This week on the podcast, we step into the freezer to discuss one of the biggest jam vehicles in the Phish cannon: Tweezer. Leading the discussion is panelist Drew, who has been know to fancy the tune. The episode is built around a “desert island scenario.” Joining him are veteran guests of Type II, Dave Calarco and Charlie Dirksen. Drew asked each panelist for the ten versions of Tweezer that they would bring to said island to make their stay more enjoyable. The panel then discussed the ten most commonly chosen versions among them. Of course, we have supplemented the in depth analysis and fun show anecdotes with ample clips. By the end of the episode, there will be laughs, there will be tears, and I guarantee you will have learned something. What Tweezers would you take to a desert island? Let us know in the comments below. We will be back in two weeks to talk about the Great Went.
The Ultimate Phish ‘Nerdgasm’ Part 3: Sweet Sixteen to the Champion
Howdy once again and welcome back for part three in what has become quite an epic Type II adventure. For this final installment, Chris, Steve Paolini, and I began at the Sweet Sixteen round and played through until we crowned a champion. Again, you really need to listen to both previous episodes to be caught up to speed, as we don’t waste any time going over the rules that made up the selection process. Also, please download the bracket in order to play along at home. This episode features clips of each of the top sixteen jams and the entirety of the winning song to close us out. So block off the next two hours of your life and get ready to find out what Type II Cast deems the “best” phish jam.
Agree or disagree with how things turned out? Let us know below. Also, you can find links to stream all of the jams via this google doc. Thanks for listening, see everyone in two weeks.
The Ultimate Phish ‘Nerdgasm’ Part 1: The Selection Show
If you’re reading this, you probably consider yourself somewhat of a Phish nerd—someone who gains an unhealthy amount of pleasure in discussing best songs, shows, sets, venues, cities, lyrics, compositions, recordings, jams, lights, and more. With that said, we decided to hold the ultimate Phish nerdgasm, a 64-team March Madness style tournament to determine the best Phish jam of all time. Now, this is nothing new to the Phish blogosphere. We’ve all seen Phish March Madness brackets before, and I’m sure we’ll see them again. But we wanted to make ours just a little different. We did so by taking ourselves way too seriously. And I knew that if there was one person to take on this project with, it was fellow Phish.netter, Mockingbird Foundation volunteer, and list-maker extraordinaire, Steve Paolini.
This week on the podcast we talked about one event that goes down before every show, even though most of us will never hear it: the sound check. And while the main reason for a sound check is technical necessity, the band has on many occasions used this time to do everything from joke around with each other to straight up melt faces. Of course, covering thirty years of sound checks is nearly impossible, even considering that many never reach the public’s ears. But from what is available, Josh, Brian Feller, and I hit you with some of our favorites and discussed the state of sound checks past, present, and future. Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments section below.
Thanks for listening. We will be back in two weeks with “March Madness.”
For this week’s show I wanted to talk about 2013, the 30th anniversary of Phish. Many of us are expecting a huge touring calendar with holiday runs and festivals as far as the eye can see. And while anyone’s guess is as good as the next as to what will actually take place, I thought it would be fun to kill some time day dreaming about what we would like to see. Joining me on this ride are past guest / HT contributor Parker Harrington and first time Type II’er Adam Icculus. We touch on just about every aspect of what could be in 2013, including venues, types of jams, bust-outs, covers, and even the webcasts. As usual, we weave in some choice clips throughout the episode that will leave you salivating for more.
What would you like to see in 2013? Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
“So you’ve got the four of us tonight. Josh, Chris, and myself were in attendance at MSG for all four nights and Brian did couch tour proper. We have all done our homework, listened back, gave it a few days. You know, the thing with Type II Cast is we can’t put out an episode right after the run. We have to digest, go through the clips, things have to be cut and put on the editing room floor. For tonight’s format, what we are gonna be doing is, we are gonna start off with the whole view of our thoughts on the run in 2012 and deconstruct from there.” (from the episode’s intro)
Thanks for listening. Happy New Year to all the Type II listeners out there! Stay tuned throughout the off season for a variety of fun topics.
