Phish adventures (7/20-7/22/18 - The Gorge Amphitheatre)

Returned home this Tuesday after a great 6 days of music, camping, and newly acquired tastes. You know you had a satisfactory vacation when you come back home different from how you were before you left. Those 6 days were spent void of any social media activity, and I have to be honest in saying that it was way less stressful and far more enjoyable without having Facebook on my phone. I thought it would be hard at first, but quickly discovered how much time I had been wasting on social media. When I came home, I logged on and noticed that nothing really important had happened while I was away, which cured my FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). I've grown to discover that life is meant to be lived, not documented.

Anyway, you all know my thoughts on jam bands (see my Dead & Company entry if you don't). They really have to hit the right mark with me in order to keep my attention. If a jam goes on for too long, then I end up zoning out or not being able to think anything other than "When is this jam going to be over?" Of course, the hardcore jam band fans are never bored. The thing that strikes me the most about Phish isn't so much the music, but rather, the community that is their fanbase. Phish may not be my most favorite band in the world, but there's something to be said about the way their music brings people together. Jam bands seem to appeal to a pretty niche audience, much like prog. From what I've noticed, these niche (or cult) bands have the most loyal and passionate fans. People bond over their shared interest in these bands that are overlooked by the mainstream. I see that kind of passion among fans of bands like Ghost or Marillion.

All 3 shows took place at the lovely Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington. Since I went to 3 shows, I'm not going to talk about the details of each show. Instead, I'll just give my general thoughts. Each night had a unique setlist, as expected from Phish, but out of all of them, night 2 was probably the most enjoyable for me as far as song choice and vantage point go. There were also a few songs I recognized from my first Phish shows back in 2016 that they played during night 3, like "Wilson," or their cover of "Cross-Eyed and Painless" by Talking Heads.

Since I'm not a hardcore Phish fan, I didn't attend their shows here in LA, but I'm not ruling out the possibility of doing so in the future.

Dead & Company/Jam band thoughts

Hi all! Had a busy weekend that consisted of driving and walking all over downtown L.A. I visited museums, went record shopping, had good food, and went to a concert. I mentioned earlier last week that I picked up a cheap ticket to see Dead & Company at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night after a friend told me about it. It was a brutally hot day, and I arrived at the stadium after about 5 or 6 hours of walking around in the intense heat. Let's just say that it didn't go too well...

When I finally reached my seat after 2 hours of walking among the stoners and boozers you'd expect to see at a show like this, I was way exhausted. The heat had taken so much out of me, but I was hoping that the show would bring my energy back and I would end up having a good time.

The minute this show started, I knew that that wasn't going to happen. I found the band to be exceptionally lacking in energy and, worst of all, the sound was consistently very, very low. It was quiet enough that the people around me were able to carry out normal discussions without having to shout in each other's ears. It was as though the music was merely there in the background, as an accompaniment to the conversations of the people around me (sort of like what you would experience when going to a coffee shop that has live music). I tried to focus all of my attention on the music, but quickly became just as disengaged as everyone else near me. I found myself wanting it to be over, and that's not a good thing. The only thing I cared about at that point was getting home and taking a shower. When that happens, I know that all bets are off. After the first set, I simply stood up and left, and took a taxi back to where I parked my car. Since I didn't stay for the whole show, I'm not going to give it a rating.

I have mixed feelings on these "jam bands" as people call them. There seems to be two types of people when it comes to jam bands: people who absolutely love them, or people who just don't get them at all. I find myself to be one of the few in that gray area, where it largely depends on the band. While I appreciate the experimental tendencies of bands like Phish or Umphrey's McGee, I have one major problem with jam bands: their music tends to wear out their welcome with me very quickly. As a prog fan, I love a good, long session of jamming here and there, but to me, these bands can sometimes take that a bit too far, to the point where the music loses its impact on me. You can only jam the same chord progression for so long, or so I think. Eventually, I stop noticing the talent and begin wondering when this jam is going to be over. If I'm going to see a band that takes this approach, then it needs to be consistently high in energy, and I'm happy to say that, for the most part, I get that experience out of Phish and Umphrey's McGee (more often from the latter band, personally). With Dead & Company, the energy just wasn't there for me, which is why they lost me so fast. What keeps me engaged with a show is not just the quality of the music, but the volume, and the energy displayed by the band members and the audience. The reason I enjoyed, say, Franz Ferdinand so much, was because their music filled the entire venue, and the chemistry between the band and the audience was totally on point. 

I'm going to see Phish next week in Washington with some friends. Having already seen them twice, I trust that the experience will be far more enjoyable than what I got at Dodger Stadium.

7/4/18

Not really sure of what to call this entry, so I just won't give it a name. I'm not up to much this Fourth of July, other than trying to stay out of the heat and spending the afternoon prepping food for the evening.

I spent all of yesterday afternoon listening to a number of tunes while I sat in my room working on a latching kit my grandmother gave me. I played the three Ghost studio albums that I own: Prequelle, Infestissumam, and Meliora (my personal favorite). Truthfully, my dad and I both seem to be in a phase where we can't stop playing their music. Their music seems to be all I hear coming from my dad's office, and I currently have my Prequelle CD in my car. It seems as though the more we listen to them, the harder it is for us to accept the fact that we have to wait another 4 months before we see them at The Forum.

I'm not just enjoying the music, but I'm also enjoying the whole idea of this band, particularly the theatrics and the anonymity of the band members besides Tobias Forge. Anonymity within a band has always fascinated me. The decision to make your band, or "project" as some call it, solely about the music is one that I really appreciate. I think about bands that take a similar approach by not showing their faces on stage or in interviews like Daft Punk or Buckethead. Too often, when I watch videos of bands performing, I see a large amount of comments that focus on the physical appearance of the band members, and not a word about the music they just played. With the prevalence of the Internet and social media, it can be hard to protect one's identity completely, but these bands manage to make it work.

Sunday update/ Events for July

Hi all! Happy July! Amazing that we're now in the second half of 2018! It's about 10:43 a.m. right now here in SoCal, and I thought I'd give you all an update as to what you can expect from me this month.

Well, first of all, I have quite a few concerts happening. As it turns out, I have shows happening every week this month. It all kicks off next Saturday, with Dead and Company at Dodger Stadium. My friend Dylan informed me of a bunch of $20 tickets that had just been released for that show, so I decided to give it a try. A week after that, I have a ticket to see Harry Styles of One Direction at The Forum. I'm not big on One Direction, mind you, but I did pick up a copy of Harry's first solo album recently since I heard so many good things about it, and I liked it quite a bit. On July 18, I will be flying out to Portland, Oregon to visit my friend Dylan. From there, we will be driving up to George, Washington, to see Phish for three nights at the Gorge Amphitheatre. We traveled out there two years back the last time Phish played there, and we had a blast, so I'm very much looking forward to going there again. I will return from Portland on the 24th. The day after that I have a ticket to see a childhood favorite of mine, Jesse McCartney, at The Belasco. So, this is shaping up to be a pretty eventful month!