Phish Reaction : Fluffhead Live Show 

“They remind me of suburban dads”. That made me laugh.

Phish’s genre is Phish.

That joy and laughter you had was infectious! That's the secret sauce of what Phish is all about. Great vid!

I read an interview with Phish once, where they said it takes them at least 8 hours to rehearse Fluffhead alone before they play it… Now consider the fact they played “The Baker’s Dozen” in 2017 - a 13-night residency at Madison Square Garden… where they didn’t repeat a single song once, across all 13 nights. Unbelievable!

I'm watching all your reactions a year later for the second time and I love them again.

I love that dude picks Fluffhead to start. Welcome to freak show man. Glad to have you!

These guys are basically just four goofy, nerdy, regular guys who happen to be exceptional musicians. And don’t sleep on the guitarist; Trey has a spot on the list of guitar greats.

What a fun reaction. You should definitely check out more of their tunes - if you were digging Fluffhead, you’re going to enjoy pretty much everything they do. They have a very wide variety of sounds and styles, but that is a really good barometer for whether you’ll dig them. Edit - if this song seems a little “pieced together” - it is. They tied several early song ideas together to create the composed pieces leading to the big finale.

Dave fans wish DMB sounded like Phish. Phish is a band that does nearly all genres. They sound kind of jazzy because they rely on a lot of "tension>release" (tension building at 17:00 and releasing at 17:21). They also don't play the songs the same way every time. Sometimes Page might play a part on a different keyboard, which might make Trey play the chords differently on his guitar, etc. So almost every performance is different, and if the band is really feeling it they might just take you to outer space.

As far as genre, Phish is basically playing prog with some jazzy influences, in this instance, w/ a few teases of classical. I love yr enthusiasm, it's infectious!

A year late here, but Phish is classified as a jamband. Jam Bands all have a different sound to them and pull from different genres, but all rely heavily on improv. This is one of Phish’s early songs and from an era where they had several songs that were heavily composed, but even this has improvised sections.

Dude! Watching your reaction to this one song, I can say without a doubt that you are pickin up what they are throwing down! The members of Phish have said in interviews before that they are specifically trying to not fall into any one music genre. They genuinely are going for their own sound. With that said, you basically hit the nail on the head when you described it as Jazz-infused Rock. They fall into the category of Jam Band most easily simply based on their live improvisations, which are central to who they are as a band. Please please please do another Phish video! A great song to move to after this one would be Harry Hood as it has a beginning composed section, but then an extended jam. Fluffhead is all composed aside from the lead guitarists noodling in the last couple minutes, but Harry Hood really captures the essence of a jam. I would love to get your opinion on that side of their music!

Cool reaction to one of my favorite Phish songs. As a side note since you mentioned Dave Mathew’s Band. My first Phish show was in Winston Salem NC in 1994. DMB opened for them. For the encore, both bands together played “All Along the Watchtower “. I was hooked and saw Phish a few hundred times from 1994-2001.

He loved Fluffhead, he hated Reba, but we loved him while it lasted. Miss you, man. Come back into the fold! :D

I love your reaction. I've been a Phish fan since 1994. You brightened my day!

YES More Phish! Such great great music to get into, enjoy!

I love how you’re reacting to deep Phish tracks like this. Maybe not deep to us Phish fans, but certainly to a first timer Ps- I was at this show and at the time they were all between 46-47 years old. And you can’t really give a genre to Phish. They play so many styles and intermix genres together. Sometimes they are rock, sometimes jazz, funk, bluegrass, little bit of everything in their catalog that is big enough to play 13 sold out shows at MSG, without a single repeat

It’s the euphoria of the crowd in certain moments. Phish has fun songs that the crowd loves. I’ve seen so many shows, and they’re always good to amazing. They play skillfully and experimentally. They’re so good at build up and release, and the crowd rides that.

Great reaction!!!! The genre is JAM BAND! Phish, Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic... all in the genre of JAM BANDS!! All born out of The Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band. What makes Phish so unique is their influences range from classical, jazz, and THE TALKING HEADS. Phish is like rock n roll meets Monty Python. Jam bands make studio albums but the music is intended to be performed and listened to LIVE IN CONCERT. The songs always involve both structure and improvisation!

Don't over-think it, brother, just enjoy the ride!

I admit I have never been to a Phish concert but I have sons that have been going to their shows since 1999. They have scene them from coast to coast. I was introduced to this incredible band because of them. I understand the best way to enjoy Phish is to go to the show and just dance. You never know what the band is going to play because they're always changing their show and just jam. They play all genres. They played 13 nights at Madison Square Garden and never repeated a song.

