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Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: When it comes to the holiday run, each show from December 28th to the 31st has sort of developed its own personality; the 28th is the warm-up show, the 29th is the rock and roll show with the most energy, the 30th is the legendary night before the night where the band plays most of its memorable jams, and of course New Year’s Eve, where the biggest shenanigans go down. Today’s guest, Scott Mitchell, the proprietor and operator of PhanDesignz, takes that paradigm and turns it on its head. For Scott, 12/28 is the show not to be missed, and he remembers the one that set that precedent: December 28, 1996 at the Philadelphia Spectrum.  The 1996 holiday run was split between Philadelphia and Boston–probably the last hurrah of the northeast runs before Phish would, for the most part, settle in at Madison Square Garden to end the year. Most people are probably more familiar with the following night, when Tom Marshall came onstage in the middle of Harpua to sing a respectable cover of “Champagne Supernova,” so I was curious as to what this show meant to Scott when he suggested it for the podcast. Unsurprisingly, 12/28/96 was the perfect combination of music and life circumstances for Scott to create an unforgettable experience at Phish. The show was, unusually, driven by Page, and included a couple of rarities and weird song pairings in the setlist. More importantly, Scott was getting ready to finish college and was home for the holidays, meeting up with friends who had gotten into the band while in their respective universities, which tends to happen. For today’s episode, though, Scott wanted to focus mostly on the second set of this show, as that’s where the big fireworks happen. There’s more to it than that, including Scott’s role as the designer and showrunner of PhanDesignz, an online fan art store, and big time Phish nerdery as we go deep during today’s conversation. I’ll let Scott tell the story as we go back to The Spectrum on December 28, 1996. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: It’s always exciting when a guest reaches out to tell about their experience at a Phish festival. On Attendance Bias, we’ve heard about pretty much all of them, except Big Cypress and Coventry. But wait…today’s guest, Matt Leaf messaged me to tell about his ride to a forgotten festival. A “proto-festival” as we call it throughout today’s episode. Matt has quite a personal story to tell how he ended up at a free, 3-set show at Larrabee Farm in Auburn, Maine on August 3, 1991, most commonly known as “Amy’s Farm.” There was no ferris wheel, no cheeky names for campgrounds, and no secret late-night sets…but it still set the tone and, as Matt calls it, the “rough draft” that would eventually blossom into the Clifford Ball just 5 years later, and Big Cypress by the end of the decade. Things were just on a smaller scale then. Matt explains how he got into the scene through his older brothers’ love of the Grateful Dead in the mid-80s, and then some fortuitous connections at a Maine summer camp steered him into the direction of Phish, which in turn led him to this free show that has lived in the tape decks of thousands of fans for years.  It was almost excruciatingly exciting to hear about being at Amy’s Farm from a first-person point of view. You can even hear my voice speed up at certain points because I wanted to know more and more about what it was like to be there. Matt showed up today, big time, giving all the details that stand out in his memory as well as giving his take on the big picture of “what it all meant,” both at the time the show was played, and in retrospect as we look back and listen back today. There’s a lot to digest as we join Matt to talk about the sound quality, sold out tshirts, and extension cords as we time travel back to Amy’s Farm on August 3, 1991 in Auburn, ME. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started, I want to remind you  that you can support Attendance Bias by going to www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donating  anything you can manage. You can also leave a rating or a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, onto today’s episode: Shopping for car insurance? Invested in the drama of an elevated dining Chicago restaurant, scrolling Netflix lately and came across the new show Free Bert or adult cartoon Chicago Party Aunt? If any of the above is true for you, then you already know today’s guest. Actor Chris Witaske who you may recognize as the guy trying not to become his parents in the Progressive tv commercials, as Pete in the FX show The Bear, or as the villain on Free Bert with the exquisitely chosen character name Landon Vanderthal, is also a huge Phish fan. He and I were lucky enough to sit near each other on New Year’s Eve 2025 and had the greatest time watching a bunch of Broadway-style milk cartons dance across the stage of Madison Square Garden. By the time the third set was over, Chris, myself, and everyone around us were reminded of what we already knew: Phish is incredible, and we are so lucky to see them at another peak of their career. I got in touch with Chris a few days after New Year’s and asked him if he would be interested in basically nerding out about Phish for an hour, based on a jam of his choice. He was immediately game, and after a bit of discussion, he asked if “Tweezer” from New Year’s Eve 2025 would be too “on the nose.” That was immediately followed up with a message that said, “it’s so good.” I obviously want my guests to tell us about whatever show or jam they want, but after a few relistens, it’s clear that this 30 minute Tweezer from New Year’s Eve is a bona fide classic. It’s one of the jams of the year, and Chris had so much to look forward to in 2026 that it was an auspicious start to the year. It’s a great long jam, but there’s so much more to it than just the music.  