You Enjoy Myself. The quintessential Phish tune. It has everything: great composition, improvisation, fun antics, sports equipment, and a vocal jam. You love this song and it’s probably on the CD you gave to your little brother when you tried to turn him on to Phish. Having been played more than any other song in the band’s repertoire, doing a history in an hour podcast would be impossible. So contained within is how we chose to tackle the topic. The cast discusses some best versions, our personal favorites, trends over the years, and ultimately builds a Frankenstein-like YEM for the outro. Included in this discussion are panelists Chris Glushko, Josh Korin, and guest Charlie Dirksen. As we mention in the episode, there is simply too much to choose from, but we hope you will enjoy the few clips we did pick. What other YEM’s should we have discussed? Let us know in the comments below.
The type II panel loves New Year’s Shows. So much in fact that, despite a past similar episode, we needed to talk about our favorite moments once again. Drew held down the hosting duties for this episode and was joined by Scott, Josh, and myself. Collectively, the cast has seen every New Year’s run since ’93, which provides countless great moments on a variety of levels. Tonight, we chose 11 clips that the panel considers special. I’m confident there will be a few surprises.
Sit back, relax, and kill an hour reliving some New Year’s moments with us. We hope to see you at MSG next month, but until then, we have one more episode on Y.E.M. in 2 weeks. Stay tuned.
PHISH.IS.BACK. And we are back. And it is Leg 2. And all is well in Phish land….. But seriously.
Tonight you have just Chris and I. Chris was in SF. I was on couch tour. We both of course listened to all 4 of these shows multiple times. We found the best clips, as usual. However, for the first time in type 2 history, I got to pick all of the timings. That said, you know where to send all of your hate mail. Hopefully that isn’t the case, and our selections and commentary will shed some new light on these first few shows of Leg 2.
Well guys, I know it’s only been a few days since the last episode and most of you haven’t even heard that yet, but we just couldn’t wait to keep talking about this Summer Tour 2012. So tonight I am joined by panelist Scotty B. and past guest / phish.neter Adam Scheinberg and we “wax poetic” about this 2-day run on Long Island over the July 4th holiday. Scotty and I were in attendance, while Adam held down the official couch tour. All three of us enjoyed the ultimate bust-out factor, loved the variety in each of the first sets and thought there were type 2 jams to hold up with the best. While this won’t go down as the best two day run in Phishtory, it should certainly have some replay factor for years to come.
This week on the program I am joined by Dave Calarco and Parker Harrington and we embark on the wonderful journey that is reviewing the two Deer Creek and two Alpine Valley shows from summer 2012. These two classic Phish venues almost never disappoint and this year was no different. With the shows falling at just past the halfway point of tour, the boys were in full swing and dealt us beautifully crafted setlists, precise improvisation and some more stage antics. We could have thrown a dart at the setlists and hit a great clip each time but as usual cut down to what we felt were the ten best.
This week on the show, Scotty, Tao Pauly and I review the 3 night “festival” run from Atlantic City, NJ a few days ago. We all were in attendance and couldn’t have been happier with the grounds, crowd and all around quality playing. Those in attendance were treated to some type 2 jams, stage banter and segues a plenty, adding up to a well rounded 6 sets. We had lots to choose from and present you with 10 clips, the exact details of which will be released at a later date. In the meantime, load us up onto your music device and take a trip with us to Bader Field.
This week on the podcast I am joined by Drew and 2 guests, Chris Bertolet and past panelist Sam Davis. Our mission for the night: Convince a Musician (that the Phish plays good stuff). Specifically, the task was to present examples of each member of the band at their finest. In other words, to play something that would show a professional musician that each member of this band is a master of their craft. Of course, this might imply that the listener is either unfamiliar with the music or has a bias that needs to be overcome. Which, as you will learn over the next hour and a half, tends to happen all too often. The panel presents twelve clips (three for each band member) to support their case to our theoretical musician. All of the clips are premium selections and the commentary to support them is articulate and insightful. You will leave having learned something. At worst, you will leave with slight face-meltage.
