Question 1

Which animated TV series featured the members of Phish voicing cartoon versions of themselves in 2002?

Accepted Answer

The Simpsons. In the Simpsons episode "Weekend at Burnsie's," the band appears in animated form and plays a bit of "Run Like an Antelope."

Question 2

What was the name of the August 2004 festival in northern Vermont that was billed as Phish's final shows?

Accepted Answer

Coventry. Coventry was held at Newport State Airport in Vermont, and the band closed the last night with "The Curtain With."

Question 3

How did Trey Anastasio announce in May 2004 that Phish was breaking up?

Accepted Answer

In a post on the band's website. Trey wrote that the band had run its course and that they wanted to end on a high note. Coventry that August was billed as the farewell.

Question 4

What was unusual about the making of Round Room, Phish's December 2002 comeback album?

Accepted Answer

It came from unedited rehearsal sessions over four days at Trey's barn studio. The band first planned to record the album live at the 2002 New Year's Eve show at MSG. They put out the fall studio sessions instead, which gives the album a loose, live feel.

Question 5

The roadkill rocker "Possum" was written by which early Phish guitarist?

Accepted Answer

Jeff Holdsworth. Jeff Holdsworth wrote "Possum," which became one of Phish's most-played songs. He returned to sing it with the band in December 2003.

Question 6

Where did Jay-Z join Phish onstage for "99 Problems" and "Big Pimpin'" in June 2004?

Accepted Answer

Keyspan Park in Brooklyn. On June 18, 2004, at the Brooklyn minor-league ballpark, Phish backed Jay-Z with help from percussionist Cyro Baptista. It's their only "99 Problems" ever.

Question 7

Which blues legend joined Phish at Continental Airlines Arena in February 2003 for a set-ending run including "The Thrill Is Gone"?

Accepted Answer

B.B. King. B.B. King played about 45 minutes with the band, also tackling "Every Day I Have the Blues" and "Rock Me Baby."

Question 8

Phish was the musical guest on the December 2002 episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by whom?

Accepted Answer

Al Gore. On the Al Gore-hosted episode the band debuted "46 Days," popped up in a sketch, and had "You Enjoy Myself" featured in a TV Funhouse cartoon.

Question 9

What was the name of John Paluska's Burlington-based company that managed Phish?

Accepted Answer

Dionysian Productions. Paluska managed Phish for 16 years, and Dionysian wound down after the 2004 breakup. Red Light Management, where Jason Colton later picked up management duties, is a different company.

Question 10

Paul Languedoc, Phish's longtime sound engineer and guitar builder, mixed his first Phish show in October 1986 at which Burlington club?

Accepted Answer

Hunt's. Languedoc mixed the band until 2004 and builds guitars and basses only for Trey and Mike. When Phish returned in 2009 he retired from the road to focus on building instruments.

Question 11

At It (2003), Phish played an ambient late-night set from atop what structure?

Accepted Answer

An air traffic control tower. The former air base setting made for one of the most unusual stages the band has ever used.

Question 12

Mike Gordon's 2000 documentary "Outside Out" won an audience award at which festival?

Accepted Answer

South by Southwest. Mike Gordon's film Outside Out took the audience award at South by Southwest. He followed it with the documentary Rising Low in 2002.

Question 13

The legendary 'Tweezerfest' of May 7, 1994, where 'Tweezer' was woven through the whole second set, took place at which Dallas venue?

Accepted Answer

The Bomb Factory. Mike chose the show as one of his 'Mike's Picks' in 2003, and it came out as Live Phish 18.

Question 14

A March 1, 2003 'Piper' in Greensboro, partly built on Santana's 'Oye Como Va,' earned what nickname?

Accepted Answer

The Twisted Worm. Phish.net describes the 'Twisted Worm' as many 'Pipers' rolled into one, a highlight of the band's first tour after the hiatus.

Question 15

Which song opened Phish's December 31, 2002 return from hiatus at Madison Square Garden?