But let’s hear it from Chris as we talk about Deep dish pizza, High Fidelity, and having too many options in a Phish calendar year, as we discuss “Tweezer” from December 31, 2025 at Madison Square Garden. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: Last year around this time, once Phish announced their summer tour dates, I aired a new series called “Venue Previews.” The goal was to introduce fans to each venue Phish would play on their summer tour, and have a guest tell us about the ins and outs of each city, as well as review Phish’s history in that venue. I loved it so much that when today’s guest, Howard Fuchs proprietor of the Smokin’ Sandy Pineapple food truck, rang me up, we came up with an idea that was similar, but different. Today’s episode is the inverse of a “Venue Preview.” Instead, it is a “Venue Remembrance." Howard was in college in the late-80s and early-90s in Ithaca, New York. During his time there, he saw Phish no less than 5 times in the now-legendary club, The Haunt in Ithaca. The Haunt no longer exists, but Howard recalls specific details of seeing Phish at least five times in the 1990 calendar year. Today’s episode is a look back at those five Phish shows (although no audio exists from one of the shows). More than that is a look back at the city of Ithaca, its natural beauty, and its socially conscious attitude that pervaded the community for decades, including the time period we’re discussing today. Now, for those of us who are just here for the music, there’s another layer to this story. 1990 was a tremendous year for Phish. They were regularly venturing out of New England, mostly to college campuses and small clubs in the northeast. At the same time, they were recording Lawn Boy while still writing new material that would eventually appear on A Picture of Nectar. All the while, they were grinding it out in their van, playing these venues, most of the time without recordings or even surviving setlists. These are shows we know happened, but don’t know anything about. And more often than not, these venues are no longer standing. That’s why today’s conversation with Howard is such a treat. Not only does he wax poetic about The Haunt, but we get to be a fly on the wall during a time of the band’s history that, I would guess, most listeners of this podcast did not experience. As a side bonus, we get to hear the band’s evolution in real time through the lens of The Haunt, which they played 5 times, from January to November of 1990, before moving on to the beginning of their small theater era. So let’s journey to the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Bring your sweatshirt and $7 for the cover charge as Howard and I talk about crunchwraps, slipping on bracelets, and finding your tribe in college as we remember The Haunt, in Ithaca, New York. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: I’ve spoken a lot on this podcast about how different Phish years have different personalities. When Attendance Bias was first getting off the ground, I had an unofficial goal to learn more about the 1999 Phish calendar year. But at this point, about five years in, I think that 1998 is the more intangible year. Everyone loves 1997, we’ve covered a lot of shows and jams from 1999, but 1998 remains elusive. The band was still funky, but they also kept their guitar-powered speed rock and combined it with a ton of unexpected cover songs that kept the crowd guessing. If we could distill the cagey feeling of 1998 into one show, it may be today’s: Matt Huber is here to explain what it was like to attend Phish's show from August 1, 1998 at Alpine Valley. A classic venue that, in this case, featured Phish at the top of their game during an under-explored summer. Matt and I have a lot to say about today’s show, but there’s this inescapable feeling that, even with a 90 minute episode, there’s a lot left unsaid. We talk about the summer of covers, imaginary conversations between band members, and even compare Fikus to Quadrophonic Toppling. This is a nerdy episode, and we go out there. But, maybe what makes 1998 such a great year for Phish has yet to be defined no matter how much we talk. In the meantime, Matt and I give it our best shot today. Let’s join Matt Huber to discuss The Story of the Ghost, The Velvet Underground, and who should take the high vocal parts at  August 1, 1998 at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: 2009 was the most exciting year to be a Phish fan. After years of waiting and hoping, while band members were in their various solo outings, and the jamband scene seemed more inclusive than ever, Phish returned to the stage. After their Hampton comeback in March, they hit the road for a HUGE summer tour and expectations were out of control. At the time, lots of long-time fans were overwhelmed with the excitement of Phish being back clean, sober, and cohesive but we were also wondering: where are the jams? But with time comes perspective and we are lucky today to have returning guest Derek Hill to explain why today’s show–June 9, 2009 at the Asheville Civic Center–and 2009 in general deserves its due, deserves respect, and deserves attention instead of being brushed aside as “the band getting back on their feet.”  