This week on the podcast, I am joined by Dave Calarco and Stephen Tuzeneu to discuss the evolution … er … Story of the Ghost. Similar to the Mike’s episode, we take you on a journey from the birth of Ghost, track how it evolved in 1.0, and touch on the unfortunate treatment it has seen (mostly) in 3.0. I wish I could joke about only having a few clips, but that would be ridiculous as we have MORE CLIPS THAN ANY EPISODE BEFORE. Have no fear, we guarantee you will enjoy and leave with a nugget of knowledge about this fan favorite.
I feel like I’ve never told you, thanks for listening.
As promised on the last episode of type II cast, here is our list of honorable mentions, along with the “’99 Power Hour.” The honorable mentions is self explanatory. Not every jam deserving of a clip can make the cut, or the show would be way too long. This week, Scotty went the extra mile and complied a list of everything that should be heard from ’99. Don’t miss out.
As far as the power hour goes, its 60, 1 minute clips from 1999 (obviously). No two clips are cut from the same song, and the hour proceeds in chronological order. I lost the original “set list” many years ago, so if anyone figures it out, let me know .
Thanks for listening, and reading. We will be back next week talking about “The Story of the Ghost” with Dave Calarco (aka Mr. Miner) and Stephen Tuzeneu from TWoL.
This week on the show I am joined by Scotty and special guest / past panelist Justin Wendt and the three of us discuss one of our favorite years in Phish history, 1999. The mission: to explain why 1999 belongs in the discussion about the band’s best years and show what makes it such a different year than any other. Obviously, many of you might already agree with this statement. But even for us it might be easy to gloss over ’99 in favor of ’98, ’97, or even ’94. Cypress aside, this year saw a new jam style, fun setlist antics, and the overall feeling that we were building towards something special. This is all discussed, and as usual, we have some clips to back it up.
Thanks for listening,
Steve
PS: Look for a blog post in the next few days with our “Honorable Mentions” and a bonus track of my special “’99 Power Hour.”
I wanted to take this opportunity to catch all the listeners of typeIIcast up to speed with what is happening here on the program. First, I would like to thank everyone who tunes in each week to listen to our little show. It is truly appreciated and why we all show up. Second, I wanted to recognize the hard work of everyone who has contributed, hosts and guests a like. I am proud of the collection of clips, thoughts and other random phish nerdiness that has been curated here over the last one and half years.
Moving into the next round of episodes, I would like to announce that Chris Glushko will be joining us full time. Chris guested on the Tension and Release episode, and most recently the 2.0 intervention. On each, his commentary and choice of clips were a welcome addition. I have no doubt that this trend will continue in the future.
Below is the list of topics and producers for the next few weeks. As usual, I will continue to update this list as more information is known. The easiest way for you not to miss anything would be to subscribe in iTunes or through some other RSS reader. Lastly, once we hit summer tour, we will bring you review episodes for each 2 or 3 day run as quickly as possible.
This week on the podcast I am joined by Charlie Dirksen and Chris Glushko. Their goal: to convince me that I shouldn’t “hate” on Phish 2.0. They picked 10 clips, over 40 minutes in total. Of course it was hard to argue against these type II nuggets. In retrospect, I should have enlisted someone to help support my cause. But it’s all good, as no one loses when you listen to more Phish.
This week we tried something new on the program: a listener’s choice episode. The door was open for some of you to share 3 clips of your choosing, but when it came down to show time, only Jamie Marshall had stepped to the plate. Fortunately for Eric and I, this gave us a chance to play a few things that might not fit into other episodes. Of course, you are dying to find out what we picked. Alas, you will have to listen, no spoilers allowed from here on out with type II. We are confident you won’t be sorry to have tuned in. But if you are, send your hate mail to eric over on our Facebook page (<-reference to something we say during the episode:).
Joining me on the show this week we have regular host Drew Hitz and new guest Chris Glushko. The three of us discuss the band’s use of tension and release in their sound, jamming, and crowd interaction. If you aren’t familiar with the term check the wiki page for a simple explanation (for a more technical blurb, peep this Trey article). Of course, we found ways to illustrate this musical concept and broke a few rules in the process. There are tasty clips peppered throughout the hour and some aren’t even Phish tunes. We recorded on a Sunday, which is probably not kosher for some reason. And lastly, skype went the whole time without needing to be reset. I can’t say if any of these correlate to it being a good episode, but I’m confident it won’t be time wasted.
