I know, I know, let the Grateful Dead analogies go man. But it's hard to deny the similarities in the two bands when it comes to their history with album releases versus their live performances. There's just no comparison and most fans of the two bands see (or rather saw in case of the Dead) the albums as just a launching pad for new ideas to be introduced during the multitude of live performances. Remember, you are talking about fans who go to an average of 5 shows per tour, often back to back. So repetition is not necessarily our thing. 

By now I'm sure you've seen the 2014 summer tour We're excited to see the return of The Mann Music Center to the list. It'll be nearly 19 years since the last time they played at this fun little tucked away venue just outside of Philadelphia. My first show was in 1996 so I just missed this venue by a year but growing up just outside of Philadelphia I saw many summer shows and was always bummed Phish had graduated to the bigger Camden amphitheatre just over the Ben Franklin bridge. For one it's a more intimate venue then Camden but more importantly it's only about a 15 minute drive from my home town. dates. If not, go check them out. 

There was a time when Phish wouldn't think twice about booking shows around the holidays, leaving only a few waking hours to spend with friends and family. While it wasn't that they didn't care about family in the early days, their priorities were clearly geared towards their music and the growing scene that surrounded them at that time. A scene that ultimately drove the band to break up in 2004. 

There have been some great New Years Eve runs in Phish's history. Most would argue the best and most memorable run was Big Cypress. There are many aspects to this run that make it special, such as the all night set that saw some of the most creative playing from the fouresome up till that point in their career. But one such attribute that came to mind while watching the live Youtube footage of the first set from day one was just how awesome they sounded out of the gate. 

Often the first night of a new years run is not given much credit among fans as producing great shows. Some might suggest that the typical break between their fall tour and the NYE run is a contibutor to this lack of momentum that seems to be prevelant in NYE opening shows. A warm up of sorts. A theory that got even stronger during the 2011 run where they took the entire fall off. Some even calling it one of the worst NYE runs ever. But that being said, there are plenty of highlights to pull from opening nights in years past, however, none come out firing quite like Big Cyrpess.

When I started phishfork I started it mainly because I was receiving complaints from the few followers I have over at hip2besquare.net. I started hip2besquare in 2005 and it was during my post-Phish musical phase. The reality is my post-Phish musical phase started some where around 2000 / 2001 when the band went on their first hiatus. Like many fans and even some of the band members, Big Cypress was a bit of a pinnacle and since it seemed like Phish had hit their peak, I started to explore outside of the jam scene. It started with Wilco, Flaming Lips and Yo La Tengo and quickly spread to Malkmus (and Pavement) then to bands like Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem. The next thing you knew I was surrounded by Brooklyn hipsters at just about every show I attended.

As I dig back into the Fall 2013 tour catalog, an interesting thing came to light. Out of all of the great Tweezer and Carini jams that have been thrown out there, the song that has me coming back for more and more is Twist. The two specific versions that stand out are Glen Falls and Atlantic City. 

As with some of the summer streams, I do my best to capture some of the nights moments while sitting on my couch - #couchtour for those of you on Twitter. I missed last night but if you haven't checked it out, it is highly recommended to listen to the Carini. Lots going on in that puppy.