Trey's Left Nut

Anyone who knows Phish knew that their alleged break-up four years ago would hardly be the last we heard of them. The boys, particularly Trey, wanted to pursue other projects without the constant question of "dude...when's Phish getting back together, brah?" becoming more important than whatever they were working on at the time (a phenomenon all to apparent during their Oysterhead-era hiatus). Coventry, dogged by logistic and weather nightmares, was at best an average performance, certainly not the type the band had become legendary for, and too difficult to imagine as their swan song. Then there were the murmurs about reuniting for Live 8 a couple years ago, which forever planted the seeds of hope for a reunion. Still, for all the clues and all the hoping, nobody expected the break-up to last less than five years. Last week we got word from Rolling Stone that Trey, contemplating life after getting his hand caught in the candy jar, would "give my left nut" (TMI Trey-ster!) to perform "You Enjoy Myself" five times a day everyday for the rest of his life (not as easy as it sounds...see video below). Sure, this is great news for long-suffering Phans, but more than that, Phish reuniting is bound to help the economy. Right now as I type this, thousands of coffee shop, food co-op, and hammock factory positions are opening up around the country as stony Phans quit their jobs to give themselves time to take in the recycling, get the VW Bus tuned up and make some beaded hackey sacks to sell in the parking lots of the upcoming shows...whenever and wherever (if ever) those shows may be. It's that kind of grass-roots ingenuity (and I emphasize grass) that will make this country great again, to say nothing of all the vacant jobs that must now be filled. For that, we all owe Trey thanks. Sorry Obama, but when Trey promises change, he delivers. Whatever the future holds, this ripple of publicity should help the prolific Anastasio's new live album Original Boardwalk Style, out 6/10 on his own Rubber Jungle label. (Two free downloads from the disc, "Plasma" and "Shine" are available Trey's MySpace Page.)

I was at this show. Oh, just for shits and giggles, if you want to see a bunch of mean-spirited w00kies beating up on each other for no apparent reason, check out the forums sometime at www.phantasytour.com.