Thanks for listening,
Steve
PS: The next episode is going to be “Listener’s Choice.” What does that mean? It means that you get to participate. The offer is open for three listeners of type II cast to guest host and each choose three clips that you would like to share. They should be something that (hopefully) not many people have heard, or at least clips we haven’t already played on the show. It would help if you were there at the time, but not a requirement. And, most importantly, you should want to discuss why you love these clips/songs/shows/etc. To be one of the guests, here’s what you need to do:
1) Follow @typeIIcast on twitter and tweet something like “I want to be a guest on @typeIIcast for the #listenerschoice episode.” (as long as you @reply us and use the hashtag, then you are good)
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2) Follow this blog in wordpress and leave a comment below indicating that you want to be a guest.
I will randomly select (scout’s honor) the three people. You will need to have a computer/phone/iPad that has an internet connection, microphone/speakers/headset, and Skype. The episode will record 2/28/2012 at 8pm eastern. So make sure you will be available at that time (the show runs for about an hour and a half). Don’t worry about the clips, I take care of all that. You just need to tell me the who/ what/when/where/etc. Entries are open till 2/20/2012 at noon. I will randomly select the guests at that time and contact them via twitter or the email provided on the blog. Feel free free to ask any questions and good luck!
Disclaimer: Employees, their families, and subsidiaries of TWoL/TypeIICast are not eligible to enter. Offer void where prohibited by law.
Hello and Happy New Year! Type II is back this week with a fresh episode and it should be no surprise that we are reviewing the MSG New Year’s Eve run. After just a few days to gather our thoughts, Scotty and I sat down with guests Charlie Dirksen and Dave Calarco for almost two hours last night. With lots to talk about, we debate the best and the worst of what has become some of the most anticipated shows each year. Of course, we offer up some of the tastiest clips to supplement our discussion. And whether you are a “jaded vet” or just saw your first shows, we are sure you will enjoy this blast from the hose.
Our last podcast of 2011 is a trip down memory lane with guest Parker Harrington. When given the opportunity to choose a topic for this show, I went with the summer ’91 GCH tour because it holds perhaps my favorite Phish experience and represents an important time for the music as well as the community. I have always been a casual fan, hitting a handful of local shows while holding on to that day job <<yawn>> So, I invited Parker to join us and share his experiences. Parker attended every show this tour including Amy’s Farm and was among the first tapers. We crafted this episode by choosing a handful of clips that demonstrate the multidimensional influence of the horns on the music and letting the music guide our conversation. I hope that we inspire you to go back and explore these special shows.
This week on the podcast join Scott, Eric and myself as we review the highly anticipated release of Phish’s Hampton Winston/Salem ’97 7-CD Box Set. Everyone and their brother has probably already listened to this. A few times. Every blogger has already written a review. Polls are up. Debates are occurring. But as any seasoned listener of the program should expect, we bring you a little bit of “all of the above”, with some choice clips thrown into the mix. What were the cast’s favorite moments? Never any spoilers here, hit play or go download in iTunes. (hint hint)
This week on the program, I am joined by Adam Scheinberg and Jeremy Welsh of phish.net, and we talk about the Europe Tour from Summer 98. Adam was in attendance at almost every show this tour, while Jeremy hit 2 of arguably the best. I, on the other hand, probably didn’t even realize Phish had left the country at the time. Like in 97, this tour saw phish play small clubs, debut new songs, and treat the fans to a variety of antics, some intentional, some probably not. As usual, we found tasty clips to highlight some of the better and perhaps overlooked moments of these 10 shows. Sit back, relax, and prepare to be whisked away to an intimate time in Phishtory.
Thanks for listening, we’ll catch everyone next week.
