on Loaded is spot on and is really satisfying to read that framing. FWIW, I remember an intense debate between me and three other friends (non-phans) around the merits of Loaded in 2008...So while Phish settled it for me, I actually think it wasn't totally settled until a bit later for the masses.
I also would argue Phish did begin to learn something from covering Loaded, which I think your post supports: learning to be completely themselves.
Isn't the lore that Trey asked to be puddled by a fan backstage between the second and third sets and freaked out a bit onstage? I've read first hand accounts on various forums (I know, I know) but they've always maybe kinda had a ring of truth to me.
“… my right-place, right-time moment was being one of like a dozen people who recognized the Pavement cover at Star Lake in 1999.”
Ha! There’s a non-zero chance that we shared a knowing nod and fist-pump on the lawn.
As you said, there was little crossover between the jam/indie worlds in 1999. Ten years later, I’d thought that had changed considerably, but when they debuted Golden Age at 11/27/09 Albany, I felt like I was the only person in the arena who knew it.
This may be the best read here yet. The perspective provided is deep.
I was one of those that was there and knew nothing of the album. With all the hypotheticals leading in, I was admittedly even disappointed. But then they played it and it all feels oddly familiar yet new at rhe same time. I absolutely loved it!
It was just one of the countless examples of Phish expanding my musical interests.
“New Age” is by far my favorite Type 1 jam ever: A confoundingly simplistic yet electrifying repetition of chords hauling ass up the mountain and then sliding back down again...Pump-fistingly triumphant which never fails to goose the bumps to their apex
You've written about the idea of Phish transforming into an all-improvisational band such as The Necks before. The jam on the Halloween ‘98 Wolfman’s Brother sounds like an amazing set by The Necks.
Personal milestone for this show — while I wasn’t in attendance, this was my first Couch Tour experience. I tried and failed miserably watching their previous webcast (8/1/98 Alpine) on my parents’ dialup AOL connection, but had no issues watching this show live via my college’s ethernet. It was truly one of those rare “holy shit, we’ve reached the future” experiences.
I’m amazed they were doing that back then, had no idea
I love the Halloween ‘98 Wolfman’s Brother. I might feel differently if I attended this show. I think it’s the spookiest thing, musically speaking, the band has ever performed on October 31st. It’s incredibly bold in retrospect that Phish, arguably at their pinnacle of their popularity and performing on a showcase date, would unleash 30 minutes of music that so quickly abandons the structure of Wolfman’s Brother and then dispenses with song structure altogether. And we’re certainly not talking a “conventional” type 2 jam which is often still a very busy and insistently rhythmic affair. The “Type 3” moniker never really stuck, but I think this is an archetypal example of this jam style in action. Woozy, unhurried, disconnected, uncomfortably devoid of identifiable tempo, key, or measure, a truly ambient walkabout with no map, no compass, and no destination in mind. Fear and loathing and smooth atonal sounds in Las Vegas.
As you note, and has been speculated online for years, it obviously doesn’t seem like all the band is on board with this abstraction on one of the brightest spotlight nights on the Phish calendar. Trey’s end of set walk-off is unprecedented as far as I know, and a tell that something is not quite in alignment here. Vegas party favors playing tricks? Impatient band mates not enthused about recreating the candlelight Lemonwheel ambient set in front of a jacked-up Sin City crowd? I guess the source of this awkward tension will have to stay in Vegas. As usual Rob, a well-researched and deep recap of a momentous show.
I feel like the full answer to set III comes is explained via acoustic songs + Harpua on 11/2.
Long time listener - first time caller. I love this project - thank you, Rob for keeping on keeping on. Its interesting on the audience recording that when Loaded begins there is not a burst of cheers or an eruption of energy. Its almost like the audience has no idea what they are listening to, and that lack of energy reflects on the sounds coming from the stage. On 11/02, one can hear the pop of recognition and pure delight from the first notes of Dark Side, and thats a far smaller crowd in comparison to Vegas. I was surprised when listening, but it reinforces this dynamic of a sort of culture clash with what the core of ‘98 Phish headedness was at the time, and what the band was feeding into their monocultural fans’ heads (even though a phan might consider themselves to have a “diverse” and “wide-ranging pallet”). I remember being at Star Lake ‘99 and not knowing the Pavement cover and recognizing that most of the audience did not either. Phans’ listening tastes could be stubborn at a time when the diverse soundscapes of the late 90s were blooming. The 3rd set in vegas rips, and probably showcases the best playing of the Vegas run and beginning of the Fall ‘98 tour.
