Phlaying in the Band or King Phish:). An editorial by Kevin Long

Phlaying in the Band or King Phish:) An editorial by Kevin Long

 

     WoW, That my friends was fucking epic! I bet when Sammy started Phish and the Dead back in 2008 he never envisioned a night like Nashville. Bobby did much more than sit in with Phish last night, he became a member of the band. The two legendary musical universes mixed together to produce one amazing sound. The “Samson” was actually Bobby playing whimsical games similar to Phish. On Sunday he played “One More Saturday Night”. He then went on to say that he forgot to play it last night and we would hear Sunday’s song soon. We heard it Bobby and it has not sounded better in over twenty years. Bobby stayed and participated in “Twist” and they took it for an interesting spin toboot. That is when I knew we were in store for an historic night. Those sentiments were confirmed immediately when Bobby took Phish’s new tune “Miss You” and transformed it into a Grateful Dead Esque ballad. Trey must of had goosebumps on top of his goosebumps hearing Bobby sing his meaningful lyrics. From there they were five musicians just playing in the band. The versions of "Playing"  and especially "West L.A." sounded better than perfect.   I want to thank Greg for video streaming so many precious minutes from the concert last night. It proves how much he cares about this community to literally share his experience with us. When we were Phish and the Dead, I can't begin to tell you how often we debated the merits of the two bands. Always arguing who was the better band, fans, and such. Today, I am Grateful that for the last two years in our scene peace and grace have blossomed. I honestly believe it's been the best stretch in decades. Some fans for whatever reason hate to connect Phish with the Grateful Dead. That's fine, the bands have found each other perfectly. One last thought while we are “Still Waiting”, Does Bobby have any Halloween plans? .

Kevin Long 

Photo: Derek Martinez