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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started today, I want to remind you that you can support Attendance Bias in several ways: you can visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can afford to keep the podcast going, you can leave a rating and a review of the show wherever you get your podcasts, and you can follow attendance bias on social media. Now, on with today’s show:

I received a message on Instagram a few weeks ago from today’s guest, Patrick Quinn. It was a thoughtful and complimentary fan message, telling me how he enjoys Attendance Bias and how our histories as Phish fans seemed to intersect in a number of ways. I love receiving fan mail, and so I clicked on this person’s profile to see who he was, beyond his profile picture.

What I found was an artist who works in one of the most interesting mediums: Pat is a metal forger who helps run and teach newcomers how to forge and shape metal. I was immediately intrigued–when I think of forging metal and blacksmiths, I picture what is probably the most generic image: a medieval peasant, covered in cloaks with soot all over his face, hammering at a piece of metal over an anvil, with sparks flying everywhere. While some things never change, Pat’s organization: The Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown, Pennsylvania is bringing something old to the new millennium. He and his colleagues host workshops where people come to learn ancient arts that result in beautiful, heirloom-quality tools. It has to be seen to believed, and there is a link to the CMA in today’s show notes.

Then, of course, there is Pat’s selection for today’s episode. Pat chose to talk about Phish’s performance of “Most Events Aren’t Planned,” which closed set 1 of July 24, 2024 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Vida Blue original is typical for a Page McConnell song–it’s mid-tempo, contains thoughtful lyrics about change and loss, and has a few time changes that whip both the band and the crowd into a frenzy. This version at Mohegan Sun is a stellar performance.

So I didn’t know what to expect diving into today’s conversation, and finished it excited and satisfied. Let’s join Pat to talk about Hartford, metal work, and sandwich cookies, as we revisit “Most Events Aren’t Planned” from 7/24/24 at Mohegan Sun. 

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started, I want to remind you  that you can support Attendance Bias by going to www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donating  anything you can manage–we are reaching the end of the calendar year and I would love it if we could meet our goal to cover expenses before 2026 rolls around. You can also leave a rating or a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, onto today’s episode:

If you’ve been listening to Attendance Bias for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me mention the date of my first Phish show: December 29, 1997. There’s been plenty of discussion of the 1997 New Year’s run on here, but with one notable exception: the ‘97 New Year’s run was made up of four shows: 1 show at the Capitol Center in Landover, MD on 12/28, and then the best-known shows–12/29-31 at MSG. For years, I’ve wondered about what went on at that one-off show in Maryland. So you can imagine my excitement when today’s guest, Dan Wagener, reached out to ask if he could come on Attendance Bias to talk about one of the best jams from that underrated night: “Runaway Jim” from 12/28/97.

Was the first night of the 1997 New Year’s run a warm-up show? An underrated gem? A throwaway remnant before the big time shows at MSG? Find out today as we join Dan to talk about the Capitols, mimes, and ghosts in the machine as we break down “Runaway Jim” from December 28, 1997 at USAir Arena in Landover, MD.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Certain Phish shows can be seen as flashpoints for the band’s career–Amy’s Farm in 1991, New Year’s ‘95 at MSG, Big Cypress for sure, the Wingsuit set...many of them have been covered on this podcast. Much more rare is a three or four-night run that can be pointed to as a turning point. And I don’t know if there’s a better-known four-show run that is universally praised and seen as a high-water mark as 1998’s Island Tour. Even at the time, we knew that we were seeing and hearing something special, but its place in Phish history only became clear as the years went by.

However, at the time, not everybody had the best time at the Nassau Coliseum and the Providence Civic Center. Today’s guest, artist Patrick Smith, tells of an unsettling experience during the first set of the first show of the Island Tour–April 2, 1998. Still new to Phish and making some rookie mistakes in 1998, not everything went according to plan for Patrick and his friend, but I’ll let him tell the story, including why we are only covering the first set on today’s episode.

More exciting than the show, though, is the fact that Patrick is an artist, and THE artist who created the iconic four-portrait cover of the Pharmer’s Almanac, Volume 6–a seminal and essential guide to the band that was released in 2000. My copy has disintegrated from overuse over the past 25 years, but all of its information, including the cover that Patrick illustrated has pretty much merged with my Phish DNA and lives forever in my memory.

Keeping things in-house, Patrick learned about Attendance Bias from another special guest who had a crucial part to play in the Island Tour, but again, I’ll let Patrick tell the story.

For now, join Patrick and I to talk about hotel reservations, timing your boomers, and Norman Rockwell as we discuss set 1 of April 2, 1998 at The Nassau Coliseum.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today's episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. I have a feeling that, pretty soon, I’m going to have to rename this podcast “Recency Bias,” since I’ve received a ton of requests from people who want to come on the show and talk about shows from Phish’s 2025 summer tour. Not that it hasn’t happened before, but there was something about this tour that awakened the fanbase. People who saw Phish for the first time, or the 200th time are eager to talk about 2025. Luckily, for today’s episode, my friends Casey and Jenn have a great story to tell, as we explore their summer through bookends of the 2025 tour. We review the third night of the opening run in Manchester, June 22, 2024 then fast forward to the tour closing show: night three at Saratoga, 7/27/25.

If you are a regular listener, you may remember Casey and Jenn from their preview of the SNHU Arena in Manchester during the summer venue preview series. They both live in Manchester, and decided to get married before night 1 of that run. That obviously made the night special in its own way, but it wasn’t until the third night of Manchester where Phish dropped a Tweezerfest in the 2nd set where everything clicked musically.