Thanks, Mark! What I'll say about the '99 Pavement cover (and will likely write at length about next summer) is that the immediate response of the fans in attendance was curiosity. Since I was loudly freaking out about it, I had a bunch of people in my section ask me what it was, and it was all people were talking about during setbreak. After that, Pavement was a "sanctioned" band and you'd hear them in lots and such. Now, if Pavement had covered "Tweezer" in 1999, I don't think their fans would have responded so positively.
Yes! I agree - a funny double standard. Similar to the Roses are Free dynamic you wrote about during ‘97. I don’t think anyone at Star Lake ‘99 was mad or opposed to them playing a Pavement song, it just was most of the audience was ignorant at the time because of their natural musical biases, that now in hindsight, point to how everyone consumed music and musical information. Everyone definitely wanted to know what they were playing and were quick to learn more about what the band was pointing them towards. I think the same goes for VU’s Loaded and the audience’s real time reaction to it. Its not like anyone could perform a quick internet search on their smart phone during the concert to figure out what was going on if they weren’t in the know. I think its interesting considering we all did not have access to that much fluid and accessible music at the time - you really had to know what you were looking for or take a chance on sounds that might only be described in a musical reference book of some sort (this is how I navigated alot of musical discoveries during that time) to know what the new sound you were listening to was. All this to say that yes, If Pavement played Tweezer, they might lose some of their fans. There were definitely more stratified notions of musical taste as well as understanding of what we now understand as the “intersectionality of it all”. Perhaps this was a dilemma Trey was having with the rest of his bandmates at the time, or perhaps a frustration the band would have with their audience at this time - and maybe thats why the sounds in the jams we were hearing could sometimes be jarring or hard to comprehend. I think this is kind of what you are putting forward with this particular essay and it brings up a lot of interesting interpretations of that particular moment in time both in the bands orbit and culture at large.
Great post — the take on Loaded is spot on and is really satisfying to read that framing. FWIW, I remember an intense debate between me and three other friends (non-phans) around the merits of Loaded in 2008...So while Phish settled it for me, I actually think it wasn't totally settled until a bit later for the masses.
I also would argue Phish did begin to learn something from covering Loaded, which I think your post supports: learning to be completely themselves.
Isn't the lore that Trey asked to be puddled by a fan backstage between the second and third sets and freaked out a bit onstage? I've read first hand accounts on various forums (I know, I know) but they've always maybe kinda had a ring of truth to me.
“… my right-place, right-time moment was being one of like a dozen people who recognized the Pavement cover at Star Lake in 1999.”
Ha! There’s a non-zero chance that we shared a knowing nod and fist-pump on the lawn.
As you said, there was little crossover between the jam/indie worlds in 1999. Ten years later, I’d thought that had changed considerably, but when they debuted Golden Age at 11/27/09 Albany, I felt like I was the only person in the arena who knew it.
I was in the pavilion, but I'm sure we could hear each other's joyful cries lol.
This may be the best read here yet. The perspective provided is deep.
I was one of those that was there and knew nothing of the album. With all the hypotheticals leading in, I was admittedly even disappointed. But then they played it and it all feels oddly familiar yet new at rhe same time. I absolutely loved it!
It was just one of the countless examples of Phish expanding my musical interests.
They still don’t include Pavement though. 😂
“New Age” is by far my favorite Type 1 jam ever: A confoundingly simplistic yet electrifying repetition of chords hauling ass up the mountain and then sliding back down again...Pump-fistingly triumphant which never fails to goose the bumps to their apex
You've written about the idea of Phish transforming into an all-improvisational band such as The Necks before. The jam on the Halloween ‘98 Wolfman’s Brother sounds like an amazing set by The Necks.