You may remember that Derek was previously on Attendance Bias to tell about another show from 2009–the memorable Hartford show from August 14 when the band busted out several Gamehendge favorites, a killer version of Ghost, and even played Psycho Killer!  That show was an instant classic, but today’s show from Asheville was a bit more under the radar. It was early on in Phish’s 3.0 return, and had several features that would become trademarks of the early-3.0 era; long sets, old favorites mixed in with songs from the new album, strong vocals, type 1 jams, and the occasional jam that pushed the boundaries.  But there’s also the personal aspect to it–the reasons Derek wanted to tell his story, and I’ll leave that to him. So let’s join Derek to talk about Sarah Palin, Fishman’s journal, and what it’s like UNDER the stage, as we discuss June 9, 2009 at the Asheville Civic Center. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: The idea of a Phishaersary–acknowledging and maybe celebrating the date of your first Phish show–is a fun part of our community. Even more fun is when Phish plays a show on the same date as your first. Even better than that is when you get to attend a show that’s played on the same day as your first. Then, there’s the trifecta: when Phish plays a show on the same date as your first, you’re able to go, it’s a decades-long round number anniversary, AND they play a big time party show all in the same night. Today’s guest, Jefe from Arizona is here to tell about his experience at such a show: October 24, 2021 at the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles, the same night exactly 30 years after his first show in 1991. The beginning of the so-called 4.0 era was an odd time in America. But in retrospect, in our small Phish community, it’s an easy call to say that the fall 2021 tour featured some of the best live music since the band returned in 2009. I would guess that most people link the fall 2021 tour with the stunning and controversial, Halloween shows in Las Vegs, which featured the numbers show, the animals show, and the confounding Sci-Fi Soldier set. But there were many west-coast highlights leading up to that, including today’s show from L.A. While the band blew people’s minds with a psychedelic spacey show the night prior in Chula Vista, this L.A. show was more of a party night, getting off to a casual start but then literally rocking the house during the second set with a Tweezer and a surprise cover song for the ages!  But this is Jefe’s story. So let’s join him to talk about Prescott, Arizona, unexpected song arrangements, and more, as we discuss October 24, 2021 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Support the show

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Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: We all remember our first Phish show–all of us, that is, except today’s guest, Mike Radicone. Mike’s first show was one of the greatest shows ever played by the band, but he literally didn’t know what he was getting into. But there’s a silver lining to having no memories of your first show: you get to have another first show!  As we are getting ready for Phish’s return to MSG for the New Year’s Run, I felt it would only be appropriate to have Mike here to tell about his second show: December 30, 2010–the night before the night, when Phish summarized the 2010 calendar year in one show. Listening to this show and then talking about it brought back a flood of memories for me, but it was refreshing talking to an enthusiastic guest, more of a casual fan, who spoke as if he were experiencing all of this for the first time. Meanwhile, Mike is also the founder of Datability–a program that helps gather information for special education students–and the host of a new podcast: Mastered with Mike, where he speaks to everyday people who indulge their passions to create and master something they love. I think a lot of Phish fans can relate!  But I don’t want to get it wrong or step on Mike’s shoes. So let’s join him to talk about Irish bars, fairy wings, and more, as we discuss December 30, 2010 at Madison Square Garden. Support the show

