Viewer Discretion Advised: Three Dimensions of Phish

posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists

There’s no arguing the current phenomenon sweeping our nation.  No, it’s not the KFC Double Down, or even Bieber Fever. It’s 3 dimensional viewing. Why watch anything in boring, old 2D like our parents when we can enjoy viewing everything from cooking shows to cartoons with an additional dimension.  Three is better than 2, right? Luckily, we’re not limited to fuzzy children’s monsters and larger-than-life bugs to feel out of this world anymore.  Musical acts of all varieties are  jumping on the bandwagon, and this year a slew of HD 3D concerts will be assaulting your senses. And we’re not talking Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers.

Now, there is one band that comes to mind when mulling the unlimited possibilities of 3D concert experience. Known for musical improvisations that  ensure no two shows are alike and a fan culture that arguably surpasses any other following of its kind, jam band Phish are the perfect candidates. And wouldn’t you know, PHISH 3D premieres tomorrow (Friday, April 30th) in theaters across the country ” 3D glasses included.

The concert film features footage shot by AEG Live and Action 3D over the three days of the band’s Festival 8, which took place last Halloween weekend in Indio, California. We were lucky enough to catch an early screening of the movie on 4/20 (when else?) and we can promise you, this isn’t your little sister’s animated Pixar film.

The movie opens on the last night of the festival, November 1st, while the band is playing “AC/DC Bag.” The first thing you notice is the giant balloons bouncing throughout the crowd, nothing out of the ordinary for a Phish audience. However about a minute in you find yourself dodging one, and the stage is set for you to feel as if you are right in the middle of the awesome assemblage.

Now its common thinking that the best part of a Phish show is indeed the fan culture since the audience seems to transform itself into one giant being. So walking in to a movie theater to experience a Phish show amid the sticky floors and popcorn riddled seats was worrisome. Maybe it was the “holiday” feeling of the date or the ealy show time, but the crowd inside the movie theater was no less loving or harmonious. Fans clapped and cheered when their favorite songs started, grooving in their seats and even throwing the occasional glow stick at crescendo to a resounding laughter and applause. All this despite the police officer stationed at the bottom of the theater looking menacingly on, obviously unwise to the peaceful nature of a Phish crowd.

This movie was not just a show recorded in 3D. It was a full-on spectacular production. Cameras panned from behind the band to around right up close next to Page McConnell (piano), to the point where you could clearly see the setlist scrawled neatly in black ink on a plain white piece of paper, and not so clearly see his fast-as-lightening fingers flying over the keys. Smoke illuminated their ever-dazzling light show, to the point where you could feel the green halos surrounding you.

The movie featured 7 songs from the November 1st night set, then spliced in festival scenes from earlier that day so clear you could smell the dirty hippie. The music started up again with the acoustic day set’s second track “Back On The Train.” With sunlight streaming over the enormous crowd, you could now see fans so clearly as the camera panned over the masses that you could easily pick out your friends smiling faces. We may have recognized some of our own pals from the road jamming uncontrollably in the desert heat. Scenes from the day set closed out with “Wilson,” so loud and boisterous we shook in our seats and got goosebumps. (Spoiler alert: you can find the PHISH 3D setlist here.)

The finale of the movie was of course, Halloween night, a “musical costume” show in which Phish covers an entire album by another artist. This year’s choice was The Rolling Stones‘ Exile on Main Street.  Now that the audience was adjusted to the distractions of flying virtual glow sticks and smoke pockets, everyone could finally concentrate on enjoying this up close and personal view of the band’s performance beginning with “Loving Cup.” Trey [Anastasio] makes the most captivating and unique faces while performing so watching him sing and play in 3D was quite the experience. Staring up into the sky, Trey looks like he’s sounding out every note with his mouth milliseconds before playing it, and then derives immense physical pleasure when each sound manifests itself. But his fingers move so quickly across the strings that the 3D technology can’t even keep up, and his digits soon blur with the strobe lights creating a video game like quality. We can’t hold his skills against him though, after all when Eric Clapton was asked how it felt to be the best guitar player in the world, he told the reporter to ask Trey.

Phish returned to their own discography to close out the movie with “Suzy Greenburg” and a “Tweezer” reprise, but in filing out of the theater the audience was definitely left with a depleted sense of freedom and exhilaration that usually comes from experiencing a Phish show live. While a fantastic experience and no doubt miraculous leap in technology showcasing concert viewing of the future, there is still no substitute for seeing a show live. No matter how 3 dimensional it feels, you’re still in a movie theater, not under the stars amongst thousands of kinderd souls.

As mentioned earlier, Phish isn’t the only band giving you the opportunity to experience a concert of this magnitude from the comfort of your local theater. Kenny Chesney and U2 both have 3D concert films now playing at a theater near you, and will be joined by the release of  “Larger Than Life in 3D”, a movie featuring Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper and Relentless 7 and Gogol Bodello in December. With fans pinching their pennies, bands have wisened up to a way of keeping their audiences engaged even if they can’t make it out to big budget performances.

PHISH 3D officially opens in theaters across the country on Friday, April 30th. You can find tickets near you at www.phish3dmovie.com or your local theater’s Web site. In case that’s not enough visual stimulation for you, Phish will be appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as part of a week long celebration dedicated to The Rolling Stones‘ Exile on Main Street album, coinciding with the album’s re-release. Each night during the week of May 10 a different band will perform selected songs off of the album. It all comes full circle doesn’t it?