Then there’s the third night of SPAC where Phish played one of the most memorable shows in years. The first set caught everyone off guard as the band blended great, cohesive jamming with unprecedented setlist games, playing Tweezer Reprise to end nearly every song. Although the venue was still standing as we left, our minds were shattered in the best ways possible.

It’s not often that the first and last stands of a summer tour have the same energy and memorable personalities, but 2025 is the gift that keeps on giving. Join Casey and Jenn to hear about baked beans, Lee’s Campground, bingo boards, and more as we discuss Summer 2025 bookends from Manchester and Saratoga. 

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. It seems like every other tour, we acknowledge that the band is getting older, and how lucky we are to still have the opportunity to see them. While that is undoubtedly true, we don’t always take the time to recognize that we, as a fanbase, are also getting older. As a result, our lifestyles, our habits, and our needs change. One of those needs, if we’re lucky enough, is how to handle our money for the future. Today’s guest, Tedd Kanakaris, is here to help us do just that. Tedd is the founder and financial advisor for Sandpiper Wealth, a financial planning firm dedicated to helping the Phish community manage their finances. We talk about how the traditional world of money management was a major turn off for Tedd and how the changing demographics of the Phish community helped him realize that he wanted to help the community in a way that most of us probably didn’t need about 15 years ago.

We also talk about beer. Tedd is a member of the Gotta JiBrew Club: a group of fans, with some familiar names, who get together to visit different breweries and were lucky enough to collaborate with one of the best breweries on the east coast…but I’ll let Tedd tell that story in just a few minutes.  

Finally, there’s Tedd’s musical pick for Attendance Bias: 2001, from 12/29/98 at Madison Square Garden. Played in the heart of one of the best shows of that year, Tedd explains how the funk cover is a “flashpoint” for the band’s evolving musical style in the late 90s as they approached their trademark ambience toward the end of the century.

As you can tell, it’s a packed episode. Let's join Tedd to talk about TD Bank, Ballantine Ale, and Glow worms, as we discuss “2001” from December 29, 1998 at the Madison Square Garden.

And just a reminder, right before we start, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias to support the podcast.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Several guests have come on the podcast to discuss Phish’s famous Halloween shows, and there’s always plenty to say. Today’s guest, Kevin Rovner of the Kevin Rovner Band chose not only the most controversial Halloween show in Phish’s history–the infamous Wingsuit set from 2013, but he also chose to zero in on one specific song from that set: “You Never Know.” The last song from that set, and it hasn’t been played since that night.

When it comes to Phish Halloween shows, the discussion always reveals a lot about the guest, and today’s conversation is quite refreshing. Although today’s episode really focuses on the fall 2013 tour and the unprecedented step of Phish playing a brand new album in front of an unsuspecting audience, there’s also a deep discussion of how the Wingsuit Halloween was a turning point for the band. Looking back 12 years later, it’s easy to see how the playing playing “an album from the future” changed the very concept of a musical costume, and helped direct the band to more recent Halloween sets that break from tradition.  

But there’s more to it than that. Kevin brings our attention to one of the lesser-known Phish songs, “You Never Know,” that gives us a brief lesson in Phish history, and also provides a notable contrast between the music and the story that inspired it. In other words, one could argue that it proves how Phish was still pushing themselves even within the premise of that unbelievable set of all new music.

So let’s join Kevin to talk about Spongebob SquarePants, SPAC, and Abe Vagoda, as we discuss “You Never Know” from October 31, 2013 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

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Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today, we continue and conclude our venue preview series for Phish’s 2025 September run with a look at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia. I don’t often get nervous or intimidated on this podcast, but occasionally, a topic or show seems too big, too well known, too respected to sum up in one episode. Luckily, today’s episode features the best guest possible to help pull the weight for one of the most revered venues in Phish’s history: my friend Greg from Virginia. 

Greg has participated on Attendance Bias before, mostly to help with recaps and show notes. But today, he gives us the full-fledged history and preview of Hampton Coliseum; a venue that is so simple on the inside, yet holds tremendous weight and history not just for Phish, but for all of rock history, going back to the late 1960s. Granted, Phish is not the first band to leave their mark on the Mothership but at this point, they’ve played over 20 shows there, including some of the most important of their career.

So you can see why it was a bit scary to tackle this beloved venue when I began listening and taking notes for today’s episode. BUT I hope that Greg and I did well enough, as you get pumped for Phish’s 3 shows–September 19, 20, and 21, at Hampton Arena.

Let’s join Greg to talk about Colonial Williamsburg, NASA, and the best way to the beach as we preview and review Phish’s history at the Hampton Coliseum.

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Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. Today, we continue our 2025 miniseries where we preview each venue on Phish’s late summer tour by visiting an old favorite: the Ameris Bank Amphitheater in Alpharetta, GA–colloquially known simply as “Alpharetta.” And when I say “an old favorite,” I mean for the band and fans.

Today’s guest -Dave Defeo–has never missed a Phish show at Alpharetta, and has lived in the area for over two decades, so he’s well equipped to give us the skinny on the amphitheater and its surrounding area. What I love most about this episode is that, since Phish has been playing Alpharetta for 15 years, there’s not too much new information to give about it (although we do our best), but there is a treasure trove of Phish history at Alpharetta. I don’t have the patience or capacity to check this, but I think there are more musical clips in today’s episode than any previous Attendance Bias episode. All good ones, too!

More than that, Dave owns and operates a restaurant just outside Atlanta called “My Parents’ Basement” that sounds like a dream come true–food, arcade games, comic books–all the stuff you wish you had in one place. But he’ll describe it more in just a few minutes.

So let’s talk about pinball, Lakewood, and Rage Against the Machine with Dave DeFeo to get ready for September 16 and 17 at the Ameris Bank Amphitheater in Alpharetta.

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