Attendance Bias

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8/15/12 @ Long Beach Arena w/ Jack and Frazer of PhanSets Aug 31, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guests are Jack and Fraser of PhanSets.com, who are here to tell about their NFT startup, Phansets, as well as their chosen attendance bias show: August 15, 2012 at Long Beach Arena, in Long Beach, CA.

If you got into Phish at a certain time in their history, you probably obtained a tape, or if you’re like me, hundreds of tapes. Everything about obtaining a tape was special: finding someone who had a tape you were looking for; reaching out to that person whether it was by a letter, a forum, or an email, agreeing to a trade or a B+P, and then when the tape arrived in the mail, the most unique thing about it, aside from the music, was the J-Card; the little piece of paper or thin cardboard that listed the set of music found on that tape. Everyone had their own special ritual and preferences when it came to the J-Cards. If you pretty much fetishized the tapes as much as I did, then you may have had special symbols to denote a segue, or a song debut, or a special guest, and so on.

Tapes have long vanished from the typical Phish scene, but Frazer and Jack of Phansets have dug deep into that nostalgic part of being a fan and want to update it to the present by using the concept of NFTs. In a minute, you’ll hear both guests explain how PhanSets brings back the love of special sets and JCards. But before then, we don’t want to forget the show!

Jack and Fraser were lucky enough to attend the August 15, 2012 show in Long Beach with some special guests; probably the biggest pop stars in the world at that time. So while you listen to today’s episode, imagine that you’re at the show. Now imagine that your brother in law is Justin Bieber’s musical director and guitarist. Now imagine that you and your brother in law convinced Justin Bieber to come see Phish with you. I don’t want to spoil the best parts, but you see where this is going.

So let’s join Frazer and Jack to talk about Phish Sets, Southern California venues, and the limits of an all-access pass as we discuss Phish’s performance from August 15, 2012 at the Long Beach Arena.

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Atlantic City '22 Recap w/Stub Me Down Aug 24, 2022

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8/6/21 @ Deer Creek w/ Drew Plettner Aug 17, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Drew Plettner of Charlotte, North Carolina. For today’s episode, Drew chose what is likely the most recent show for any guest, if you leave out any of the recap episodes: August 6, 2021 at Deer Creek.

The summer 2021 tour was an odd time for Phish and Phish fans. It was really an odd time for the world at large. This was the postponed 2020 tour, and fans didn’t know what to expect in terms of large gatherings, in terms of further postponements or cancelations, or in terms of their own comfort level. Luckily, Phish tends to deliver their best when we venture into the unexpected.

Drew is a fairly new fan as he first got into the band in 2018 and these two shows at Deer Creek in 2021 was when he felt the most prepared and ready to go as a fan. He picked a good weekend to show his stuff, because this Friday night show, august 6, delivers the goods. Great jams, fan favorite songs, and tons of crowd energy made it feel like 2020 never happened. I was unfamiliar with this run before Drew chose it and I am grateful to him for opening my eyes and ears to this special show.

So let’s join Drew to talk about country music, 2.0 vs 3.0 vs. 4.0, and the coin toss that is lot food as we discuss Phish’s show from August 6, 2021 at Deer Creek Amphitheater.

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"Simple" from 7/15/17 @ Northerly Island w/ Andy Michels Aug 10, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Andy Michels of JEMP Radio. For today’s episode, Andy chose to discuss one of the best jams during a summer full of the best jams: “Simple” from July 15, 2017 at Northerly Island in Chicago, Illinois.

JEMP Radio is an internet radio station that occupies a special space within the jamband scene. It’s been around longer than most Phish-centric music sources, it’s totally free, and it’s run and organized by fans instead of algorithms. This truly isn’t a paid advertisement, but I’ve been listening to JEMP radio for over a decade and so it was truly a thrill to have Andy on the podcast for today’s episode to hear the background of the radio station, his insight into Phish’s recent history, and a look into the summer of 2017 outside of the Baker’s Dozen.

So let’s join Andy to talk about The Residents, fuzzy synthesizers, and the marimba lumina, as we discuss “Simple” from July 15, 2017 at Northerly Island.

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2/22/03 @ U.S. Bank Arena w/ Scott King Aug 03, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Scott King of Ontario, Canada. For today’s episode, Scott chose to discuss a show for which we BOTH have attendance bias: February 22, 2003 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The February, 2003 tour was a special time to be a Phish fan. During the band’s 18-month hiatus, dozens of jambands gained prominence and began to specialize in specific genres popularized by Phish to jamband fans and ironically, Phish’s absence made them more popular. When they returned for this winter tour, anticipation was at an all-time high, and Phish delivered, offering all-time career highlight jams and shows in a brief, 12-show tour.

