This past weekend was a religious one for me. After a nice dinner with friends late Friday afternoon, I traveled 40 miles to pay homage to two Jews and two non-Jews who were — as a tie-dyed, 30-year-old I met later that night called them — “most definitely righteous.”
With us were 35,000 others. Cars, vans, trucks, even school buses yielded license plates from all over the country. One might have thought we were going to greet the Messiah.
But, as history would have it, messiahs don’t usually come to Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy. Rather, the phenomenon at hand was the rock group, Phish, which I was seeing for my ninth and tenth times Friday and Saturday nights. Every Phish show is completely different, leading thousands, myself included, toward an endless pursuit of this band, a pursuit some may call religious.
And while I don’t look for faith in the group’s music, faith does have a profound meaning in the band’s history. Phish is Trey Anastasio, guitar and vocals; Mike Gordon, bass; Page McConnell, keyboards; and Jon Fishman, drums and percussion. They’ve been together since 1984, but took a break from October 2000 until New Year’s Eve 2002, when they played to a sold-out Madison Square Garden.
The band’s Jewish half (Gordon and Fishman) has generated some spiritually flavored moments. Phish routinely plays “Avenu Malkenu” at concerts as well as the occasional “Yerushalyim Shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”). Services for the High Holidays and Havdalah have been held in the parking lots by fans, a third of whom are estimated to be Jewish.
From where does this spirituality come? Phish is clearly a secular band. Interaction with the audience is frequent, but never political, religious or imposing in any matter.
In an interview with Boston’s Jewish Advocate, Gordon explained, “Music fills many of the holes that religion leaves open. The philosophical feeling behind religion …and the notion of praying to God is very abstract. This transfers directly to my relationship with music. While you cannot necessarily touch music, you can feel it and it is something to believe in.”
A Schechter Day School grad, Gordon compares his movements on stage while performing to davening. “To me, music has always served as that type of religious release,” he said.
For many, music and faith go hand in hand. Both help people answer the unanswered questions in life; they help people find comfort and peace.
“Although I don’t find God through Phish, the music helps me get through tough times, just as faith can,” said David Block, a friendly Phishead I met this weekend.
One notable aspect of the Jewish influence in the Phish community has been Israeli Rabbi Shmuel Skaist, who, with his group Gefilte Fish, toured with Phish until its hiatus, promoting spirituality to people of all faiths.
During the nineties, you could spot Gefilte Fish a mile away — their RV was the only one with Israeli flags draped over both sides.
“Our goal is to connect with people,” explained Skaist on his Web site. “There are beautiful people at Phish shows, and we hope to bring people closer to themselves through the common bond of music.”
I’ve been listening to Phish since I was in the seventh grade, and I’ve always been into the group purely for the music. I enjoy their spontaneity and improvisation, their epic, 30-minute songs. The experience of hearing them live is like no other.
As I’ve gotten older, my appreciation for the band hasn’t decreased. But as I’ve matured and begun to take religion and life a bit more seriously, my ideas and feelings about them have evolved. The music has brought me closer to friends and family (I’ve seen three concerts with my father and countless others with friends), and it has helped me to forge new friendships with other Phisheads.
Listening to the music brings me joy, and seeing Phish in concert makes memories I will never forget. And while I will never blur the lines between religion and idolatry, while I will never find genuine faith in four men, I will forever hold the bond of Judaism with the band and its community.
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