I had the great fortune to be front row for the Fluffhead opener back in 09. It was a three night run in Hampton, the band had just got back together and everyone was so stoked to be back at a Phish show. Thanks for taking me back, awesome memories.

This is one of there heavily composed songs.they do alot of improvised jamming,as well,that is insane

I really love how these guys can just reach inside you and turn your joy up to 37 (on a scale of 10).

I'm not sure where you live but phish is on tour this summer. GO! That smile you get when you see that crowd freaking out? You get to do that for three hours.

Phish songs like this are categorized into 2 sections by fans. The introduction, how well is it played according to the original work. And the 2nd portion of this song in particular, the quality and complexity of the improvisation. I strongly recommend looking deeper. They are experts at bending and blending genres. Some of my favorites The Curtain, Slave to the Traffic Light, Divided Sky, NICU and Maze. See them live. Go EARLY, seek out what’s called Shakedown Street before AND after the show. Make friends and cut loose.

Welcome my friend. It only gets better from here. Enjoy yourself.....

I like your assessment "Rocking out to Jazz"! People compare them to the Grateful Dead but I think the folk vs. jazz roots of the bands are too different. I could not get into the Grateful Dead's folk sound at all but I love rocking out to jazz with Phish. They have other elements such as funk and country but I think the more you like rock and jazz the more you are able to appreciate Phish, and being a suburban dad probably doesn't hurt either. :-)

Physically impossible not to smile during the Fluffhead peak.

When you closed your eyes @14:15 and just listened to Trey - that is for many people is the tipping point my friend. Enjoy

Been rocking out to the Phish Jazz since 95

Please consider going to a show next time they are in town. You will have fun.

These guys are the Harlem Globetrotters of music. People aren’t taking them seriously, but they just may be the best at their craft.

It's rock with some fusion! Listen to 90s Phish, top of the top! Ben a couple decades now since they were on fire, but still OK to see. Just much older now and Trey cant do what he used to.

KEEP GOING you will live it

Definitely an interesting fifteen minutes. Keep on keeping on Tucson Arizona Sonoran desert 🌵 yes I 🍄🌍🔥🍄🌁🍄🌹🍄🐟🐟🐟🍄

Please check out their song Punch You In The Eye from 12/31/95, you won’t be disappointed

They play everything from blue grass to folk to rock and blues and jazz to acapella and covers that are spot on. Their original catalog is 300+ and growing. Fluffhead is 100% composed, check out others like Tweezer or Chalkdust Torture to get a feel for their jamming capabilities. Loved your reaction

Phish is essentially a jazz band playing rock

YOU GET IT! Already! Enjoyed the reaction and agree with other comments that if you dug Fluffhead you are in for a fun ride my friend! Happy Phishing!

Check out 12-31-1999 Big Cypress "Split open and melt->Catapult" sometime. You won't regret it! :)

Genre: Progressive Rock/Jazz/Soul/Funk/Folk/blues fusion. Or it's Advanced Rock & Roll. & yes they're really just like soccer Dads & they all drive mini-vans. FR fr!

Always love to see someone discover Phish. The Dave Matthews comparison you made does definitely apply; I know I'm not alone in the Phish community for beginning as a Dave Matthews fan, discovering Phish, and then feeling like I "graduated" from DMB to Phish. They play all sorts of music, but definitely the two biggest influences are the Grateful Dead and Frank Zappa. They've been a group (the same four members) since the mid-80s when they were finishing college, but there was a 2-year-ish hiatus from 2001-2002 and a full band breakup from 2004-2009 (the guitarist, Trey, had a serious drug problem that led to the band breaking up, but he thankfully got clean in late 2006 and still is). Since 2009, though, they've been going strong. This was a good one to start with, as it's one of the songs that shows off the range that Phish plays. It's one of the more complicated songs, with the vast majority of the first 12-13 minutes being fully composed and weaving through a lot of different themes, ending with a pretty big (improvised) peak, something they do better than anyone I've ever encountered. If you liked this, then you'll without a doubt like most of their stuff. As for what to watch/listen to next, my first recommendation is the 15-minute "Bathtub Gin" from The Great Went (a festival they held in August 1997). Though the surviving video of it that's on RU-vid isn't great quality, the audio is, and it's widely regarded as the single best thing they've ever played, with everything after the ~5-minute mark being improvised. That said, you can't really go wrong with just about anything they've put onto their official RU-vid channel. Others might disagree, but I recommend at first staying away from a lot of the 20+ minute things until you're a little more familiar with the band, mainly so you don't risk getting bored or feeling like they're meandering too much. Those 20+ songs/jams are a big part of what creates lifetime "phans" out of us, but I definitely remember being a little overwhelmed by that kind of lengthy jam when I was first getting into the band 20ish years ago. Welcome to the community. Do more Phish stuff and I'll definitely be here, as I love seeing people discover and fall in love with what has been my musical obsession for over half of my life.