The 90′s were full of fall tours surrounding the Tryptophan’d holiday of Thanksgiving. And whether by design or luck, Phish seems to have often brought the heat in the show following. Today we take a listen to a few selections meeting the above criteria. This is straight music: some whole songs, some jams, in all about 1.5 hours. We hope this is something you will enjoy while venturing out to get your turkey on. If all goes well, we will be back with an MSG Mixer to get you ready for New Years Eve.
This week Adam, Steve and I take a listen to an entire hour of Reba jams. Since its debut Reba has been a mainstay in the Phish catalog producing beautiful melody and scorching jam. After listening to the composed section to properly set up the hour, we take a dive into clips that show the great range of jams in its history and dissect the elements and subtle differences in these jams. So join us as we listen to a ton of Reba and leave wanting more.
This week on the podcast, we are talking about Phish shows that were undersold /skipped / or something similar that ended up being above average. The panel of Scott, Drew and Adam (OPT) bring several examples of these shows throughout the years. After some choice clips that should leave you wanting more, everyone discusses if “You Snooze, You Loose” is even possible in 3.0. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the future of this phishy phenomenon below.
This week, we finish off the final review of the summer, Dick’s Sporting Goods in Colorado. Tanya Sperry, a Type II Cast regular, joins me along with our special guest Tao Pauly from Coventry Music Blog. Both attended the Dick’s shows, while I did the official Couch Tour for all 3 nights. After digesting this three night run for two weeks, we came up with “Uber Clips”. Like . . . seriously, there are a lot of clips. And this episode clocks in at an hour and twenty minutes, possibly the longest one to date. So grab your headphones, a snack, and get ready to experience Dick’s the Type II way.
Figured we had enough episodes under our belt to a warrant a re-posting of an old episode. Enjoy this discussion of Mike’s Song while we prepare our review of the Colorado run for next week.
This episode finds myself joined by type II cast regular, Eric Wyman, and guest host, Adam B. from Online Phish Tour. Both were in attendance and assert that a good time was had by all at the last 3 shows of Leg 2. With plenty of clips to choose from this week, a few were left on the studio floor. It should be no surprise to anyone listening that this run is a contender for one of the best in 2011, and perhaps 3.0. As usual, we are here to give our analysis and insight, wrapped in colorful commentary, baked in a pastry. Grab a glass Merlot, block off the next hour, and enjoy.
Always something new on type II, this week we find just myself hosting with 2 guests from Phish.net, Brian Feller and Charlie Dirksen. Both were in attendance at Tahoe, and Charlie made the trip to Golden Gate Park for Outside Lands. I was on official couchtour for Tahoe, and then the ole “guy with iPhone who eats food and shows you his friends” couchtour for OL. Recognizing that we are late to the game with our review, and that most people understand nothing “epic” went down, we had to choose our clips carefully. 9 made the final cut, which is a mix of short solo’s, some questionable vocals, and straight type II hose. Beyond the clips and analysis, Brian and Charlie both shared some thoughts on the venues and what kind of jams and songs they love and hate.
We hope you enjoy this weeks installment of type II, we will be back next week with more guest hosts and our review of the highly regarded UIC shows. Thanks for listening, and remember:
“Songs were played, and then the next songs were played.” (BF)
While everyone was waiting for the first night of Phish’s 2-night webcast from Lake Tahoe, the Type II crew got together to recover some missing territory. It’s been a busy summer and somehow we never got the chance to discuss the last five shows of Leg 1. The sticklers for detail that we are we thought it would be unjust to not at least cover our thoughts and favorite clips from Alpharetta, Charlotte, Raleigh and Portsmouth. Over the hour leading up to Tahoe we discussed our thoughts on webcasts, fan expectations and most of all some amazing musical moments. Here’s to a great tour and we’ll be back to cover the newest shows real soon.
For our SuperBall IX review, Scotty, Steve and I present our top ten favorite moments of the 9th Phish festival that took place over fourth of July weekend at Watkins Glen. To come up with our top ten, the three of us each submitted a personal top ten. It turned out that eight songs/jams overlapped and were easily chosen, and the nine and ten slots were filled by Steve and I, respectively. To share our favorite moments, we have ((eight)) audio clips, first-hand accounts by Scotty and Steve who attended, and my perspective as a devoted fan whose holiday weekend revolved around the crisp audio stream that delivered every set via internet radio. Thanks for listening, and, as always, please share your comments here.
