From: MARKUS BRAKHAN <71201.1016@compuserve.com>
Subject: On Masterpieces, Records and Trivia
Reply-To: 71201.1016@compuserve.com
Organization: The Internet
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 06:24:30 GMT

Howdy Chum!
 I'm going to try to tie the DCC/DAT, historian (Do This, Don't Do
That), and the Dead Flames threads together with my tour impressions.
 Digital information storage now makes it possible for us to manage
increasingly large volumes of information. The question remains: is it
worth managing? Even the most gifted artist makes 99% drivel. Their
egos won't let themselves admit it, but basically most of the stuff 
made is junk. Yet the production of one so-called masterpiece can
suddenly elevate someone from obscurity to fame. Take for instance, 
Milli Vanilli. Here we have a pair of charlatans who went from
obscurity to fame, and they didn't even make the so-called
masterpiece! (You know, their record, the one that won all the
"Grammy" awards) Thank the mass media, esp. VH1, for bringing us this
scam.
 At Port Chester I was told by a young .netter that he had seen 39
shows, which, I was informed, was a lot for someone his age. I say: Big
Fucking Deal. Its not how many shows you go to, but rather how much fun
you have at them. It is the process of participating that counts. Which
brings me to my next point: nobody wants to go see a band that has
played its "best show" already. That is the allure of Phish, and the
continuing allure of The Grateful Dead. Roughly speaking, either has
the potential to blow me away at any moment. Yeah, I've seen too many
"Black Peter"s, but I'll sit through a few more, listening carefully
for those little glitches that make Dead shows a joy. I hear the
opening bars of "Playing in the Band" and the question immediately
becomes, "Okay, boys, what are you going to do with it?"
 Did anyone see "Truth or Dare", Madonna's mastur, I mean, movie? Does
she really believe that we care about half of the stuff that we watch
her do in the movie? Well, maybe we're just not true fans. 
Nonetheless, I continue to maintain that her first record is a
masterpiece of sorts. It was released in 1983 and became popular in
1984, at a time when little was happening in pop-culture (oxymoron?). 
But Madonna's record produced radio songs that got airplay on virtually
all genres of radio stations. It was produced by Jelly-Bean Benitez, 
master mixer of the era, and it first found play in the club scene
(Borderline was number 1 dance/club single for a long time). It quickly
crossed on to the rock, pop and soul charts. It found wide appeal, and
therefore it goes into the Masterpiece bin, although Madonna's career
will be anything but genius taken as a whole, except if you're studying
business.
 Polar opposite, The Grateful Dead, have never produced a masterpiece. 
I still don't own a single studio recording, but I have invested time
and effort in obtaining a sizable collection of concert recordings. 
These tapes aren't masterpieces: they are at worst souvenirs of my
experience at shows, at best snapshots of the atmosphere at a Grateful
Dead concert. The genius of the Dead is producing something for us to
_do_ night after night. Thus their creative lives are masterpieces of
art, a far more difficult, and far more desirable, achievement.
 Phish faces challenges distinct from either Madonna or the Dead. I
don't always feel that Phish is there on stage to see me through my
journey. I never questioned that Jerry and the Boys' main concern was
seeing to it that I enjoyed the evening, even if they chose to fuck
with me for a while. I'm not talking about themes or imagery, but
attitude on stage.
 Take the "signals" thing. I think the signals are becoming (1) too
obscure and (2) too manipulative. I think that it has now crossed the
line from participation to manipulation. It _is_ "cool" to know what
the band is doing, but all things turn bad in excess. We can whine
together about people who don't shut up during a capella tunes, but I
refuse to fall down just 'cuz the band says to. What next, a Forbin rap
in which Trey orders us to walk outside and jump off a bridge? You know
I'm kidding, but the point is that it is too obscure and it scares
strangers to the scene.
 There is a difference between a crowd responding to a specific song in
a given way, e.g. clapping twice after "Iko iko all day" is sung, and a
crowd being given random orders. I think I would feel unwelcome in a
crowd that all knew to fall down at a given time and I didn't, so when
it happens I remain standing and look sympathetically at the standees, 
the outsiders, the uninitiate. At Port Chester, about half of the