You need to watch a 2001. Nuff said. I'm reliving hearing Phish for the first time through your reactions. Thanks for that!

The sound is Phish. Rock, jazz, funk, country, classical. All of it! Haha suburban dads….just heard that. You definitely understood them properly!

Was there. Great job. Great show!

Both, Phish, and The Grateful Dead, are actually a sub-genre of Rock and Roll, known as “Jam Bands!” Wiki: A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jamming." Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to improvise over chord patterns or rhythmic grooves. Jam bands are known for having a very fluid structure, playing long sets of music which often cross genre boundaries, varying their nightly setlists, and segueing from one song into another without a break.[1]

You have discovered the essence of the jam band.

Love this. More phish please

Glad to see you enjoyed such a complex song! Not usually the first thing I’d jump someone into when showing them the band. But going into what you were saying about what genre they fit in. They don’t really fit into anything, every song incorporates a different style of music. It could be jazz, rock, metal, bluegrass, funk, etc. With that being said most “type 2” jams can form into anything after the song has been played. We chase jams like this. I highly suggest checking out Ghost from 12/31/10 if possible.

Can't put phish in a box. Phish is everything!

Phish made me realize music has no rules.

What show is this?? So grateful to be on this earth at the same time as the Phish from Vermont!!! Jazz rocked out, yes!💛

Welcome to the phamily 💕 Hope you make it to a show someday!🐠❤️👍

They all studied music theory at the university of Vermont. They are influenced from hendrix Beastie boys. Very diverse. Keep up the killer work brother!!!

Man I appreciate so much how you dig this music and you really kinda sorta get it. I wish my wife would get it, but she stays too closed down, so way to stay open. Go see phish live, you will love it.

The genre of phish is awesome fun. You must go to a show. You will love it.

Phish is kinda their own genre, but are usually identified as "jamband" which can be loosely translated as rock band which improvises like jazz musicians.

1993 phish at the cincinnati zoo. they closed the show with acapella amazing grace to sing the animals to sleep

It is derived from Frank Zappa and The Grateful Dead. They came up around the same time as Dave Matthews Band and Blues Traveler. They spawned a renewed interest in Ween and Les Claypool's various projects for me. I think one or both of Trey's daughters played soccer.

"What genre of music is this?" All of them. "How many people are out there?" The first time I saw Phish, there were maybe 300 people in the audience. The second time, and every time after, I saw Phish, there were thousands. (first time was better).

Jazz-rock fusion jam band

Wiki: The jam-band musical style, spawned from the psychedelic rock movement of the 1960s, was a feature of nationally famed groups such as the Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band, whose regular touring schedules continued into the 1990s. The style influenced a new wave of jam bands who toured the United States with jam band-style concerts in the late 1980s and early '90s, such as Phish, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, The String Cheese Incident, and Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. The jam-band movement gained mainstream exposure in the US in the early 1990s with the rise of Phish and the Dave Matthews Band as major touring acts and the dissolution of the Grateful Dead following Jerry Garcia's death in 1995.

check out a live performance of their song Lizards . love me sum phish. saw them NYE in 1995 in Worcester MA

I so enjoyed watching your reaction to Phish! Been one of my favorite bands since the early 90's. Enjoy listening to there Clifford Ball Festival. It's available now to watch on there Channel

Man the F ing rip. Fluffhead is unreal as well is the album Junta. Check out albums Lawboy, A picture of nectar, and Rift. Seen Phish maybe 50 to 60 times. Never a bad show always a 100%. Man really love seeing you do this!!! Phish is by far the most musically talented band in the country (world).

a lot of their style is also link to classical music ie Back, Beethoven with all the crescendos, virbratos and the like

Following! Can’t wait to see your reaction to what they’ve been doing in 2021. Or is it 4680? Literally out of this world!

Pretty sure this is NYE 2011. I was at this show and the Fluffhead rocked so hard at the end chorus I could literally feel the building shaking.