Scott was going through a transformative time in his life and, being Canadian, did not usually get the opportunity to see Phish that often. Byt sometimes the starts line up and he was able to see a few shows on this memorable tour, and this 2nd night of a 2-show run in Cincy during a rainy weekend would be a healing time when he was going through a tough time.

So let’s join Scott to talk about bbq Frito twists, Walls of the Cave, filling up your gas tank as we discuss Phish’s show from February 22, 2003 at The U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.

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11/2/98 @ The E Center w/Shawn Fausett Jul 27, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s we have a returning guest: Shawn Fausett of Colorado.

Shawn previously appeared on Attendance Bias to tell his story from Phish’s show from December 6, 1996 at the Aladdin Theater in Las Vegas. He is originally from the southwest, so While discussing that legendary Las Vegas show, it casually came up that he also attended the show we are discussing today: November 2, 1998 at the E Center in Salt Lake City Utah. I almost stopped that recording immediately and wanted to pivot to talk about that show, the colloquial “Dark Side of the Moon” show. But in an instant, I thought better of it and Shawn agreed, on the spot, to come back for a 2nd episode to talk about that Dark Side show. What you’re about to hear is the result of that promise.

While November 2, 1998 is the focus of today’s conversation, and we do our best to keep it there, there are many references to the 1996 Vegas show, the 1998 Halloween show, and even a jump or two to the Baker’s Dozen. So if you’re a casual Phish fan, you may need to do a little bit of homework to gain an understanding of the context of today’s legendary show. But before that, let’s talk about Halloween cover albums, the reputation of the Dead Goat Saloon, the loudest crowd reactions ever as Shawn Fausett tells about November 2, 1998 at The E Center in Salt Lake City.

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7/21/97 @ Virginia Beach Amphitheater w/ Megan Glionna Jul 20, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is the newest co-host of the Helping Friendly Podcast, Megan Glionna. I’ve had hosts of the HFPod on before, notably RJ Bee and Brian Brinkman. The HF Pod is filled with facts and analysis, and Megan brings a lot of personality to the table. Although stats and facts are always a part of Attendance Bias, I’m in it for the personalities and the stories, so I was thrilled when Megan agreed to come on the show. For today’s episode, Megan chose to discuss Phish’s show on July 21, 1997 at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater in Virginia Beach.

A benchmark show of a legendary year in Phish’s history, the Virginia Beach show was the band’s first American show of that year, during which they introduced not only a bevy of new songs to the audience, but also their new-at-the-time cow funk sound. As you’ll hear Megan and I discuss, they didn’t crawl into the summer tour with warm up shows, but as this Virginia Beach show proves, they hit the ground running.
There’s more to it than the music, though. So let’s join Megan to talk about taking your parents to a show, coping with a recent breakup, and the high school drama club as we discuss Phish’s performance from July 21, 1997 at The Virginia Beach Amphitheater.

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"The Moma Dance" from 10/29/14 @ The BGCA w/Michela Ratto Jul 13, 2022

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Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today’s guest is Michela Ratto of New York, by way of San Francisco. For today’s episode, Michela chose to discuss Phish’s performance of “The Moma Dance” with a segue into “We Are the Champions” by Queen from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on October 29, 2014.

Baseball has come up a number of times on this podcast, most notably with Hal Hansen, who chose to discuss Phish’s show from June 28, 2000 at the Garden State Arts Center. The baseball aspect of that conversation was more about the comparison of obsessed Phish fans with statistic minded baseball savants. Today’s talk with Michela goes a lot deeper and more specific than that, as she brings up the specific feeling of what it was like to be in San Francisco, rooting for her hometown team in the World Series at a Phish show, and what it’s like when they clinch the championship right at the start of the second set.
But that’s just one part of it. Today’s conversation covers a lot of ground as we discuss the fall 2014 tour, sisterhood, working at Chili’s, and so much more. On top of that, there are those times at shows when something even bigger than Phish is going on in the city they’re playing and yet they manage to fuse it into their playing, harnessing the excitement in the air both outside and inside the venue. For Michela and San Francisco Giants fans at the Bill Graham, this was one of those nights.

You’ll also hear Michela mention a few times that she and I go to a lot of shows together–there’s a good reason for that. We’re engaged! By the time this episode airs, she and I should be on our way to getting married, so this was a personal interview in a lot of ways.

But that’s a bigger story even than Phish. So in the meantime, let’s join Michela to chat about the best sandwiches in Saratoga Springs, the king of ground scores, and JT Snow saving the life of a young child as we go over “The Moma Dance from October 29, 2014 at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

Audio Used in Today's Episode

PYM Anxiety Chews

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"2001>Cities" from 11/26/97 @ The Hartford Civic Center with Ian Stone Jul 06, 2022

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10/14/16 @ North Charleston Coliseum w/Betsy Skalet Jun 29, 2022

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The MORE Project

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