Today’s post serves two purposes. First, I’m testing the post-by-email system. I need to get a handle on the technical side of running a blog. I don’t think it’s terribly difficult, but I am new to it, so bear with me.

Second, I’ve been putting more thought into the reason for this blog. I mentioned that I do not intend to give a song by song review of every show. I mean, nobody is going to keep up with a blog that reads like that. Most shows have fan reviews posted on phish.net anyway. I would not really adding anything to the conversation with a daily review of a show from 20 years ago.

So, that gets at the real goal here. There is a daily Phish conversation happening all over the Interwebs. I read zzyzx’s daily stats post on FB because they are always interesting and insightful. I keep up with Scotty B’ YEMBlog posts for the latest in Phish news. I sometimes read blogs like Mr. Minor or the Daily Ghost. I lurk on PT and other Phish-related forums. Each of these is part of our daily phan interaction. If my blog doesn’t add something useful to that conversation then it’s just a waste of everyone’s time.

My goal is to listen to every show twenty years later and reflect on the process. Ideally, I’d like to reveal over the course of the year what it means to be a 40 year old phish head who saw the band in their heyday and still loves them.

It’s also a study of a band in transition. A band with a sound system and light show ready to fill huge spaces playing one last jaunt in the theater circuit before permanently locking into arenas and sheds. A band whose core repertoire has been locked in for a while and is exploring new sounds with a sense of urgency. Bluegrass. 30+ minute jams. The Halloween tradition. In so many ways, 1994 defined what phish really became.

Also, I have a life and a job. There is no way I can listen to every show and take notes on every song. It’s not feasible. Much of my listening will be background listening while I do other things that need to get done on a daily basis. I don’t have 3 hours a day to dedicate to this shit… But I think I can get it done with 15 minutes of writing a day and listening in the office or on a plane or whatever my life makes me do next year.

If I’m successful, it will be something people want to read and check in on regularly. If it’s a study in madness as the project drives me insane, then I’ll get readers who love a trainwreck. I’m sure whatever I think it will be now will change as the year rolls on.

By starting the blog this week, I think I am making the commitment to myself to do it no matter the cost. My only real hope is that I am adding something to the Phish conversation.

Thank you for reading.