The phish reunion band show reunion

Jam-rock pioneer Phish is back, but not as you might expect. Four
years after the band called it quits and after months of reunion
rumors, Vermont’s finest finally shared the stage this weekend at
former road manager Brad Sands’ wedding in New York. The quartet
played a brief three-song set of “Suzy Greenberg,” “Julius” and
“Waste.” Somewhere, someone is selling grilled cheese at a wedding.

In other jam band reunion news, the four surviving members of The
Grateful Dead will play their first show since 2004 under the Dead
moniker at Penn State on Oct. 13. The show is to support Barack Obama
– Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart previously played a “Deadheads
for Obama” show in San Francisco in February. Guitarist Warren Haynes
will join the band, as will the Allman Brothers Band, in which Haynes
also plays.

Today’s biggest non-reunion news comes in the form of Jimmy Page and
Led Zeppelin. At the Toronto International Film Festival, a reporter
asked Page point-blank if Zeppelin was recording and reuniting. “We’re
not actually recording,” Page said, adding, “if you’re going to do a
reunion, you need four members.” Seems singer Robert Plant is still
the holdout.

The phish reunion together phish four

Phish reunited Saturday night at the wedding of longtime road manager
Brad Sands. The four musicians took the stage during the private New
York ceremony for a three-song performance that included Phish
chestnuts “Suzy Greenberg,” “Julius” and
“Waste.” Police drummer Stewart Copeland also sat in with
Sands’ wedding band on the Police’s “Can’t
Stand Losing You” and The Meters’ “Fire on the
Bayou.” Sands served as The Police’s road manager
throughout the group’s high-profile reunion tour. Phish last
performed together in Coventry, VT in August, 2004.

The stealth reunion caps off four months of rumors that began when
all four members of Phish appeared onstage together at the Theatre at
Madison Square Garden. Since that time the musicians have appeared
together in various configurations, most notably when Trey Anastasio
and Jon Fishman joined Mike Gordon and his band at the Rothbury music
festival this past July.

Given that I might not even see some of the guys for the next six
months, I would say that the announcement of a reunion is premature.
However, later this year we hope to spend some time together and take
a look at what possible futures we might enjoy. In fact the only real
decision that has been made is that when we do get together, it will
only be the four of us, hopefully with no distractions. I am really
looking forward to that.

I want to say just a few more things. The prospect of Phish reuniting
is something I consider very seriously, and I think about it a lot.
And lastly, as always, there is plenty of misinformation floating
around. Try not to focus too much on secondhand sources and random
gossip. If there is anything real to announce, it will come from the
four of us as a group.