Under the Scales

We have arrived in 1997, and we’re hitting the Paradiso in Amsterdam to talk about 2/17/97, a night marked mostly by a huge debut, and the debut of a new musical direction. We discuss this all with Undermine co-Executive Producer Brian Brinkman.  Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at G...

Viva Las Vegas! Today we’re talking about the rare show where the encore is the most talked about segment of the show. That’s 12/6/96, under the bright lights, with journalist and author of The Phish Book, Richard Gehr.  Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they ca...

How do I work this? Where is that large automobile? Maybe this is my beautiful house…We are celebrating 10/31/96 and the masterful cover set of Remain In Light, with guest Gerald Gottesman.  Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financ...

Today we step into the creation of The Clifford Ball, with one of the people responsible for bringing it to life, Lars Fisk.  Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Media....

On today’s episode, Drew Hitz joins us in the Gamehendge Time Laboratory, to revisit what many people think is the greatest Phish show of all time—12/31/95. We’re grateful to Drew for joining us for this three-set show that is so revered.  Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Fu...

We’re continuing our drive through 1995 with a stop in Binghamton, on a snowy night in December. David Steinberg (aka zzyzx) joins us to discuss 12/14/95, a show that at least one of our hosts describes as “nearly perfect.“ Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they...

Today we’re visiting the land of chocolate, with our very own co-host, Benjy Eisen. It’s 12/1/95— philosophy, science, religion, and of course, chocolate.  Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is br...

Crab in my shoe mouth. We’re in Orlando, Florida, it’s November 1995. Ari Fink helps us dive into the adventurous 11/14/95 show.   Please consider subscribing to Osiris Premium on Memberful, or to Osiris Premium on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your support.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Me...

Step into the Fleezer! We’re visiting the wild and strange and confounding music of Summer ‘95, focusing on 6/22/95 with longtime taper and fan Lenny Stubbe.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Media. Executive Producers are Tom Marshall, RJ Bee, Brian Brinkman, Matt Dwyer, and Benjy Eisen. Pr...

We’re joined by Undermine and Osiris team member Jonathan Hart to discuss THE Providence Bowie, from 12/29/94. In addition to breaking down this legendary jam, we look at Phish at the end of 1994 and where this show falls in that trajectory.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Media. Executive...

For this episode, we find ourselves at the first Phish musical costume Halloween, of course that’s 10/31/94. Our guest Aaron Stein joins us to discuss that wild night in Glens Falls, how it stacks up with other Halloweens, and more.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Media. Executive Producer...

Today we go to Columbus for the amazing 6/22/94 show, with a person who not only was there, but who describes it as one of the two most important days of his life (aside from his birth). Scott Gray enlightens us on this life-changing experience, and some insight into why Trey was talking about tall people during Icculus.  We also get into the merits of jam length, the top 5 shows of all time, and...

The birth of the “Tweezerfest,” we dive into 5/7/94 with Relix editor-in-chief, author, and friend Dean Budnick.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Media. Executive Producers are Tom Marshall, RJ Bee, Brian Brinkman, Matt Dwyer, and Benjy Eisen. Produced and edited by Brian Brinkman and Eric...

Happy New Year! It’s 12/31/93, and we’re gathered inside the aquarium for the celebration with our co-Executive Producer and friend Benjy Eisen, who is our special guest.  Thanks to our partners at Green Future Wealth—they can help with all of your financial planning needs. Undermine is brought to you by Osiris Media. Executive Producers are Tom Marshall, RJ Bee, Brian Brinkman, Matt Dwyer, and Be...

Today we are looking at a pivotal show in Phish's history, 8/13/93 from the Murat Theater in Indianapolis. This show features the legendary version of "Bathtub Gin" which is seen as a turning point in the band's ability to jam outside of the structure of their compositions. Charlie Dirksen and Brian Feller, two longtime fans and board members of The Mockingbird Foundation, join us to talk about th...

Today we stop in New Hampshire and dive into 5/8/93, which finds Phish at the end of the Spring 1993 tour. We’re joined by Brad Sands, Phish’s former road manager, who talks about the momentum in 1993, and how this show in Durham served as a homecoming for the band after a long time on the road. And it showed in the music, which we discussed with Brad in detail.  Thanks to our partners at Green Fu...

Today we’re rolling into 1993 with our guest Josh Carver, a longtime Osiris guest and listener. We talk with Josh about The Roxy show from 2/20/93. Josh actually missed this show, but he was at the Roxy shows before and after this infamous night. We all know that feeling.  This show was another pivotal moment in Phish’s progression, and the show became legendary almost immediately. We hope you enj...

In this episode, we keep moving through 1992 and look at one of the most notable shows of the early years—7/25/92, which has an incredible guest appearance by Carlos Santana and his percussionists.  Our guest for this episode is Shelly Culbertson, who worked with former manager John Paluska and Dionysian Productions. Shelly was involved with the early online Phish community, and was the driving fo...

As the next step in our journey through key shows of the ‘90s, we stop in Eureka, California, and check in with a fellow Californian about this show—Holly Bowling. We focus on 4/21/92, a show that has an ahead-of-its-time Tweezer, which served as an inspiration for one of Holly’s famous jam transcriptions.  We heard in previous episodes about this Spring ‘92 run, which featured Phish’s first exten...

Welcome back! As a reminder, from now through December, we’ll be tracking Phish’s progression in the 1990s by focusing on 25 important shows of the 90s—leading up to the tour that changed everything, Fall 1997. And we’ll discuss every show of Fall ‘97.  Today we’re talking about Amy’s Farm, 8/3/91, with the one and only Amy Skelton. Amy talks to us about her involvement with the band and the show...

Welcome to Undermine Season 4! We are back to track the road to Fall ‘97, and to celebrate amazing shows of the 1990s while leading up to that legendary tour. From now through December, we’ll be tracking Phish’s progression in the 1990s by focusing on 25 important shows of the 90’s—leading up to the tour that changed everything, Fall 1997, and we’ll discuss EVERY show of that tour.  We start this...

At the end of the 13 show Baker’s Dozen, a run filled with jams, bustouts, debut covers, and zero repeats, Phish was awarded a banner to commemorate the event that would hang in the rafters of MSG among legendary sports achievements. And yet, like with the best moments in Phish history, the band didn’t simply sit back and admire their accomplishment, they used it to push themselves forward. Just a...

When they returned from the hiatus in 2009, it took time for the band to regain their fluid improvisation. Over the next four years, they worked to strengthen their onstage communication, refine their approach, and ultimately reignite their jamming in 2012. From there, they began experimenting and taking risks, and by the time they reached The Baker’s Dozen, they were ready to take another step fo...

For as long as Phish fans have gathered to discuss and debate the band, the band’s setlists have been a consistent talking point. What songs are in the rotation, how do jams in typically non-jamming slots affect a show, why were there so many bustouts in a single show, what’s the thematic arc of the show? These topics and more have been analyzed by fans for decades—and we know it’s been thought ab...

Throughout their history, Phish has constantly sought new ways to break down the barriers between their performance and their audience. Dubbed, The Long Gig (the LG), the band initially conceived of an indoor show where they’d announce to the audience that the doors were locking and they were going to play for 24hrs straight. This idea ultimately evolved into the band’s all-night set at Big Cypres...