Tanya
I wanted to let everyone know that the show will be taking a short break over the next 2 weeks. During the time between Superball IX and Leg 2, we hope to record our reviews of the festival, Alpharetta, both North Carolina shows, and Virginia. We had hoped to wrap up Leg 1 by tonight, but unfortunately it won’t be possible at this time.
During Superball, TWoL will be broadcasting live on site, so please tune in there if you need an immediate fix of some phish podcast action. We can’t say for sure, but a guest spot by some Type II panelists could be possible. I appreciate everyone’s patience in this matter, I will let you know when to expect the next episode.
This week, Justin and I tackle the Midwest Run of Phish Summer Tour 2011. Justin attended all 3 in person, while I was on couch tour. Overall, we both liked DTE and Blossum, but felt Riverbend fell a little short. That said, Phish is playing very well, and no one is complaining. And by the end of the year, we bet there will be some clips pulled from this episode for the “Best of 2011″.
This week, I am joined by Adam Scheinberg from Phish.net, and we review Phish’s 2 night run at PNC Banks Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. This is Phish’s first return to my hometown venue in just about 11 years, and I was uber excited for these 2 shows. Perhaps a little too excited as, by Wednesday evening, I ended up feeling a little short changed. Fortunately, Adam was there Wednesday night as well to help balance out my (at times) jaded opinions. In the grand scheme of things, these 2 shows are still worth a listen, and there were definite highlights, but we doubt they will end up in your tape mp3 rotation.
Thanks for lsitening,
Steve
PS: There is a slight low-end hum that is noticeable on this recording. I apologize in advance, and will hopefully have it worked out by next episode.
This week, Tanya, Sam, Scott, and I kick off the first of our summer tour reviews, starting with Bethel Woods. Luckily, 3/4 of the panel attended this one, thus being able to offer our thoughts at the time and then on second listen. Without spoiling too much, we all agreed that the first two nights were very solid, and while the third wasn’t horrible, it left a little to be desired. As usual, we had a tough time choosing clips, since there were many tasty nuggets, especially in the first sets of the first two nights. A lot of ground was covered in this hour long episode, discussing such topics as “meltdown jams” and “plinko”. And while everyone hates when we agree, there is not much debate about how this tour opener ranks. Be sure to listen all the way through and post your comments below. Our next episode is scheduled for Tuesday, 6/7/11, to discuss the PNC shows.
Thanks for listening,
Steve.
PS: For the entirety of Summer Tour ’11, Type II Cast will review every show. We hope to get those reviews recorded within a week or two of the performance. We will not record on the normal Tuesday night schedule during this time. Stay tuned to twitter or Facebook or subscribe in iTunes in order to catch new episodes.
This week our topic is the first in a series of festival reviews. We gave everyone the choice of which festival to cover first, and The Clifford Ball came in at number 1, proving that chronological order is the way to go. Fortunately, Scotty, Drew and Tanya were all at the Ball, and can offer first hand reviews and insight. Like always, we assembled some choice clips and even opted to sneak an extra one in during the intro. And since this is the “Nerd Music Phish Cast” (as I heard it referred to last week), the blog post can be pretty simple. Listen in, and enjoy some pictures and technical info after the page break.
With Phish returning to the University of Illinois at Chicago this summer, we found it fitting to review their first UIC performance, which went down on 6/18/94, for Episode 19 of Typeiicast.
In this week’s show, Steve, Sam and I discuss and share clips from this type 2 jam laden gem, beginning with Maze from the first set, and followed by multiple examples of exquisite improvisation from the second set. In addition to audio clips from Peaches En Regalia, Maze, David Bowie, Tweezer, You Enjoy Myself, Chalk Dust Torture, and Tweezer Reprise, Episode 19 also includes a couple of Typeiicast firsts: we play a Grateful Dead Mind Left Body Jam clip from 10/25/73 to illustrate contrast to Phish’s approach to the same chord structure, and we share a couple of minutes of the psychedelic YEM vocal jam. We encourage everybody to give this show multiple listens and hope you enjoy unearthing its many gifts as much as we did.
