Phish/Grateful Dead/other jamband fans?

[xAzagthothx]

well, i'm goin out on a SERIOUS limb here, seeing if anybody else digs this...

i took a HARD left turn after high school in 2004 when I was introduced to the Phish scene.... i went from Morbid Angel, Darkthrone, Suffocation to jambands. Totally different music, yet the scene is completely the same. Hardcore music geeks, obsessing over EVERYTHING.

but the jamband scene has one thing right that metal doesn't, and probably never will: Free taping and trading. Thats how the Dead became so monolithically humongous: they let fans tape and trade every show, FOR FREE. This is what drove the buzz. That, and the fact that they never played the same show twice, in over 3,000 shows.... which is absolutely incredible to think about.


BUt PHish and the Dead couldn't be more apart. Phish is actually a big Zappa and YES kinda thing, well... their early stuff, that is. They grew into an anthemic arena rock SHRAGE band. Trey Anastasio is fucking BONKERS on the guitar. That guy shreds so hard... omg. Ugh. The climax of Phish jams are absolutely orgasmic. LOUD fucking guitars, RAGING organ, the lights going crazy, improvising with the music.... ugh. its absolutely unbelievable.

Phish are ABSOLUTELY not your typical gay faggy jamband, vamping on A major and G major in some stupid funky reggae groove.

This is "their song": You Enjoy Myself. This is the defining Phish prog-rock gnarly crazy composition. Check out Trey's arpeggios....

(part 1)

(part 2)

its a LONG song... with a sick jam. This is definitely not the best version, but its from a pro-taped thing for VH1, and its a good solid version showing everything that they do.

you'll dig Trey's CRAZY "note" solo, where he sustains the shit out of it, and all the rythm shifts. its gnarly. check it out.

dont hate just cuz its Phish. and check out the TRAMPOLINES!!!!!

 

[Einherjar86]

Don't like Phish, not big on the Dead, but Umphrey's McGee is fucking awesome, mostly because their guitarists are amazing:

 

[KMADD]

Govt Mule which is more like a southren rock band and The Max Allen Band are closest thing i can into that are jam like bands.

 

[Einherjar86]

Yeah, Warren Haynes is a guitar god.

I really do like Jerry Garcia's guitar playing though; especially his folk stuff.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I don't really care much for jam bands per se, but I do love the Dead. They had a really mesmerising way of jamming, though for the most part I think I liked them best when they were doing structured, concise recordings like the ones on Workingman's Dead, American Beauty, and the s/t debut. They did some really awesome pop songs on that first album!

 

[mdmatt4ever]

Love the dead. One of my top 10 bands. I really like the early years with pigpen and then the late 80’s/early 90’s. I hate donna’s singing though in the 70’s. she was alays so off key.


Anyways are the allman brothers counted as a jam band?

 

[xAzagthothx]

well i'll be fuckin damned. I can't believe what i just read here, haha.

This is incredible.

See, the thing about JAMBANDS is that it isn't a STYLE, its an aesthetic. You can be a blues band, a jazz band, a prog-rock band, and all 3 could be JAMBANDS. Its about the live approach to improvising and creating something new, on the spot, that only exists that one time, in that one moment, fueled by the energy given back to the band by the audience.


Its funny tho, cuz I always thought that a lot of the GNARLY shit the Dead would fall into during the space freak-outs in The Other One and Dark Star during 72-74, with the pick scraping wah screams and all the cacophony, I always thought that that had the SAME exact vibe as Darkthrone's "A Blaze In The Northern Sky". The fucking evil maniacal chaos thing.


and yes, matt, the Allman Brothers are MOST CERTAINLY a jamband. They were the other half to the Dead in forming the entire JAMBAND ethic, by bringing the jazz improvisation aspect over into rock and roll.

 

[mdmatt4ever]

i love the allmans. i guess cream is a jam band too.


anyways if anyone wants some grateful dead recommendations or has a favorite song by them and wants to know the best live version of the song thats available on an official dead live album feel free to ask.

 

[KMADD]

Okay i did see this band the other night called Ladymoon that was pretty impressive at the Mousetrap. Twin Cats aren't bad either kind of a jazzy jam band pretty popular here in the midwest and Groovatron is dece.