Attendance Bias

Send a textHi everybody, and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. You know, prom night is full of cliches: carnations, gowns, tuxedos, slow dances, limousines, and so on. Now, take all those tropes and add an unexpected twist: your afterparty is taking your limo with a bunch of friends into Manhattan to see Phish play two sets at the hottest live music club in the city. And THAT is the story of today’s guest, Josh Gertz, who is here to tell us about his prom afterparty: Phish’s show on June 9, 1990 at the Wetlands Preserve. My prom afterparty was to go to the Limelight Nightclub and then to Wildwood, New Jersey for the weekend. I’d trade that for Josh’s experience in a heartbeat.Phish was in a transitional period in 1990; they were still composing their multi-part nerd-rock opuses, but were also poking out of the comfort of the northeast, slowly growing their audience while they infused their strange band personality with musical virtuosity. It’s arguably for the better that Josh didn’t know what he was getting himself into, because even 35 years ago, the band was figuratively and literally pushing their boundaries.This incredible music all played out against the backdrop of the Wetlands Preserve. Talking about lower Manhattan is a constant refrain in today’s conversation; Josh is originally from Northern New Jersey, and I’m originally from Long Island, so two households, both alike in dignity, going to the city to see live jamband music bore some common talking points. And that was just the beginning of our conversation.So bring your change of clothes, cool off if you need to, and give Trey a high five as Josh Gertz tells us about Phish at the Wetlands on June 9, 1990.Support the show

Send a textHi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is kickass bassist, singer, songwriter, bandleader, musical omnivore and big-time Phishhead, Karina Rykman.If you’ve been paying attention to the jamband and jamband-adjacent scene for any time over the past 5 years or so, or maybe a bit longer than that, I imagine that you’ve heard of, seen the same of, or been lucky enough to hear Karina Rykman. She performs live with her guitarist and effects-man Adam November and drummer Chris Corsico as a psychedelic bass-led power trio that will blow you away. For those of you who are on a strict Phish diet and may not be familiar with Karina, you should be aware that she has played bass onstage with Mike Gordon in several different configurations and, as of this episode, is preparing to open for him in New Orleans during Jazz Fest. In addition, she has roots with Trey Anastasio and his family going all the way back to her middle school days, and Trey co-produced her debut album, Joyride.Karina and I cover a lot of topics in today’s conversation, including our experiences in New York City, her influences in terms of music and life, what it was like to record her album, and her upcoming gig at Webster Hall in New York City on Saturday, May 10. But fear not: there are Phish references and chatter about the band sprinkled throughout our conversation.Also, it wouldn’t be an Attendance Bias episode if the guest didn’t pick out a special Phish experience, and Karina chose a doozie: October 30, 2010 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City where Phish truly blew everyone’s minds with a Tweezerfest that weaved bits and pieces of Led Zeppelin songs throughout.But there’s so much more to it than that. Let’s join Karina to talk about songwriting craft, rocks off boat cruises, and the best place in Manhattan for smoked salmon as we discuss October 30, 2010 in Atlantic City, and much more.Support the show

Send a textHi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. I do my best to be modest about this podcast, but I have to say: today’s episode has pretty much everything that makes this show a joy to listen to and produce: an enthusiastic guest who came with plenty to say about herself and the show she chose, a Phish show that provided plenty of rabbit holes to go down, comparisons between Phish’s past and present, and of course, a high-profile guest star that caused a bit of controversy in the Phish community after the show. Today’s wonderful guest is Patty Gambill, and the show she chose to discuss is from August 6, 2024 at Van Andel Arena, in Grand Rapids Michigan.This show, and the next night were Phish’s first shows at the minor league hockey arena since 1998, and an indoor show during summer tour as well. There were plenty of signs to predict that these would be special shows, but the summer of 2024 seemed to shake something loose in both the band and the fanbase, so it’s hard to call any specific show special, when almost every show was special. We try to get to the heart of it but I think that this will be an ongoing conversation for a long while.But enough from me. Let’s join Patty to talk about special guests, bluegrass, and more as we August 6, 2024 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. Support the show

Send a textHi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Ian from Montana, who is here to tell about his experience seeing Phish on July 24, 2015 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA where he went from being a casual 3.0 Phish fan to a Phish family man. The show marked a turning point for him and what a Phish concert experience could be like.2015 was a transformative year for Phish. Not only did Trey kick off the year with the legendary Fare Thee Well Grateful Dead celebration, but the summer tour began with nearly a full album’s worth of new material, but each member of the band came ready to play with an array of new effects and sounds that seemed to gel right from the get-go at the tour opener in Oregon. Today’s show was the next stop on the tour, and the band capitalized on their auspicious opening just a few days before.While the show was a mixed bag in terms of jamming, Ian was there with his whole family–his wife and his two young children. As we discuss, taking kids to a Phish show can be a contentious topic in our small community, but he pulled it off with aplomb, and this was the show they were all meant to see. So let’s join Ian to talk about west coast crowds, Round Room, and Bill Graham as we discuss July 24, 2015 at Shoreline Amphitheater in California.Support the show

