[alexebird]

Good article. I’ve been seeing them since 2009 and their operation is fascinating. Everything is planned, structured, coordinated and optimized, so the music can be chaotic.

I’ve seen them 80 times (which isn’t even that much in the community), and have had many moments where I thought I might be over it. Is all the expense and time worth it? A four night run (much less 13) is exhausting. I’ll never stop though. It’s as much about a familiar ritual as seeking new experiences.

It is said that nobody hates Phish fans more than other Phish fans. When you fly halfway across the country just to stand next to drunk people talking all night (“chompers”), it’s hard to disagree.

I think a key part of their shtick is random variable reward. Not every show will be a banger, but there are enough legendary moments that there can be a feeling of chasing great shows, songs and moments. Like Pokemon pretty much.

As a musician I realized that it’s impossible to control whether a show will be great. Even Phish can’t fully control that, thus the random variable reward is incidental. Although, they say there’s no such thing as a bad Phish show.