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Hi 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.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. We’ve discussed several shows from the legendary Baker’s Dozen on Attendance Bias, but this is the first episode where we talk about the Baker’s Dozen’s little brother: a show from Phish’s 7-show run in the summer of 2023. Today’s guest is Lucas Jordan who came on the podcast to talk about his experience at Madison Square Garden on August 1, 2023-the fourth show of that seven show residency.

Now, it’s a bit unfair to mention this show in the same breath as the Baker’s Dozen, especially since Lucas wasn’t a big Phish fan back in 2017. In the beginning of our conversation, it was hard to shake the comparisons. But as we went on, it’s clear that the 2023 residency could stand on its own. This wasn’t Lucas’ first Phish show, but it was the one where he truly became absorbed in the impact the live scene can have on a fan, penetrating his sense of what is possible at a live concert. 

But that’s Lucas’ story to tell. Let’s join him to talk about Chicago venue, the rarity of Timber Ho, who’s got the best voice in the band, and more as we discuss August 1, 2023 at Madison Square Garden.

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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 Katie, but she is probably better known as The Phunky Witch around the Phish Twitter community. For today’s episode, Katie chose a stunning, psychedelic segment from Phish’s visit to the Sphere in Las Vegas: “Theme from the Bottom into Split Open and Melt” from April 19, 2024. 

Even though the band’s 4-show stand at The Sphere happened fairly recently, I just knew it was a matter of time before a guest chose to talk about the music from that run. From any perspective, The enormity of The Sphere seems to be the perfect venue to discuss attendance bias. Is it possible to convey the experience of being at The Sphere in words? Or does one have to be in attendance to understand what it’s like? Luckily, Katie chose a segment of the show where we can hear the musical magic and she does a great job explaining why it was special to be there.

So let’s join Katie to talk about red eye flights, the Nassau Coliseum, and black eyes as we discuss “Theme from the Bottom into Split Open and Melt” from April 19, 2024 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today, we welcome back guest Adam Jerugim. Adam previously told about seeing “Harry Hood” on April 18, 1992 at Stanford University, and after today, he seems to be the Attendance Bias resident expert on west coast Phish in the 90s. 

In today’s episode, Adam and I expand our conversation to a full show, and that full show is Phish at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on May 27, 1994. This was the third of three shows at the Warfield, and it came toward the last week of the 1994 spring tour. 

On Attendance Bias, we often talk about transitional years and signposts to major musical changes in the Phish evolution but when it comes to late spring and summer of 1994, it’s okay to just sit back and show to love to a band at a major peak. This show, while maybe not a tentpole of a peak year, still has superlative versions of David Bowie, Harry Hood, Reba, plus some trademark Phish goofiness and oddity appearances. But we get into all that in a moment.

One theme I loved talking about with Adam was Phish’s growing popularity on the west coast at this time. While the band would make their debut at Madison Square Garden late in the year and celebrate New Year’s Eve at Boston Garden, they were still reasonably in the middle of the pack when it came to the west coast. Selling out three nights at The Warfield seemed to send a signal that things were about to change, big time. Today’s show, as classic as it is, still frames the band at a time when they were about to blow up big time up and down the Pacific coast. There’s a lot going on.   

So let’s join Adam to talk about the Bay Bridge, opera singers, and whether shushing is better than wooing as we discuss May 27, 1994 at The Warfield Theater.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. If you pay attention to the Phish podcast world, or the Goose podcast world, then you’re certainly familiar with today’s guest: Ryan Storm. Ryan is the host of the Almost Always There podcast as well as We Move Through Stormy Weather on Osiris Media, and you’ll find his reviews, commentary and general thoughts about the jamband scene at all of his outlets, which you can find in today’s show notes.

Ryan previously appeared on Attendance Bias in the summer of 2023 for a Madison Square Garden recap, and we were trying to arrange a traditional Attendance Bias appearance since even before that! Today is that day! Ryan chose to tell his story about the Phish show from October 22, 2021 at the Ak-Chin (though I knew it as Desert Sky) Pavilion in Phoenix, AZ.  While the summer 2021 tour was a mixed bag in terms of Phish and the Phish community  coming back from  quarantine and getting back on its feet, the fall tour was full of musical highlights and the true beginning of the 4.0 era.

Plus, this was likely the last traditional Phish tour; the band would announce several dates all over the west coast, with several being one-night stands. It’s likely that this tour will be the last time that you could go city to city and see just two shows. Along with the slew of new songs and keyboard and guitar effects, this was the end of one era and the beginning of another. 

So let’s join Ryan to talk about family, tension, and much more as we discuss October 22, 2021 in Phoenix Arizona.

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As we prepare for Ryan Storm's episode about 10/22/21 at The Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix, we also are preparing for our next episode with Adam Jerugim: 5/27/94 at The Warfield in San Francisco.

Have memories from spring 1994? Call 516-366-5732 and leave a message of your thoughts, opinions, and memories from spring 1994!

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Hi everyone! Do you have memories, thoughts, ideas, or criticisms about 10/22/21 at Desert Sky Pavilion? Want to share them? Call 516-366-5732 and leave a message as we get ready for the next Attendance Bias episode with Ryan Storm of Osiris Media! I can't wait to hear from you!