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Phish Deliver a Spiritual Lifeline with 'Sigma Oasis'

Vermont jamrockers Phish speed the timeline to deliver their cathartic new album, Sigma Oasis, that foreshadows the chaos of 2020.

                                      
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Vermont jamrockers Phish speed the timeline to deliver their cathartic new album, Sigma Oasis, that foreshadows the chaos of 2020.

Phish bassist Mike Gordon delivers crowd-pleasing jam-filled show as his touring quintet shows off their growing chemistry.

Trey Anastasio sings the new "Everything's Right" with the ladies harmonizing behind him to generate both an uplifting anthem of personal empowerment and a melodic jam vehicle that brings the entire audience into a collective groove of spirit family unity.

The Phish bassist unleashes another solo album and, to no one's surprise, it's an odd, idiosyncratic slice of catchy rock and funk.

There’s only band that actively seeks to mix Phish and the Grateful Dead together like Reese's Pieces and that’s the DeadPhish Orchestra.

Phish has personally transformed Halloween into the holy high holiday of the rock world due to their legendary musical costume performances...

On their 13th official studio album, Phish continue to mature as a band while still keeping things fresh, surprising and funky.

Pink Talking Fish mix the repertoires of Phish, Pink Floyd and the Talking Heads. Now they’re boldly joining the Phish aftershow party cottage industry.

Umphrey's McGee slays LA with another marathon show and guest jam with Frank Zappa bassist Arthur Barrow.

The consistent strength of each set at Magnaball in addition to a number of memorable jams suggests that Phish is indeed a band still on a career ascension.

Far from just a quirky jam band, Phish pays tribute to the great legacy of mythology in culture.

From Romanticism to structuralism, the musical ingenuity of Phish pays tribute to a variety of cultural movements; they're more dada than dad rock.

In 2014, the legendary jam band Phish released its 12th studio LP, Fuego. Here are some reasons why this group's legacy is one worth celebrating.

Attending moe.’s Big Lebowski show after Phish’s Halloween bonanza was akin to doubling down after hitting the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll jackpot, except that the odds heavily favored those willing to gamble the rest of their evening.

ALO knew this was a special night and threw down one funky song after another, as is their trademark, keeping the dance party grooving for some three plus hours on a night that no one wanted to end.

Maybe getting down just for the funk of it could indeed help unite the world in peace and harmony.

Good effort, gentlemen, but not the best effort. You've put together a very solid studio album but also somehow managed to include two total duds and one supremely silly track.

No other festival has as many stages, as many incredible culinary offerings, or as many evening and late shows that can take music fans all the way until the break of dawn.

Dreadful wind and rain define a recent Phish gig in Wantagh, NY as fans mull the band's standing and purpose in 2013.

All in all, you don’t attend a TAB show to have your mind blown – or to see a surfeit of Trey shredding, though you do get that, too. You see TAB for how professional, upbeat, and inviting it all is.

Benevento knows what the fans want (heady jams) and how to deliver. His keys also have an instantly identifiable sound, a rare feat to accomplish these days.

Anastasio's first true solo studio effort since 2006 is one of his best. Traveler combines pop hooks, a horn section, and complex percussion into a concise, catchy package.

With a wide variety of music coming from five different stages in one of the nation's most beautiful locations, the only problem was trying to catch as many bands as possible.

Superball IX is really is a world unto itself.

With relentless touring over the past decade, Umphrey's McGee have staked out a spot near the top of the jam rock mountain.

An economic survey of a decade of concert-going yields an average of positive returns for my dollar. Yeah, Bob Dylan was worth every penny and more.

Phish: 2 December 2009 - Madison Square Garden, New York / Words and Pictures by Thomas Hauner

Photos by Karen Dunbar

It's charming and informative to read Conners' musings on his youth, even as he tries and ultimately fails to demonstrate that it was not misspent.

A lavish seven-disc package presents all six sets of Phish's first major festival event.

What is lost when coveted archeological objects become widely available, easy to buy at your corner store?

A music fan puts his love for live music to the test.

Famous for their eclectic set lists (no two shows were identical), Phish tapes are a collector’s dream.

The post-Dead and post-Zappa bands of the '90s sought to subvert the prevailing trends towards crass commercialism, individual greed, and phony superficiality.

Fairy tales, rock-star mythology, corny jokes and, occasionally, a miracle.

A philosophical question: can one reach enlightenment through virtuosity and spectacle?