Accepted Answer

Piper. The comeback 'Piper' had a 'Low Rider' tease and an ending coda that was rare for the time, and then the band dropped into 'Guyute.'

Question 16

At the December 31, 2002 comeback show, 'Mound' returned for the first time since which year?

Accepted Answer

1996. Phish.net lists the gap as 276 shows, last played November 19, 1996.

Question 17

Since 2010, Phish has spent nearly every New Year's Eve at which arena?

Accepted Answer

Madison Square Garden. The exceptions were 2014, when the band rang in the new year in Miami, and the pandemic years. Phish had also played MSG on New Year's Eve in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2002.

Question 18

What is the name of the official service Phish launched in December 2002 to sell soundboard recordings of its shows?

Accepted Answer

LivePhish. LivePhish added an on-demand streaming service, LivePhish+, in 2014. Fans can hear official soundboards of shows from across the band's history.

Question 19

In June 2004, Phish played a seven-song set for David Letterman's show from what unusual spot?

Accepted Answer

Atop the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee. The June 21, 2004 rooftop set came less than a month after Trey announced the breakup. It included "Wilson," "Chalk Dust Torture" and "Tweezer," with "Scents and Subtle Sounds" played twice.

Question 20

"Walls of the Cave" and the 11-minute "Pebbles and Marbles" come from which album?

Accepted Answer

Round Room. Round Room was recorded over just four days in October 2002 at The Barn, and it ended the band's two-year hiatus. "Pebbles and Marbles" opens the album.

Question 21

Phish played four-night New Year's runs in 2003, 2009 and 2014 in which city?

Accepted Answer

Miami. All three runs were at the same Miami arena. Apart from 2014, almost every New Year's run since 2010 has been at Madison Square Garden.

Question 22

Rift's instrumental "All Things Reconsidered" is a playful variation on the theme music of which radio program?

Accepted Answer

NPR's All Things Considered. The show it riffs on has played the Phish tune several times. An orchestral version later turned up on Trey's 2004 solo album Seis De Mayo.

Question 23

Which Round Room song did Phish debut on Saturday Night Live on December 14, 2002?

Accepted Answer

46 Days. Five days later, the band debuted "All of These Dreams" on the Late Show with David Letterman. Both TV debuts came before the New Year's Eve comeback show.

Question 24

What happened to the "You Enjoy Myself" trampolines at Coventry in August 2004?

Accepted Answer

They were given to an audience member. The trampolines had been part of YEM since a May 1989 show in Northfield. Their last outing was the first set at Coventry.

Question 25

In June 2003, Phish sang the national anthem a cappella before Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and which team?

Accepted Answer

New Jersey Nets. They delivered "The Star-Spangled Banner" in four-part harmony at Continental Airlines Arena, where the Nets won 77-76.

Question 26

Page McConnell founded which side band in 2001 with bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russell Batiste?

Accepted Answer

Vida Blue. Vida Blue was active from 2001 to 2004 and later reunited to record the 2019 album Crossing Lines.

Question 27

Which Jon Fishman side band released a self-titled album on Elektra in October 2002?

Accepted Answer

Pork Tornado. Pork Tornado formed in 1997 and mixed blues, country and rock, with Fish on drums and vocals.

Question 28

Mike Gordon recorded the duo albums Clone, Sixty Six Steps and Noon with which acoustic guitar great?

Accepted Answer

Leo Kottke. Mike and Leo Kottke released Clone in 2002, Sixty Six Steps in 2005 and Noon in 2020.

Question 29

In The Simpsons episode "Weekend at Burnsie's," which Phish song does the band perform?

Accepted Answer

Run Like an Antelope. Phish voiced themselves in the 2002 episode and played Antelope, and Trey even slipped in a bit of the Simpsons theme, a nod to the secret language.

Question 30

The Great Went (1997), Lemonwheel (1998), and It (2003) were all held at which former Air Force base in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Loring Air Force Base. The remote base in Limestone, Maine, near the Canadian border, is the band's most-used festival site.

Phish 2.0 Era Trivia