Thanks for this. "Indiejam" is my (non-phish) jam. That is my favorite side of the indie scene. It scratches all the right spots for me. My God, a Phish played Type Slowly could have been aural feast. To this day, I still find myself hoping Phish will take What's the Use into full on 30-minute Diamond Sea territory.
I actually don't have a recollection of this MLT so now I've got to go explore that.
I had a very similar experience in Albany 09 when the debuted golden age. Just a complete freak out that had multiple people come and ask me what’s going on.
That freak out would be nothing compared to witnessing a yo la tengo cover though.
Curious who the former indie-rocker turned indie jam person is? Also just more generally curious what folks think of when referring to indiejam? I haven’t followed the discourse on this so generally interested. Is it more of an acknowledgment of the jam tendencies of YLT and Tortoise or more of an intentional shift that bands are making?
I'm keeping it like a secret, because I think he might be a subscriber.
Indiejam in my eyes was a brief period early-to-mid 2010s when it felt like more indie rock bands were either acknowledging an appreciation of jambands (the Day of the Dead comp is the signature moment here) or starting to get a little jammier in their live performances. Woods, Ryley Walker, Chris Forsyth, MV & EE, Garcia Peoples, bands of that nature. It seems to be less novel now -- Vampire Weekend playing Chalk Dust with Mike barely raised an eyebrow. But I still don't think anybody fully got there from the indie side, with the exception of legacy bands (Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth) who were already indiejam before it was "a thing."
I remember in high school (early aughts) — Pitchfork was blowing up and phish very much considered lame among that crowd. And Siket Disc would always be my pick to show to indie kids who liked to smoke pot. So your analysis here of the Siket Disc being their most indie record very much rings true.
Today, since it's a Spotify link away, we reach for a single track or jam to hook people — but back then when you had to share an entire CD, Siket Disc was my go to.
I don't I had the same fondness for the material as you do, since I didn't start seeing Phish till '03 and so Siket Disc material in the rotation doesn't exactly bring back memories (aside from trying to win over indie kids). And I think there's something ultimately incomplete and pretentious about the album. But it's been cool to see you revisit it on this tour and I do think it has a lot more merit and was a much bigger breakthrough for the band than I originally realized.
Rob-
Thanks for this. "Indiejam" is my (non-phish) jam. That is my favorite side of the indie scene. It scratches all the right spots for me. My God, a Phish played Type Slowly could have been aural feast. To this day, I still find myself hoping Phish will take What's the Use into full on 30-minute Diamond Sea territory.
I actually don't have a recollection of this MLT so now I've got to go explore that.
Looking forward to the 7/23 essay!
I had a very similar experience in Albany 09 when the debuted golden age. Just a complete freak out that had multiple people come and ask me what’s going on.
That freak out would be nothing compared to witnessing a yo la tengo cover though.
Simple > My Left Toe SBD was released on So Inclined Bonus CD.
Curious who the former indie-rocker turned indie jam person is? Also just more generally curious what folks think of when referring to indiejam? I haven’t followed the discourse on this so generally interested. Is it more of an acknowledgment of the jam tendencies of YLT and Tortoise or more of an intentional shift that bands are making?
I'm keeping it like a secret, because I think he might be a subscriber.
Indiejam in my eyes was a brief period early-to-mid 2010s when it felt like more indie rock bands were either acknowledging an appreciation of jambands (the Day of the Dead comp is the signature moment here) or starting to get a little jammier in their live performances. Woods, Ryley Walker, Chris Forsyth, MV & EE, Garcia Peoples, bands of that nature. It seems to be less novel now -- Vampire Weekend playing Chalk Dust with Mike barely raised an eyebrow. But I still don't think anybody fully got there from the indie side, with the exception of legacy bands (Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth) who were already indiejam before it was "a thing."
I remember in high school (early aughts) — Pitchfork was blowing up and phish very much considered lame among that crowd. And Siket Disc would always be my pick to show to indie kids who liked to smoke pot. So your analysis here of the Siket Disc being their most indie record very much rings true.
Today, since it's a Spotify link away, we reach for a single track or jam to hook people — but back then when you had to share an entire CD, Siket Disc was my go to.
I don't I had the same fondness for the material as you do, since I didn't start seeing Phish till '03 and so Siket Disc material in the rotation doesn't exactly bring back memories (aside from trying to win over indie kids). And I think there's something ultimately incomplete and pretentious about the album. But it's been cool to see you revisit it on this tour and I do think it has a lot more merit and was a much bigger breakthrough for the band than I originally realized.
Was waiting for this one! Hell yeah
Pirate House? Lunchbox? Inquiring minds want to know
The Lunchbox! We moved in that fall and threw our first show (Ted Leo!) the next spring.