“So Beautiful, So Unique”
During Last Night’s Encore, Trey acknowledged something that a lot of people have been feeling for a while now, something that I felt even before I was a member: The Phish community is as strong and healthy as it has ever been. It should come as no surprise then that the band, like us, is operating at their highest level. We truly do feed and build off one another. And although he didn’t explicitly say so, there was a sense that Trey and his bandmates understand now that bringing Phish back in 2009 has been an unqualified success for them, and the sprawling, extended family of which we are all apart.
It is all about the community. Phish helps us transcend the geographical, socio-economic, political, emotional and even racial boundaries that would otherwise separate us. It transcends the social networks we prefer and forums we maintain, the email lists we join and the group chats, meet-ups, birthday parties and night-long lot rages that make us feel close to the band, and therefore alive.
The circus of Phish transcends the dramas and missed opportunities, the communication breakdowns, suspicions and petty squabbles of which we are only too easily entrapped by. Tension and release are at the core values of Phish, bliss and joy do not come from nothing, they must emerge from the struggle, the fight, the belief. Nothing worth doing is easy. We are constantly tested, day after day and throughout our lives, to live up to the standards that Phish reminds us we hold, and which emerge, drip by drip, from every single note of music they play.
Who are we? What do we do? How do we get by and make our lives work? Where do we come from? More importantly, where are we going?
What do we look like when we fall? And how do we feel when friends pick us up off the ground? And then do everything in their power to make sure we keep going, keep dancing, keep raging against the dying of the light. Because as long as the music plays the band, it’s clear to me at least, that we’ll be there every step of the way. Thank Yhou, Phish.
United, We Stand
Ours is a radically inclusive community that continues, despite its differences, to grow and evolve, with increasing layers of integration and attachments. Every show, every city, every tour that passes, new friendships deepen, new connections are cemented, new opportunities emerge to build things together, and we continue our journey of self-actualization together. New stickers and t shirts are printed. New art shows conceptualized and executed. New businesses started, new love discovered, new, bigger families manifested.
Learning from one another, accepting that every single person to comes to this band, for whatever reason, and from whatever angle, is as valuable and loving and full of hope as the rest of us is part of our challenge. They heard the siren’s song and came running. Therefore, it is our job to nurture and guide one another, as much as we can, with patience, understanding, empathy and compassion as our guiding lights. We can never give up on one another. Ever.
Trey’s speech last night was the most perceptible example we have that the band knows their work, their art, their passion, their JOY, is what fuels us. A tour closer reminds us that although we might bicker and squabble, debate and harangue, at the end of the day, we just want to hear our band be great, so that we can be great in return with what they provide. It’s the most respectful thing we can do.
Perhaps it is because I am a writer and I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many people, even in just the few short years I’ve been committed to the band and their tour. Maybe too its my natural abilities, the ease with which I can move between groups, parties, tribes. So too my natural proclivities to meeting and connecting with people, to see them, feel them and learn from them. The writer is always listening and watching, looking for the grains of truth that will emerge on paper, if they are lucky, once the music has stopped and thought and reflection warmly return to make sense of the experience and the feeling.
It’s been my honor to listen to so many of you, to catch a glimpse at the exciting and inspiring lives you all lead, to understand and come to terms with your specific obstacles, the challenges you face and the desires that burn in your heart. Phish shows are when I am most open, most alive, most vulnerable, and I can’t help but go out of my way to share with as many people as I can, every single show. A handshake at setbreak, a knowing nod in a bathroom line, a serendipitous dance party in a stretch of open space, a backslap and a “great to see you.” Sometimes it is deep, most often more shallow. I wish I could stand and be with all of you all the time, dance alongside you, know your crew, hit every after party, walk down every hotel hallway, be at every brunch and lunch and meetup.
We may not want to believe this, but we are all the same person. We have the same heart and the same soul and it is why, every year, we come together, in places like Bend, Oregon, and Alpine Valley, Saratoga, and Atlanta, Los Angeles and, yes, most especially Colorado, the middle point, the great divide, the place where it is easiest for us all to meet, for one last chance, to dance for our very special band.
Thank you to the people that make the Phish community one of the bright shining lights of our world, of our culture, and a precious, living and relevant part of the society that made Phish, and therefore us.
Thank you Phish. Thank You So Much. You Rock My Soul.
