In a Boston Globe article published days before Phish kicked off their summer tour at Boston’s famed Fenway Park, the author describes that Phish’s reunion has re-ignited a community of individuals who see themselves as more than just fans (Simons). The article describes that while the most important aspect of Phish is the seemingly unlimited combinations of songs and improvisation the group performs, “a close second is the opportunity to catch up with close friends” (Simons). This illustrates the idea that the Phish phenomenon is about more than seeing a concert, but being immersed in a culture of like-minded individuals whose passion for “epic and diverse concert experiences” causes fans to return show after show establishing a “close-knit community” (Simons).
Illustrating this idea, the Globe article mentions the Phish pre-show “lot scene,” a phenomenon borrowed from “Shakedown Street” at Grateful Dead concerts in which fans congregate in the parking lot of the venue Phish is slated to play to both socialize and sell homespun goods, food, beer, and jewelry. However, for many the lot is more than a spot to score a new tie dye or a cheap grilled cheese, but a “full blown family reunion” where fans can reconnect with their “Phish pals” (Simons).
Branching from the loyal community of Phish followers, The Disco Biscuits have elicited a similar communal feeling amongst their fans. Following the Phish example of breaking barriers between fans and the band to foster strong connections within the scene, a hallmark of The Disco Biscuits experience is audience-performer bonding. For example in a feature article from Relix Magazine in April 2005, former Disco Biscuits drummer Sam Altman claimed that the coolest thing about his Disco Biscuits experience was that “the line between fans and the band was so completely blurred. We were all partying. We were all up all night. It was these same kids every night and there was no line between the stage and the crowd.” (Greenhaus).
However, one of the motivations behind these all night ragers was the predominance of the rave drug, ecstasy in the scene. The presence of drugs therefore conjures an image in the minds of critics of the stereotypical member of this community as a bug-eyed deviant peddling his wares with nappy dreadlocks and baggy pants. Phish fans are similarly stamped as tie die and hemp laden stoners who neglect societal responsibility to follow a jam band indefinitely. Countering these negative characterizations though, the Globe article argues that most fans don’t conform to the stereotype. The article states that fans are actually “professionals of all stripes…who view their fandom as just another part of their persona” (Simons). Furthermore, drugs are not necessarily the focal point of all Phish and Biscuit concert experiences. For example, harkening back to the “Wharf Rats” of the Grateful Dead era, Phish fans called the “Phellowship” and Disco Biscuits fans called “The Digital Buddahs” have united to travel the globe with their favorite jammers sober and clear headed.
The central point here is that by rejecting the archetype of the “disassociated rock star” Phish and The Disco Biscuits make fans feel more like friends than patrons. This motivates fans to travel within this diverse, colorful community of people bonded by mutual adoration for the performers to find that special feeling that can only be felt when seeing their favorite musicians in action.
References:
Greenhaus, Mike. "Pure Bisco: The Trance-Formation of the Disco Biscuits." Relix Magazine Apr. 2005: 64.
Simons, Adam. "The Return of the Phish Phenomenon." Boston Globe 24 May 2009.
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