(UPDATE: Okay, so Phish is not defunct, they’ve been touring, so there’s that. Also… I am getting reminded in the comments of how many other kind of awful/mean/what-the-hell things Ober has written in the recent past, so maybe I’m being too gentle…)
So there was this little benefit concert last night. Some defunct band called Phish that reunited to raise money for Vermont Irene victims. You may have heard of them.
7 Days’ Lauren Ober sure has. She heard from angry hordes of Phishdom assembled when she dared to make fun of them. Yeah, it probably wasn’t the best idea (Ober is a good writer, but comedy is as much about the timing and target as the actual wordsmithing… but that’s OK, she’s young, she’ll get it) – but holy freaking crap, do they go after her. Phish? Yeah, like piranha maybe. Ye gods. Well, at least it bumped their website stats. Check it out, but be prepared for your eyes to bleed (here, and here, where 7 Days felt the need to squeeze an apology out of her, which is disappointing).
I tellya, the things people get riled up about. If only that energy could be channeled to something worth getting riled up about, eh?
So anybody attend? Any stories? Me, I’m not so much into the Phish thing. With that in mind, I’ll share this YouTube video, which livemusic.com labeled “What Phish Sounds Like to People That Don’t Like Phish” when they linked to it.
It’s one of a series of poorly executed sarcastic posts. She elicited a similar response to her blog post about the burlington city council’s french language resolution.
I had the opportunity to work the show, I turned it down.
They don’t do it for me…
racism in Bellows Falls a few months back that I found misleading and a wee bit racist. I don’t have much use for her. I think she wants to be Maureen Dowd but lacks the wit and quality of writing to pull it off.
Phish reunited in 2009 and have been touring regularly since. In 2010 they were the 38th largest touring act in the world, grossing $33.5 million(1).
Now, I’ve written some pretty stupid things over the course of my blogging life as many of you know, but at least it’s funny sometimes. That post she wrote wasn’t worth the toilet paper it should have been printed on, regardless of how one feels about Phish. Replacing every “F” with a “Ph”? Seriously? Patchouli? Let’s hope she never writes an article about African-Americans, as we’ll probably be treated to jokes about fried chicken and watermelon.
I saw that vid earlier today, it’s a hoot.
but I think it’s because, as Odum says, she’s probably young and she’s trying too hard.
I think she’s got more talent than the snark betrays and maybe she just needs a dash of experience and humility.
But they did do a benefit, so that’s a Good Thing.
The concert raised over $1 mil for flood relief — which is really the point.
that Lauren Ober is really a psuedonym for Ed Shamy?
I guess Ober’s follow-up column snarking VPR’s on air flood relief fundraiser will be put on hold for now.
It was a great time. I hadn’t seen Phish since 1992 when they toured with Santana. I actually didn’t really like that show because Phish monopolized the concert and I was wanting to see Santana. Prior to that I saw them a bunch of times in the bars of BTV when they first started. I don’t own any a phish recordings, so I’m not much of follower. I wanted to go because it was a good cause and I thought I would never get another chance to see Phish (which is pretty much what I think about any band that comes to the area).
The show was by far one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. The sound was excellent, people where great, and over all it was a great time. I think this is one of those cases where the live performance is way beyond what a recording can ever be. If they ever come back to VT, I will try my best to attend.
Going into the show, newsprint set me up with some expectations. I really expected a scene much like the Dead shows I saw years ago. It turned out this was a church social compared to those. I only saw a couple marginal characters and didn’t see anybody out of control. The stereotypes would have fit a walk up and down Church St. but not the show.
I’m surprised Phish was not up there with Dave Matthews on the link posted by wdh3. Perhaps it’s because of their long absence and the way the show’s recordings are given away to ticket holders.
My thoughts on Ober is that she is in the wrong line of work.