An even-keeled evaluation of an important American band—a must for Phishheads, even though they probably know most of the...
The first biography of the undisputed king of modern jambands.
Founded in 1983 in Burlington, Vt., Phish spent years honing their chops and developing explosive live performances, which differed completely from night to night, before they entered the national radar in the early ’90s. Former Rolling Stone contributor Puterbaugh (co-author: Rhino’s Psychedelic Trip, 2000, etc.), who has covered Phish on and off since 1995, is quick to note the importance of the band to the live-music landscape of the past 25 years. “I firmly believe that they are one of the great American bands,” he writes, “and not just jam bands.” The author begins with a well-executed framing chapter that traces the band’s legendary festivals, from Ian’s Farm in 1987, to the forward-thinking Clifford Ball in 1996, to the disastrous mudfest at Coventry in 2004. In chronological fashion, Puterbaugh follows the band’s progress from a high-energy bar band to a consistently entertaining arena band that drew more than 80,000 fans to the swamps of Florida for Big Cypress in 1999-2000. He also discusses the many changes in the band’s playing over the years, focusing on how the group’s dynamic jamming has evolved as they have ventured into larger arenas and outdoor amphitheaters. The author ably sketches each band member’s distinct personality—from the alpha-dog exuberance of guitarist and de facto frontman Trey Anastasio to the quirky genius of bassist Mike Gordon—and digs up many intriguing stories behind the band’s storied career. Puterbaugh doesn’t shy from the negative events in the band’s history—including Anastasio’s arrest for narcotics in 2006—but his respect and admiration for his subjects is clear. The portrait that emerges shows a uniquely gifted collection of omnivorous musicians who understand the necessity of group collaboration and the near-infinite possibilities of the stage. Also included is an illuminating 2009 interview with Anastasio, conducted amid the band’s triumphant return, and a full list of Phish’s studio recordings and official live releases.
An even-keeled evaluation of an important American band—a must for Phishheads, even though they probably know most of the stories already.Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-306-81484-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Da Capo
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2009
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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