The beginning of April conjures up thoughts of the Island Tour for many Phish fans so we thought the band’s revered four-night stand that took place from April 2 – 5, 1998 was the perfect topic for Episode 18 of Type II Cast.
For this week’s show Sam, Justin, Steve and Scotty discuss the many factors that made this group of performances special. We talk about the patience the group displayed, how Phish was building on the ’97 funk, the new material debuted on the run and many more topics. The episode includes nine clips to help illustrate our points. If you don’t already own the official recordings of the Island Tour, which sound fantastic, head over to LivePhish.com to buy them with the added bonus of supporting the Mockingbird Foundation.
In Episode 17, Eric, Scotty, Steve and I explore the explosively creative month of music that was performed in August, 1993. To help bring this unique tour to life, we welcomed Brian Feller from phish.net to share his insights and experiences. Brian hopped on this tour on from 8/6-8/14 and then flew out to Berkeley for the closer on 8/28. This episode features 9 clips from 7 shows that showcase different facets of the band’s creativity: from unrestrained, powerful jamming, emotionally-charged singing and improvised vocal melodies to beautifully executed composed pieces, Phish achieved a state of simultaneous looseness and tightness that stands the test of time.
Thanks for listening. Please join us for Episode 18 on 4/5.
This week, Eric, Drew and myself tackle a “venue review”, and discuss the 14 shows that occurred since 1992 at a little place us phans like to call Great Woods, despite that it has changed names a few times. (We don’t bother to look as to what it is actually called these days, insert jaded vet remark). What we did look for, were tasty clips as to highlight some of the better moments throughout the years. As Drew notes at one point, we could have spent “too much time” in 93-95, so instead, we opted to spread the clip love out amongst the years. Plenty of great moments in 99, 00, and we even found 1 in 04. But in all seriousness, we feel that the boys have strategically placed Great Woods in the tour depending upon their needs. It was once a 2 night weekend stand, needed to ensure ticket sales were good. Now its a Tuesday night with no shows before or after, since they know sales will do well. In the end, we find there were many great moments at this Massachusetts traffic debacle, and we hope there are many more.
Thanks for listening, we will see you guys next week with a review of August 1993.
I knew all year that we were going to do some kind of “Year end, Best Of” list from the minute we started Type II Cast. Last year, I ran a little survey via YEMBlog and Phish.net collecting what people thought were the “jams of the year.” The list was widely varied but I culled through the responses and ranked them by the total votes and a little executive decision. It started as a huge list with a lot of one-off pieces in it, but because I only asked for Number One choices there was a decent consensus. Seven Below > Ghost was the runaway winner. We ran through the list on TWoL and it was kind of fun.
With Type II Cast we have 7 really passionate fans. I knew we could take this to another level. One man’s top-10 list is little more than opinion and we all know what opinions are like. With 7 of us we couldn’t really let our personal passions sway the groups collective opinion (kinda).
Continuing where we left off from last week, the crew counts down to the #1 best jam of the year. This week we have a full house with Eric, Scotty, Drew and Tanya joining me and a full episode clocking in at just over 1 hour. Despite being possibly our biggest episode to date, we only saw one “technical difficulty”, which I chose to leave in as it resulted in some comical banter. Without a doubt, the crew did a fantastic job defending their top picks, or arguing against some. Listen now for no spoilers, or get a peak at the top five after the jump.
Most every blog has been releasing their “best of” opinions over the last month and we just couldn’t resist joining in on the fun. To mix ours up we had all 7 panelists submit their individual Top 10 list, then we ranked and aggregated the scores for a “definitive” TypeIICast Top 10 list. Now there’s some interesting results and some interesting opinions on what makes something most worthy of being included in the list. Join us for Part 1 as Steve, Justin, Sam and Eric defend and discuss their choices and the bonehead exclusions made by their peers.
This week we countdown from #10 – 6 (kind of…it proved to be a challenge mathematically).
