thePULSEUnderstanding the mind of a Phish fan
A few weeks back I had this simple exchange with a friend of mine.
Friend: “Phish is coming!”
Me: “So?”
What followed was a mixture of swearing about my “idiocy” and different variations of the strong declaration, “Phish is the greatest band ever!”
Definitely a strong argument, but I was still not convinced.
The entire phenomenon of Phish — a band of jazzy, regular looking guys who have a constant carnival of fans accompanying them around the country — was just beyond me. I couldn’t understand what made a band with no breakthrough albums (that I knew of at least) special. Even more perplexing were those nomads who follow Phish from coast to coast. How can somebody follow a music act around the country? Doesn’t it get boring? Don’t these people have to go to school or work?
I went to my friend Tom for answers. Every time I was in his car he was playing Phish, so he had to know something about them.
The funny thing about Tom, though, is that he does not look the part of a Phish fan. No tie-dye T-shirts, no dread-locks, no Dead-head stickers, and nothing else with a hyphen.
“The stereotype comes from, when you go to shows, you see those people everywhere,” Tom told me. “For them, Phish is a way of life and the stereotype look has some truth…Most fans are your average looking high school or college student who breaks out a tie-dye or Phish shirt and goes to the show.”
So I was at least in the correct demographic. But I still wanted to know how Phish fans survived. Tom explained that they “work in the ‘off season’ to make enough money to buy up the next tour and supplies for the road. Those are the people you often see selling food and other paraphernalia in the parking lots before and after the show…and those are the people who catch your eye and are pretty interesting.”
Still, I wondered, what is it about Phish that inspires such devotion?
“Phish is not a band you hear one song and love. They are not a radio band. They do not have radio songs. They have no image. They do play really bad shows. There is no key figure.” Tom tried to explain.
“No band is more free,” Tom continued, warming to his subject with a gleam of splendor. “Phish has toured for seventeen years straight before taking a two year hiatus, all the while they never had a set list. They walk on stage and just play. It is not a preplanned out show. You know, ACDC always closes with ‘For Those About to Rock,’ or Springsteen will always play ‘Born to Run.’”
With Phish, Tom went on, “All you do is listen and groove.”
Groove?
Tom elaborated for my non-hip self: “One person starts a groove, the next adds one small thing, then the next, and they go around in circles for hours — and this drill is what Phish is all about…the greatness comes from everyone being part of the whole. And when you are at a show, you are part of that.”
So Phish is a band that is “high” on fan interaction. “I would say that a Phish fan thinks there is something magical about the music and this, whether at a college or on the road, creates a sense of community and kinship, like two people let into a secret.” Tom was getting philosophical.
I think that I was getting the point, though. I didn’t necessarily need to dress the part. I didn’t need to drop everything in my life. I just had to go. Tom agreed. Seeing them live is the best thing to do if I want to know and understand the whole Phish phenomenon.
So Phish is coming to the Worcester Centrum at the end of February. I think I’ll have to see them now. The tie-dye. The freedom. The grooving. So many people just can’t be wrong.