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Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started today, I want to remind you that you can support Attendance Bias in several ways: you can visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can afford to keep the podcast going, you can leave a rating and a review of the show wherever you get your podcasts, and you can follow attendance bias on social media. Now, on with today’s show: I received a message on Instagram a few weeks ago from today’s guest, Patrick Quinn. It was a thoughtful and complimentary fan message, telling me how he enjoys Attendance Bias and how our histories as Phish fans seemed to intersect in a number of ways. I love receiving fan mail, and so I clicked on this person’s profile to see who he was, beyond his profile picture. What I found was an artist who works in one of the most interesting mediums: Pat is a metal forger who helps run and teach newcomers how to forge and shape metal. I was immediately intrigued–when I think of forging metal and blacksmiths, I picture what is probably the most generic image: a medieval peasant, covered in cloaks with soot all over his face, hammering at a piece of metal over an anvil, with sparks flying everywhere. While some things never change, Pat’s organization: The Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown, Pennsylvania is bringing something old to the new millennium. He and his colleagues host workshops where people come to learn ancient arts that result in beautiful, heirloom-quality tools. It has to be seen to believed, and there is a link to the CMA in today’s show notes. Then, of course, there is Pat’s selection for today’s episode. Pat chose to talk about Phish’s performance of “Most Events Aren’t Planned,” which closed set 1 of July 24, 2024 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Vida Blue original is typical for a Page McConnell song–it’s mid-tempo, contains thoughtful lyrics about change and loss, and has a few time changes that whip both the band and the crowd into a frenzy. This version at Mohegan Sun is a stellar performance. So I didn’t know what to expect diving into today’s conversation, and finished it excited and satisfied. Let’s join Pat to talk about Hartford, metal work, and sandwich cookies, as we revisit “Most Events Aren’t Planned” from 7/24/24 at Mohegan Sun.  Support the show

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Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started, I want to remind you  that you can support Attendance Bias by going to www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donating  anything you can manage–we are reaching the end of the calendar year and I would love it if we could meet our goal to cover expenses before 2026 rolls around. You can also leave a rating or a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, onto today’s episode: If you’ve been listening to Attendance Bias for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me mention the date of my first Phish show: December 29, 1997. There’s been plenty of discussion of the 1997 New Year’s run on here, but with one notable exception: the ‘97 New Year’s run was made up of four shows: 1 show at the Capitol Center in Landover, MD on 12/28, and then the best-known shows–12/29-31 at MSG. For years, I’ve wondered about what went on at that one-off show in Maryland. So you can imagine my excitement when today’s guest, Dan Wagener, reached out to ask if he could come on Attendance Bias to talk about one of the best jams from that underrated night: “Runaway Jim” from 12/28/97. Was the first night of the 1997 New Year’s run a warm-up show? An underrated gem? A throwaway remnant before the big time shows at MSG? Find out today as we join Dan to talk about the Capitols, mimes, and ghosts in the machine as we break down “Runaway Jim” from December 28, 1997 at USAir Arena in Landover, MD. Support the show

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Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Certain Phish shows can be seen as flashpoints for the band’s career–Amy’s Farm in 1991, New Year’s ‘95 at MSG, Big Cypress for sure, the Wingsuit set...many of them have been covered on this podcast. Much more rare is a three or four-night run that can be pointed to as a turning point. And I don’t know if there’s a better-known four-show run that is universally praised and seen as a high-water mark as 1998’s Island Tour. Even at the time, we knew that we were seeing and hearing something special, but its place in Phish history only became clear as the years went by. However, at the time, not everybody had the best time at the Nassau Coliseum and the Providence Civic Center. Today’s guest, artist Patrick Smith, tells of an unsettling experience during the first set of the first show of the Island Tour–April 2, 1998. Still new to Phish and making some rookie mistakes in 1998, not everything went according to plan for Patrick and his friend, but I’ll let him tell the story, including why we are only covering the first set on today’s episode. More exciting than the show, though, is the fact that Patrick is an artist, and THE artist who created the iconic four-portrait cover of the Pharmer’s Almanac, Volume 6–a seminal and essential guide to the band that was released in 2000. My copy has disintegrated from overuse over the past 25 years, but all of its information, including the cover that Patrick illustrated has pretty much merged with my Phish DNA and lives forever in my memory. Keeping things in-house, Patrick learned about Attendance Bias from another special guest who had a crucial part to play in the Island Tour, but again, I’ll let Patrick tell the story. For now, join Patrick and I to talk about hotel reservations, timing your boomers, and Norman Rockwell as we discuss set 1 of April 2, 1998 at The Nassau Coliseum. Support the show