Work's been busy enough lately that I haven't had an extended period of time to sit at my desk with my headphones and really knock something out. It's less the extended periods at my desk and more the headphone aspect that I'm missing. I learned long ago that the only thing that can ever truly trump a terrible day at work - or anywhere really - is my music...preferably some nice long jammy funky show of some sort, maybe even one that I attended that will prompt some good memories, and even more preferably something Phish.

Every once in a while I'll download a particularly great new show or I'll rediscover an under-appreciated gem on my iPod. That's the BEST. There is nothing like having to actually stop working because you're so compelled to listen to what's coming over the headphones. Usually while working the work is more important. As it - ahem - should be. But when I find myself completely zoned out, focusing blankly at my keyboard thinking "Damn...how do they do that?/I've forgotten how got that was/Geez, Trey could you just shut up about the olive loaf and get back to Harpua already?" then suddenly I'm having a really good day.

I had one of those today. I've been listening through the 7/15/98 Portland Meadows show off of Live Phish lately and there are points in that show that leave me completely incapacitated. I pulled it out again after reading a terrific interview with Trey where he talks about suddenly hearing the Tweezer > California Love > Tweezer combo while driving carpool for his daughters and some friends. The hopeful nature of his comments (he says "we stopped the car and they got out and I started listening sort of without prejudice, and it was that jam from the California gig. It's got that 'California, knows how to party,' and it was really good, just so gentle, and I could hear what everybody was playing. It was a really great experience. I called Mike and I called Fish and Page and talked to them about it.") led me to want to hear it again. And it IS that good - super creative, loose, relaxed, funky - everything that's good about Tweezer when Tweezer's good...and everything that was particularly good about them at that time in their career.

And the whole show is like that, and somehow it's been such a long time since I gave it any time that I had completely forgotten and the experience of re-listening to it was truly awesome. Does Phish still matter? My good God, YES. Yes they do.

The show is one of the very best examples of what made Phish so very special in the first place. They're relaxed and chatty; joking with the audience like it was a small club show but playing as if it were Madison Square Garden. They're testing out some new stuff - Roggae, LxL, and Birds (which gets an especially rockin' jam for such a new song) - while still playing the shit out of the old chestnuts (see above re: Tweezer). When I had originally listened to the show it was when it was released as one of Mike's Picks, and I was listening for the bass. You can tell why Mike loves it - it's every bit as transcendent as he makes it sound. And the recording is incredible - I can't recall another one where Page is mixed so well (and so incredibly ON, taboot). They sound like nothing you've ever heard - and the amazing thing is that wasn't unusual for them.

The best part, though, might possibly be the filler track: Bathtub Gin from 7/29/98...arguably the best Gin ever. I think I listened to it 3 times today.

No wonder it took me until 7pm to actually finish my work.