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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. At Dick’s in 2013, Phish famously used the setlist to spell out the phrase: “Most Shows Spell Something.” It was a good goof at the time, but it also inspired thousands of fans to take the message literally and inspect the band’s song choices at any given show and, sometimes, craft a motif, theme, or narrative that might change a listener’s perspective and they would see and hear the show through a completely different lens than usual. 

Today’s guest, Jeffrey Rosenberg tells us that at least one show spelled something. Jeffrey chose to discuss August 9, 2024 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Where most of us would hear a standard-great Phish show that night, Jeffrey heard meditations on love, action, addiction, recovery, and more. At times, today’s conversation may sound like the podcast version of the Always Sunny in Philadelphia Pepe Silvia meme, but as you listen, I hope you can hang with Jeffrey and I, whether or not you think the theory holds water.

But in the end, that’s what Attendance Bias is for: every fan gets their own story, and every fan’s perspective is valid. As you’ll hear me say a few times during today’s episode, I’m grateful that Jeffrey came on the show to share his perspective, because he was able to talk about songs that I’ve heard literally hundreds of times and, with a few sentences, provide a new way for me to consider the lyrics. It's stuff like that, that makes this podcast such a joy. I hope you feel the same way after today’s episode.

So let’s join Jeffrey to talk about New York tornadoes, summer 2000, and The Mary Tyler Moore show as we discuss August 9, 2024 at Bethel Woods.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today, we have a returning guest: published author Rachael Wesley, who–as of today–has released her memoir, “Second Set Chances,” published by Vine Leaves Press. 

The last time Rachael was on Attendance Bias, about three years ago, she was working on the sixth draft of what would become Second Set Chances. At the time, she didn’t have much to say about the memoir, as it was still very much a work in progress. Instead, we focused on her favorite genre of writing–Creative Nonfiction–and we went deep into talking about the version of “Simple” from 8/29/14 at Dick’s.

But this time is a bit different. Rachael is back, and Second Set Chances is available at her website, RachaelWesley.com and at VineLeavesPress.com. You’ll hear how Rachael took these last three years to make her story become a fully published work. Just as importantly for THIS podcast, you’ll also hear us break down Down with Disease into Carini from December 29. 2013 at Madison Square Garden; an incredible sequence that capped off the best year of 3.0 to that point, and two jams that hold up 12 years later.

So let’s join Rachael to talk about Second Set chances, DNA strands, and the best flavors of La Croix as we discuss Down with Disease into Carini from Madison Square Garden on December 29, 2013. 

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Since their return to the stage in 2009, all the way to today, Phish has continually proven that they still have the goods–that they’ve avoided the trap of becoming a nostalgia act. They’ve proven it in a number of ways: reinventing themselves as different bands for Halloween, releasing several albums, changing their touring setup to allow for more multi-night runs, or the tried-and-true method of keeping fans interested: playing extremely long and exploratory jams that go down as some of the most perfect examples of extended improvisation in music history. 

Today’s guest, Andy Rapacz, picked one of those jams to discuss today: “Simple” from July 27, 2024 at Alpine Valley. Starting from the ashes of a typical Sigma Oasis that opened the 2nd set, this Simple is easily in the conversation for the title of the best version of the song ever played. Just as impressive as the music, the fact that it was played 40 years into the band’s career adds a certain psychological boost to the idea that it was played at all! 

Andy is a Wisconsin native, so he gives plenty of background context to Alpine Valley, what it was like to see such an impressive jam in his home venue, and the fact that he’s an exercise physiologist who deals with neurological dysfunction adds a whole new dimension to the discussion about how Phish’s sound makes you feel. So let’s join Andy to talk about Halloween 1994, how time is relative, and steep lawns as we discuss Simple from July 27, 1994 at Alpine Valley.

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Hi 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.

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Hi 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.

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Hi 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. 

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Hi 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.

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Hi 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.

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Get 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!

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Hi 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.