Pop some ‘94 phish next

What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get it!!

what Genre? ill give you a hiint. take every Genre you can think of, then. drop acid, flush them all down the toilet and quit worrying about it and put your seatbelt on and just go with it, thats what Genre Phish is. they are PHISH. they are their own Genre. best live band on the planet and have been since the early 90's

It's Phish.... the genre is Phish. This song in particular is fun 'cause a lot of it is composed like an orchestral piece with movements and stuff.

Hey I'm not sure if you read comment on old videos but just in case, a couple of points that might be interesting if you haven't figured them out already: 1) I think Fluffhead was the first original song they played way back in like 1984. 2) You said that they don't really sound like anyone else and that is mostly true. But their #1 influence is undoubtedly Frank Zappa. It comes through in their weird time signatures, and the way Trey's voice and guitar sound kind of like Frank, and also the way that they will do whatever inspires them - no matter how cringe-y it may end up. 2a) Deadheads really hate it when you expect them to like Phish... it is kind of off-putting actually. But they have a point since Phish is more Zappa-sounding... Phish just use the Dead marketing strategy of random setlists, long jams, and light security. 3) For me they are a jazz band that sounds like a rock band. Once you get familiar with a few of their jammier songs and how different they are between shows, e.g. Tahoe Tweezer, it will make more sense why people go to multiple shows in a row. 3b) Not everybody "gets" jazz. Thanks for the reactions!

Jam band. Plus ,… they are PHISH

the trick is to surrender to the flow

Def watch anything Phish Clifford Ball, songs are Divided Sky, David Bowie, The Lizards, Reba

Prettiest song about a heroin addict ever. Couldn’t be more straightforward. Rare for a Phish song.

Nice jazz-rock call. Fer realz.

Itsa very deep rabbit hole, you should check out Frank Zappa - Inca Roads or Snarky Puppy - Lingus

Start with the first 3 albums! It’s a good intro and puts you on track for the rest, then appreciating the studio vs live experience. Trey’s guitar is a beacon much like Jerry Garcia with the Dead.

Here are 2 “Phish early years” videos you should check out - both are considered “classics”. :-): “You Enjoy Myself” (highly composed beginning into funky improvisation): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bMEr_wN1I20.html “Tube” (Phish’s flavor of improv funk): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lCKVEpdeou4.html Hope you enjoy.

“Dave Matthews Band” Lol, no offense taken. Growing up, the transition into Phish for everyone I knew was ska punk/emo in middle school. Then high school hit and everyone found out about weed. So they traded their skateboards for bongs and started listening to Dave Matthews and ultimately Phish. So they sorta go hand-in-hand As for your description of them: jazz-fusion/prog-rock, unorthodox soccer dads, who can get sold out MSG to rock out to jazz is completely spot on. The more you dig into their catalog, though, the more you’ll see how diverse their songs are. It does range from classic rock (Julius), to country (Possum), to reggae (makisupa police man), to thrash metal (big black furry creature from Mars). Just be careful, the more you get into it the more it becomes your existence. 150+ shows later I’m still not done seeing them

MORE PHISH

Keep on keeping on believe it if you need it, if you don't just pass it on Jah Herb Jah love Jah Jerrymylitus praises blessings respectfully Tucson Arizona Sonoran desert 🏜️ Jah sisters Jah Trey Jah Duane Africa Ethiopia Addis Ababa Selassie I Jah Creation

Rocking out to jazz. Haha.

Jam.

Ugh not Dave Matthew’s! Lol

Allright if you're getting into jam bands WEEN has to be on the list. You gotta get BROWN, start out with Voodoo Lady or Can't Put My Finger On It.

Hey...I know this band 😆

Try Esther. One of my favorite journeys to go on

Has anyone anywhere ever done a reaction to Harpua?

What genre are they? Honestly all depends on the song. Bluegrass, Jazz, Funk, Classic Rock n Roll, Barbershop Quartet. You name it they cover it somewhere.

I'd say Phish is a rock and roll take on jazz, funk, and classical music. Some might call it progressive rock, but that's probably over simplified IMO

Here's a good slice of older Phish to react to: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1XaMCmqdEsg.html ....and....you might as well see why people go to show after show by contrasting a different version of the same song that couldn't be much more different: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-R5AfMNQu71A.html (note no video for the first like 9 minutes and even then not great video but wow what improv...)

Surrender to the flow!

This is what happens when four college student at The University Of Vermont at Burlington, decided they wanted to play music instead of work. Look where it got them. Talent helps.

they are totally suburban dads.

You should react to the 12/1/1995 Down With Disease by Phish

Welcome to the circus brother!