Phish Conspiracy Theories
Published in the Mondegreen 2024 issue of Surrender to the Flow
Phish fans are widely known for their in-depth knowledge and analysis of Phish songs, setlists, shows, banter, interviews, and everything in between. Phish themselves are known to send secret messages and suggest connections beyond the surface of the music they create. And with the growth of the internet, but certainly well before that, too, fans have constantly and intricately sought these implications out. Fan-published literature such as the Pharmer’s Almanac, Doniac Schvice, and the very paper you hold in your hands have led to sites like Phish.net and Phantasy Tour, creating a wealth of Phish “conspiracies” that go far deeper than the well-oiled rumor mill of the fandom.
Looking at the incarnation of the band as a whole, some people unfoundedly purport that Phish are government operatives, planted by the CIA to control hippies after Jerry died. It’s pretty obvious, though, from photos and recordings of those early days that they’re just four goofy guys trying to make something unique. Apparently when they lived together across from the Hood plant in Vermont, Fishman used to annoy his bandmates by playing the vacuum instead of using it to complete his household task. Long time fan Michael Vrbovsky claims all it took was one chore day while the house radio was blasting “Hold Your Head Up” by Argent which has led to 40 years of the famed vacuum solos.
In 1997, the band was preparing for its second festival, The Great Went, which took place at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine. We learned in the IT documentary that Page’s neighbor was stationed there and told him about the UFO sightings on the property. In fact, there are numerous reports of UFO sightings at Loring AFB, especially in the 80s and early 90s. It was also a repository for nuclear weapons and other Air Force mysteries, as recently as 1996. Legend has it that Phish picked this site very intentionally for their second festival and returned twice- in ‘98 and ‘03- with some unfinished (alien) business.
Speaking of ‘97 and odd number years in general, fan Michael Meunier shared a theory that the best Phish things happen in odd years, and bad things happen in even years. We got the first hiatus in ‘00, Coventry and the breakup in ‘04, Curveball in ‘18, and COVID in 2020. But in 1983 the band was founded, in ‘89 they released Junta, they reunited in ‘03 and again in ‘09, not to mention all 3 of the 3.0 fests being in odd years - it checks out but is it intentional? Maybe so, maybe not.
There’s some harmless chatter about “spies” on lot reporting back to the band; the meanings behind each different doughnut mumu; stories about long-time fans and their encounters with the band, like the Naked Guy from Charlottesville 2009 getting bailed out by Mike & Trey. It also seems whenever we have a celebrity associated with the culture there is something to wonder about them. During the 2012 Olympics, broadcasters played an ‘09 version of Tweeprise over a Michael Phelps achievement reel. Was this a reference to him getting busted with marijuana in 2009? Is there more to the Drew Cary blender situation than we think? Who’s to say?
One of the biggest conspiracies still swirling around is the real story of the riser at New Years Eve in 2019-2020. Trey insists he really got stuck. Many people argue it was part of the gag. On the Lot Justice podcast, the hosts recall what was probably a similar story for many in the venue that night; text messages in real time questioning the evidence of each possibility. They also argue that if you play the YEM vocal jam backwards it says “My platform didn’t get stuck and Epstein didn’t kill himself.”
An interesting connection that Anthony David Adams made is his Dyson Sphere theory: shortly after Phish made their Sphere debut, news came out about the discovery of at least seven Dyson Spheres, which are basically megastructures for alien life. Freeman Dyson, the famous physicist who discovered the Dyson Sphere, named his only daughter Ester, and Phish has a popular but rare song called Ester. The unrelated brand Dyson makes luxury sphere-shaped vacuum cleaners. Coincidence?! Probably.
But here is the most well-defended conspiracy, from Greg Schwartz, presented in a couple of articles he called The X-Philes. He details the connection between The Great Went in 1997, located where UFOs had been seen before, taking place on the anniversary of a significant metaphysical event known as the Harmonic Convergence. During the festival, fans participated in an art project which the band then also contributed to, and when they put all the art pieces together, it formed a tower that may have been an attempt to initiate contact with the beyond. It was shortly after this moment that the lights came down, the moon lit up, and the fans created the first glowstick war. He goes deeper into Mayan history and certain lyrics, and it would surprise no one to learn that Trey is a fan of mysticism and ancient facts…
The stories, the rumors, the connections - they go deeper than we could possibly understand or confirm. They have meaning if you give them meaning, which Phish fans are prone to do, and rightly so. The band has confirmed countless stories, fueled several others, tricked us time and time again. Would it really be so crazy to think the whole thing is a giant conspiracy? Still, don’t believe what you might have read…