people around me knew the "fall down" signal, and I saw some people
actually trying to help some people get back up! In Montreal, nobody
knew what was going on, and it was kind of funny to watch the band fall
down alone.
 Dead heads are constantly (and often justifiably) accused of
"clickishness" or "cultishness" (apologies to _the_ NESS. . .) and the
ironic part is that there is little outright in the Dead's performance
that encourages this. Sure, "Drums and Space" loses many people when
they are not too high to realize what's happening to them, but I've
been both enthralled and bored under either state of mind. Just keeping
up with the changes in rhythm and is enough work for anyone
participating in the art of performed music.
 Phish runs the serious risk of alienating potential new fans with too
many inside jokes. That is why a lot of my posts have been re: saying
what you mean and not speaking a language which we all do not share. If
you can pull off the joke and still get your meaning across to the rest
of your audience, you have succeeded in pulling off a good inside
joke; but when you leave people around you going "Huh?" you've gone too
far. Its good to do repeats and radio tunes so that people who have
never been to shows before can relate to at least part of the show.
 From 1989 to 1991 I would describe Phish as a combination of Frank
Zappa and Carlos Santana. I don't anymore. Not after the tour with
Carlos. Because now I'm afraid of a Carlos comparison. But now that I
think about it, I fear a Zappa comparison even more, because his music
is very inaccessible, e.g. hard to enjoy without repeated listenings
and considerable effort. 
 I would like to see more of the spontaneous jamming that Phish
displayed while playing with Carlos. For instance, I think the solo
that Trey performed during Carlos's set at Stowe was absolutely
phenomenal. The same goes for Page's, Mike's and Jon's contributions
during that set. There were brief phrases of familiar tunes, but I
don't believe I've ever seen them allow themselves that type of
creative freedom. I think they can handle it, and they should go ahead
and try a little more improvisation and experimentation.
 I would also love to see more of the type of audience participation
like the Beach Ball Jam and Windham Hell. I'll bet its a pain in the
butt for the crew to manage that stuff, but it is bona fide fun.
 Here is the one point that I would have the band know: I think they
should hold back a little more in the first set and give more in the
second set. It seemed to me on several nights that by second set
something had happened to the energy level. I'm thinking especially of
the first night of Port Chester and Montreal. Of course there were
great moments in those sets, but in comparison to the energy level
during the first set on those nights, I think they fell short. 
Premature ejaculation? Hope it was fun for you. That brings me back to
the stage attitude thing. Be careful not to confuse us too much, and
give us the credit to play your best material in the second set, and
not just be entertained by whatever you put on the stage. Its funny, 
but. . .keep our minds expanding.
 I was keeping Phish Digests on my hard drive for a while so I could
search for pertinent info quickly. I have since removed them, but for
now they are simply archived (Fortunately, because my Stowe branch
leader lost his tree post). Eventually, I will probably reformat the
disks. Because ultimately what we are doing here is trivia. Even if it
is related to The Band it is almost not worth memorializing. The point
is that we _DO_ go Phishing, that it is participatory, and that we do
it and move on to the next (album, show, digest--whatever).
Peace, Love and Happiness.
Markus
I will only be Phish-bait until Friday night. So those of you inclined
to flame have until then. I'm going skiing! I will be getting Aired Out
in Jay-Hole and ZUBAfied in Telluride; any .netters in rocky-land make
note- ZUBA is playing 2 or 3 nights at the Fly Me to the Moon Saloon in
T-ride on & around NYE.
IPIIADC (I put it in anyway Dead content):"I may going To-Hell-you-ride
in a bucket, but at least I have a joint for the ride."
Favorite Comment: (Trey) "Tip those waitresses and bartenders, they
love it." (mystery Nectar's, Summer '88?)
CC:Trey Anastasio
Jon Fishman
Mike Gordon
Page McConnell

Thanks guys!!!!



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  Digestifier >INTERNET:Phish@fuggles.acc.Virginia.edu
  Trey Anastasio >INTERNET:trey.anastasio@fuggles.acc.virginia.edu
  Jon Fishman >INTERNET:jon.fishman@fuggles.acc.virginia.edu
  Mike Gordon >INTERNET:mike.gordon@fuggles.acc.virginia.edu
  Page McConnell >INTERNET:page.mcconnell@fuggles.acc.virginia.edu