Don’t TTE my Petrichor, bro.
By: Solar Garlic
Tags: Phish, Music

In my view, there are two things that make Phish unique among the jam band scene. One, is simply their improvisational prowess. No other band takes as many risks, and reaches such blissful heights. Second, and the focus of this piece, is their commitment to instrumental composition in song writing (obviously mostly rooted in the early days). With debts to prog rock and avant garde classical music like Stravinsky, Trey’s work with Ernie Stires laid a foundation for him to write epic and complicated instrumental compositions. Many point out that the Grateful Dead catalog has much better songs (in the “songwriting” sense), but the Dead does not have something as weird and complicated as, say, “Glide.” These compositions came pouring out of Trey in the early days — YEM, Fluffhead, Foam, Reba, It’s Ice, etc. Trey reiterated his commitment to this kind of composition with the magnum opus, Guyute, debuting in 1994. And then, it stopped. Blame it on fame. Blame it on drugs. Blame it on a decided shift to focus more on actual song writing in the folk-rock vain (See, Billy Breathes). For whatever reason, Guyute remained the last “epic” composition for 15 years. In fact, between 1994 and 1997, Guyute was actually a relatively rare tune to see live. I became a fan in 1995, and remember chasing it relentlessly in my early shows (Finally, vindicated on 11/16/96). With 1998’s Story of the Ghost Phish not only fully announced their transition to funk-groove based jamming, but they also attempted to remind fans of their commitment to instrumental composition by including the track Guyute four years after its debut. After the album came out, Phish played Guyute much more often live.

Then something odd happened. Guyute became a “bathroom” song for many fans. In an era marked by four song sets, and long, exploratory jams, Guyute was long and relatively the same every time out. Guyute became a big chunk of the set that took “away” from the jams which is what increasingly the “serious” Phish fan coveted. But, Phish was never just a jam band. Their compositions set them apart. I remember being somewhat horrified by all the bashing of Guyute. Fans didn’t seem to understand the importance of the song to the Phish tradition of composition. Not only that, fans probably don’t realize how much work went into the composition, arrangement, and rehearsal of such a difficult piece of music. While something like Heavy Things can be written and rehearsed in an afternoon, Guyute represents an amazing achievement for four musicians to pull off. And, fans were pissing on and during this song? This always struck me as ludicrous.

Then comes the hiatus. The breakup. The crying and the sadness. Meanwhile, Trey kept composing for orchestra in various side projects. In 2009, when Phish came back it was clear they wanted to make a statement that the essence of what we know as Phish was back in all its glory. They opened with, for my money, is the longest and most difficult composition in the entire catalog, Fluffhead (followed by Divided Sky!). After the celebration of Hampton, they went to work on a new record. I remember Mike Gordon being quoted about a new tune called “Time Turns Elastic” saying something like, “Of course, with Phish it has like a hundred chords and changes.” It was long, it was composed, and it was difficult. It was written with a different guitar tuning (which was something new for Trey’s composition style). Did it have cheesy lyrical sections? Yep. Was it uneven and certainly not as satisfying as You Enjoy Myself? Yes sir!

The fan reaction to “TTE” was decisive and brutal. Swarms of fans groaned on those opening chords and travel in hordes to the bathroom. I even remember a popular T-shirt that said “TTE’d” with a picture of a bathroom sign (I can’t seem to find this on the internet). The result? Phish stopped playing it. They got the message. Their attempt at reaffirming Phish’s commitment to composed instrumentals was answered with a big fat “no” from the fanbase. But, thankfully, while retiring TTE, they kept playing songs like Joy and Let me Lie (#sarcasm).

Now, we have Petrichor. In my view it is the most ambitious composition since Guyute. I love it. It has elements of beauty akin to Divided Sky; elements of intricacy akin to Fluffhead; it has elements of weird rhythms and harmonies akin to Guyute. It is a mammoth achievement and must have taken a serious amount of rehearsal to perfect for a live setting.

But, oddly, most commentary on Big Boat, has focused on the raging jam in Home, or the distinct Dad rock vibe. Petrichor, in my view, is the most important and triumphant track on the disc. More problematically, the TTE comparisons are already mounting. It is already being called an “18 minute bathroom break” song on twitter.

Please Phish fandom: Don’t TTE my Petrichor! Can we please embrace (celebrate?) Trey’s continued commitment to instrumental composition? He doesn’t have to do this. He’s very, very rich. He can continue to churn out songs like More and The Line that are glorified three chord rock songs. (of course, there is always a place in Phish for such songs).

So, when those haunting opening lines ring out over Fall tour, please: enjoy it. Don’t go to the bathroom. Cheer. Clap. This is Trey trying to reaffirm one of the most important parts of Phish’s legacy and we should support him and validate that effort.