Send a textHi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. By now, everyone recognizes just how special last summer’s Mondegreen festival was, inclusive of the music and the overall experience. Today’s guest, Seamus Gallivan had a premonition of how special the festival would be to him, and emailed me several weeks ahead of time and asked me if he could kind of reserve the festival, to come on the podcast and talk about it after it was played.No one has ever asked to reserve a show before, so I wasn’t sure how to respond. I told Seamus to hold off and see how the festival went, what his experience was, and what there would be to talk about. But in the end, Seamus was right. There was plenty to discuss. While I did release a full-festival recap soon after the festival was over, Seamus got back in touch and asked if he could tell his story about night three of Mondegreen: August 17, 2024. Certainly to both of us, it was the musical highlight of the weekend.And you can hear it in our voices during today’s conversation. Seamus came prepared with tons of notes and observations, many of which mirrored mine, demonstrating that we were on the same page. You can even hear our voices rise and we start to speak faster and faster as we approach some of the night’s musical highlights. And, believe me, there’s no shortage of highlights. Let’s join Seamus to talk about Trey’s kooky guitar tones, the San Francisco Bay Area, and much more as we discuss night 3 of the Monegreen Festival from August 17, 2024 The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware.Support the show

Send a textGet ready for Wednesday's full episode about 8/17/24 in Dover, DE with Seamus Gallivan! In the meantime, Attendance Bias listeners called in to share some of their favorite memories, and odd musings, from this past summer's Mondegreen Festival! Kill a few minutes in anticipation of Wednesday's full episode. Enjoy!Support the show

Send a textHi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. If you’re a regular listener of the podcast, you know the typical format. But I love it when a guest has an idea and we have to think a little out of the box so that the guest can tell his or her story while still keeping the familiar segments of the show. Today, Ryan Miners helped make that happen. Rather than choosing one specific show or jam, Ryan wanted to talk about two sequences that both involve the insane instrumental, “Buried Alive:” The first one is Buried Alive into Poor Heart from November 9, 1996 at the Palace at Auburn Hills, and the second one is Buried Alive into AC/DC Bag from August 11, 2024 at Bethel Woods. Two Buried Alive segues, roughly 28 years apart. But even though we didn’t cover an entire show, there was no shortage of content for Ryan and and I to cover. Between the 28-year gap of these two segues, we touched on a tremendous amount of information, not hesitating to go off on tangents where, at one point, Ryan flips the script and puts me on the hot seat!!There’s something about a good Phish segue that brings out the best in the audience, and Ryan was able to explain exactly what made these two so special. But I don’t want to spoil it. Let’s join Ryan to talk about the Wetlands Preserve, the history of Deer Creek, and what it means to hear the line “Thank you Mr. Miner,” as we discuss segues from Buried Alive from 1996 and 2024.  Support the show

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Send a textHi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. While we’ve spent a good amount of time on Attendance Bias discussing the fall 1995 tour, there was a short southeast swing after the Quadrophenia Halloween show that we’ve never touched on, and that I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to. After Halloween in Chicago, the band took an 8-day break and then played three nights in Atlanta before 4 consecutive nights traveling and playing shows in the state of Florida. Today’s guest, Matthew Wheelwright is here to tell about one of those shows: November 14, 1995 at the University of Central Florida Arena in Orlando.Matthew is an ideal guest to tell us about this outstanding show from fall 95: he’s seen a ton of shows since 1990, he is a knowledgeable fan who can tell about the show both in real time and in context of Phish history, and is just as excited to talk about the show today in 2024 as he was 19 years ago. Not only does the audience recording from this show sound pristine, but there’s plenty to highlight: a psychedelic version of “Free,” a fully acoustic “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome,” and the best known part of this show: an insane sequence the kicks off with “Stash” and goes in and out of several segments before closing with “You Enjoy Myself.” But all that just scratches the surface. Let’s join Matthew to talk about dynamics, clean cut college kids, and why you should thank a taper today, as we discuss Phish’s show from November 14, 1995 at The UCF Arena in Orlando.Support the show

Send a textHi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest, Cris Coey, chose to speak about Phish’s show at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky from November 7, 1996. It’s a show that is famous in Phish history for mostly one reason–the long, multi-faceted version of Bathtub Gin that is jammed out in the middle of the 2nd set. The has been released twice on soundboard by LivePhish, and for good reason: widely known as the “Rupp Gin,” the jam perfectly encapsulates everything that was great about Phish in 1996. There are innumerable great Phish jams, but this is a rare one that gets a specific name based on its location. Yeah, one of those jams.However, this episode is not just about that Bathtub Gin. As Cris and I discuss, Phish had a lot to offer in 1996 as they embraced their newfound dominance in arenas and large-scale venues, coast to coast. They were done with theaters and the occasional arena. With Billy Breathes demonstrating their maturing songwriting skills and expertise in the studio, as well as having conquered the abstract rock madness of 1995, Phish had one foot in the past and one in the future, when they had yet to destroy America. Although the Bathtub Gin is the centerpiece of the show, there’s much more to it.As we talked, it became obvious that Cris is a fan’s fan. He’s obviously attended a lot of great Phish shows in his time, and we had a lot in common, but also some disagreements in our opinions. It was really a pleasure to hear some new points of view when I took my opinions for granted. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.Let’s join Cris to chat about Frankenstein, the YEM vocal jam, and whether or not northeast Ohio is Phish country as we break down November 7, 1996 at The Rupp Arena in Lexington.Support the show