Type II Cast host Steve Olker and panelists Scott Bernstein, Tanya Sperry and Justin Wendt each had a tough time waiting for two weeks to discuss Phish’s three-night stand at Madison Square Garden, so much so that you can hear the energy in each participant’s voice as they detail the run’s highlights.
Tanya starts us off by recapping the December 30th performance including discussions and listening sessions devoted to the energy at the venue, the unique version of Tweezer and the highly melodic Bathtub Gin thrown down that evening. Scotty explains how the run, and specifically the New Year’s Eve concert, channeled the best of the band’s previous year-ending shows. Clips from the 31st include a machine gun-laden Rock and Roll, a buttery Ghost jam that the panel flipped over and the grand Meatstick – The Musical segment that put an exclamation point on 2010.
Justin led a discussion about the improv-heavy run closer from New Year’s Day. The panelists gave their thoughts on the Walls of a Cave jam, the Crosseyed jam and the gorgeous full-band interplay that developed out of Simple. All four Type IIers summed up their thoughts on the MSG Run before one of the most fun sequence of the three-night stand played us out.
Hey everybody and Happy New Year. For our first episode of 2011, we totally broke all the rules. We should have done the show yesterday, but the studio wasn’t cooperating and we had sound problems. Eric Wyman was feeling under the weather and could not make it. Drew had to skype in from Syngapore. And we started the show with a 9 minute clip. Also, we had no show notes going into this episode, which is also a first. A true type II show.
In regards to our review of “Woosta”, we definitely all agreed it had its moments, but overall was choppy and the “phlow” just was not there. Take the title with a grain of salt though, we by no means hated on it, and both Sam and I are glad we made the trip. As you will be able to tell by the clips, we found some gems. A new type of jamming has started to emerge in the 3.0, and these 2 shows were the springboard for what will come at MSG.
As most of you are probably aware of at this time, Phish will be providing a Pay Per View experience for their sold out shows at MSG on 12/30, 12/31, and 1/1. This privilege will cost the viewer $15/$20 per night, or $40 for the bundle of all 3 nights. There has been a lot of chatter the past few days, some for, some against the PPV. Despite being on hiatus this week, hosts of both shows, This Week on Lot and Type II Cast, felt the need to discuss for a few minutes.
The panel this week includes Steve and Nick form TWoL, and Tanya and Eric from Type II.
Well, it’s that time of year! When we struggle to get through the holidays and get back to another Holiday Tour with Phish. This week Steve, Eric and Justin run through New Years shows from the past and discuss what makes a good show, what exactly was the best New Years show and some of their favorite moments from all the other days not marked 12/31 on the calendar.
This our final episode of 2010 and we want to thank everyone who has listened for their support and feedback!!! We’ll be back on 1/11/11 discussing what took place at this year in Worcester and New York, and listening to all the best moments. So we’ll see you then, Happy Holidays everybody!!
Continuing with our retrospective theme of the last few episodes, we have dedicated Episode 9 to the amazing music and stage antics that took place in December, 1995. Scotty opens by setting the historical context of this highly experimental month, laying the foundation for Tanya, Sam Steve and Scotty to share conversations about specific instances of musical and theatrical innovations that characterize the concluding month of the monster Fall Tour of 1995. The lead clip is Mike’s Song from Hershey, PA 12/1/95. Key points begin with audience participation, which was taken to the next level in ’95. To appreciate the unique relationship between Phish and their audience, 2 clips from the “Dog Log” show of 12/11/95 are played. Then Sam and Scotty engage in a spirited debate over the way Free was played at this time. Sam explains exactly what Trey is doing to create the whooshing sound heard in 2 different Free jams that are shared. This takes us to Scotty’s enthusiastic account of the awe-inspiring performance of You Enjoy Myself from Albany 12/9/95. He plays 2 clips to illustrate what an incredibly cohesive yet exploratory version of YEM went down at the Knick that night. Two more atypical versions of songs are also discussed and shared with clips: Tweezer > Slipknot! and Keyboard Cavalry, both from 12/14/95 (which became Live Phish 1). We wrap up with a final discussion of additional noteworthy moments, and take it out with the Bass Duet > La Grange from 12/29/95. It was certainly a December to Remember!
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