@ZackTeibloom Phish at ACL is one of those shows I doubt many Phish followers came down to Austin for. A one-off in Austin with no shows nearby and little to no other jam bands on the bill. Sure, I saw a little kid with a hula hoop, but this isn’t a jam festival in the slightest. Having said that, I’m always curious what a hardcore Phish fan wants to read about a Phish show. You know the set list in real time. You’ll have the audio the next morning. I bet you wanna know what it was like there in person from someone who knows the band quite well and was sober as a surgeon for the whole show. I’m glad I’m here.

They say everything’s bigger in Texas, but Phish only had two hours to work with at ACL. How would they maximize their time when playing to a bunch of noobz who had little live Phish experience? They roared through a carefully picked set of staples, let Trey solo a bunch, busted out the usual tricks and gave Texas a nice taste of what Phish 3.0 is about.

There were a few things I noticed last night that I wanted to share since you couldn’t have noticed most of them, even if you were standing right next to me. Andy never even heard The Strokes bros debate, for one. Here we go: Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom We can’t sleep over at FC headquarters. Phish & Muse. Andy can’t even decide who’s #1. He has The Eagles in his top 5. I don’t have them in my top 7,000. Maybe I’ve been watching The Big Lebowski too much. It’s a 15-minute Podcrash analysis and we go deep to find the bands you need to know about. Andy gushes over lasers, I get confused about who Norah Jones is and I think we all learn a little something. Listen here:

THE PODCRASH EPISODE 8

And if you want to read along with the 2010 ACL line-up, it’s here…

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@ZackTeibloom We can feel good, good, good about ACL 2010. Hopefully you got the Phish “Harry Hood” reference and you’re starting to get as hyped up as I am about October. Austin City Limits 2010 outdid Lollapalooza with their line-up this year. They snagged two of Festival Crashers’ absolute favorite live acts in Phish and Muse, stacked the middle with LCD, The Strokes, MIA, Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Monsters of Folk and Spoon, rounded it out with deeper line-up gems like Miike Snow, Local Natives, Broken Bells, Yeasayer, The Black Keys, Hockey, Temper Trap, Mayer Hawthorne and despite the sad fact that The Eagles get top billing, this is a world class line-up. That’s right, The Eagles. Just ask the dude.

Let’s get into this bad boy. I figure a video-heavy preview with the full 2010 ACL Line-up should whet your appetite. How about a Top 35 to see? You got it. A podcrash dedicated to the line-up? Done. Phish’s official e-mail says we’ll be getting a two-hour Friday set. I wish it was more, but I’ll take what I can get. Thank you, Mr. Minor! Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom These are rumored Phish dates for 2010. Please take them as that. Rumors. Last year we predicted tons of 2009 dates. It ended up being about half accurate Phish dates and half completely unfeasible.

If you have any reasons why these will not be the 2010 Phish dates, please feel free to comment. We’re just trying to put together whatever information we can get. If these are accurate, how do you feel about them? What venues will you hit up?

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@ZackTeibloom Festival Crashers have been super into mash-ups lately. We’ve been Girl Talk crazy forever, danced on stage with Hood Internet and Car Stereo (Wars) this month and my car stereo is being dominated by Hood Internet mix tapes.

Audio mash-ups are great, but the Phish Festival 8 video montage that Electric Method put together is something we had to talk to them about. You can all watch it, but I’ll let Andy let you know what it was like to be there.

“A video that began with “Thriller” turned into a whole mashup of the albums, songs and videos involved with the original 99 albums. As fans recognized different faces and songs throughout the video, roars would erupt for their favorites. Personally, I was just trying to figure out what tricks Phish had up their sleeve and whether or not they were actually playing the Rolling Stones. Alas, the video ended with the Stones and I could start breathing again knowing that I was about to get my “Rocks Off” with Exile on Main St.” -@andyshore Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore It was apparent Phish was set to play Exile on Main Street by the time we awoke on Saturday. Our neighbors came back from the concert area with a Playbill and instantly I wanted it to be time for the Halloween set. Horn section, Sharon Jones and Shaunda Williams on back up vox, the whole shlamazel.

A video that began with “Thriller” turned into a whole mashup of the albums, songs and videos involved with the original 99 albums. “Rocks Off” kicked off Phish’s costume, with the horns already adding an exciting element. When Jones and Williams joined everyone in stage for “Tumbling Dice” a few songs later, it was clear we were in for a special evening.

The peak of the set was the fan familiar “Loving Cup.” With the added horns and vocals, it may have been the best version of that song Phish has ever played. The rest of the set is a blur of excitement and awesomeness.

Though some of the set only had the four members of Phish, side four heavily featured the horns and back up vocals. They especially shone bright during the breakdown in “Shine a Light.” Trey just stopped what he was doing to turn around and watch them do their thing, smiling ear to ear all the while. By the time the last notes of “Soul Survivor” rang out, it wouldn’t matter what Phish played in the third set. It was already my favorite Phish show of all time.

@AndyShore The first night of a three night run is tricky. The band needs to be careful not to blow their load too early, while not seeming like they’re holding back. Phish took night one at Festival 8 and did not only that, but so much more. I was left with my mind spinning, trying to figure out what they were going to do with six more sets. So excited for the possibilities.

The first set opened with “Party Time.” The perfect welcoming to a festival. The L’cha Dodi* of music festivals if you will. From there is was go time. “Chalkdust Torture” made way into an especially funky and groove-tastic “Moma Dance.” Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Phish Festival 8 is upon us. Hopefully this will provide a guide to getting in with all your willies and your wares, have an educated guess at what the acoustic set and Phish costume will be like, and keep you updated with everything you could care to know about Phish Festival 8.

We’ve got a ton of Phish costume ideas you can put together last minute, thorough analysis of the music and constant updates from our Twitter friends and, starting Friday, @Andyshore on the scene reporting first hand. If you have something we should be reporting, comment here or Tweet @Phishfestival8. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom For the first time in over 20 years of touring, Phish is playing an all acoustic set Sunday at noon. Curious minds want to know: What are they gonna play? Will it be the acoustic songs we know well or will Trey re-work some typically electric songs?

As magical as Trey is sending shivers down your spine on electric, there’s something comforting about an entire acoustic set. Especially for a noon on Sunday after a weekend of raging. Let’s just hope Trey will be half as happy as he looked on acoustic last summer at Rothbury. Here’s a “Sample…” Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom We’re down to the final countdown and Phish 8 festival goers have started packing already. They’re getting their costumes together as Phish gets closer and closer to unveiling their musical costume. Wouldn’t it be cruel if they bring an album back to life or pick one that hasn’t been nominated at all? It’s fun to guess anyway. Here’s the last 15 remaining with a ranking from least to most likely. Read the rest of this entry »