Attendance Bias

Brian Weinstein
  • 5.0 (119)
  • MUSIC INTERVIEWS
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

Attendance Bias is a podcast for fans to tell a story about an especially meaningful Phish show.

  1. 5H AGO

    Attendance Bias 2026 Summer Tour Venue Preview

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode. Today is a preview of a preview. Leading up to Phish’s summer tour last year, 2025, I thought it would be fun to do a deep dive into two new venues Phish was playing: Forest Hills Stadium in New York City, and Folsom Field in Boulder. I keep an eye on the online Phish community on Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Reddit, etc. and it seemed like fans had the most questions about those venues. I was lucky to find people who were willing to come on the show and pretty much answer a Q&A about each venue. It was kind of the same format as a regular Attendance Bias episode, except the episode was about a venue and not a particular show. Then, a friend recommended that I shouldn’t stop at Forest Hills and Folsom; I should record an episode for every venue on the 2025 tour. I loved doing it, and so that’s what happened. I was very proud of it, and by the end, I felt like I could hop on tour at any moment and know everything I needed to know about any given venue. Once Phish announced their 2026 summer tour this past February, I felt that impulse to record another “Venue Preview” miniseries–you know when you feel that feeling that says: “This is going to be difficult, it’s going to take a lot of work, but I really, really, really want to do it?” Once I saw their tour, that’s the feeling I felt. I immediately went to work, contacting friends, working through a few false starts, and doing a ton of research of places I’ve never visited–sure, I could tell you the basics of seeing a show at Merriweather Post Pavilion, but the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia may as well be in Taiwan. Plus, I had to think of ways to preview the most familiar Phish venues: how exactly does one give a heads up about seeing Phish at Madison Square Garden or Deer Creek? I had my work cut out for me. Regardless, the next 10 weeks of Attendance Bias episodes will sound like that: The 2026 Summer Tour Venue Preview Series. Now that the 3 weekends at the Sphere are done, here are Phish’s next stops, along with the guests who will help tell us about each venue and city: *July 7 and 8 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin with Mike Lancaster *July 10, 11, and 12, at Deer Creek with Ben Karle *July 14 and 15 at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA with my friends Earth and Jessie *July 17 at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, NC, with Bryan Rodgers *July 18 and 19 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland with Skinny and JW from the Stub Me Down podcast *July 21 at the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse, NY with Beth Ann Kempf *July 22-29 at Madison Square Garden with Megan Glionna *July 31 and August 1 at Fenway Park with Dave Hamilton *Finally, September 4-6 at Dick’s with Stacie Ledden Whether or not you’re seeing a show at any given venue on the tour, I would recommend listening to each episode. It gives you a flavor of what it’s like to see Phish at that venue and what it’s like to be in that city. I loved it. I do what to take a moment to thank every guest I just named for being generous with their time and their knowledge. Want to know what to do if you arrive in Madison a day early or end up staying a day late? Are you a barbecue fiend and want to know the best place to stop in Raleigh? Need to know how tight security is i Support the show

    19 min

  2. APR 29

    7/3/95 @ Sugarbush Mountain w/ Shoheen Owhady

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: Today’s guest, Shoheen Owhady, is the keyboard player for Uncle Ebeneezer, a Phish cover band based out of New Jersey, AND the keyboard player for The Dude of Life Band. And it just so happens that today’s show we discussed: July 3, 1995 at Sugarbush Mountain in Vermont, is Page’s show. Between Strange Design, Loving Cup, A Day in the Life, and monster solos in The Squirming Coil, Possum, and David Bowie, this is one that anyone interested in Phish keyboards should pay extra close attention.  Then, just as important as the music, is the context. On Attendance Bias, we talk about different eras and milestones that certain shows represent. There’s a pretty strong argument that this show on the mountain was the end of an era. It was the last show the band would play before the death of Jerry Garcia, and we all know how that would affect the Phish scene started just a few months later in the fall of 1995. It was also the last Phish show to be played in their home state of Vermont until 1997, and the last major show to be played there until the Coventry festival in 2004. As we discuss, the end of an era. But in between that is all the passion for the music. Phish played Sugarbush the previous year in the summer of 1994–a show immortalized as a highly tradeable tape and released as one of the original Live Phish albums. The band decided to double-down for 1995 and play two nights, complete with on-site camping. When you hear Shoheen describe the crowd and hear his story of how he got in, it’s no wonder that the band would produce their own festival, The Clifford Ball, the following year. There’s so much more, though. Let’s join Shoheen to discuss the evolution of Simple, the Sigma Oasis album, and how a moose ends up on stage on July 3, 1995 at Sugarbush Mountain. Support the show

    1h 20m

  3. APR 15

    12/28/96 @ The Spectrum w/ Scott Mitchell

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: When it comes to the holiday run, each show from December 28th to the 31st has sort of developed its own personality; the 28th is the warm-up show, the 29th is the rock and roll show with the most energy, the 30th is the legendary night before the night where the band plays most of its memorable jams, and of course New Year’s Eve, where the biggest shenanigans go down. Today’s guest, Scott Mitchell, the proprietor and operator of PhanDesignz, takes that paradigm and turns it on its head. For Scott, 12/28 is the show not to be missed, and he remembers the one that set that precedent: December 28, 1996 at the Philadelphia Spectrum.  The 1996 holiday run was split between Philadelphia and Boston–probably the last hurrah of the northeast runs before Phish would, for the most part, settle in at Madison Square Garden to end the year. Most people are probably more familiar with the following night, when Tom Marshall came onstage in the middle of Harpua to sing a respectable cover of “Champagne Supernova,” so I was curious as to what this show meant to Scott when he suggested it for the podcast. Unsurprisingly, 12/28/96 was the perfect combination of music and life circumstances for Scott to create an unforgettable experience at Phish. The show was, unusually, driven by Page, and included a couple of rarities and weird song pairings in the setlist. More importantly, Scott was getting ready to finish college and was home for the holidays, meeting up with friends who had gotten into the band while in their respective universities, which tends to happen. For today’s episode, though, Scott wanted to focus mostly on the second set of this show, as that’s where the big fireworks happen. There’s more to it than that, including Scott’s role as the designer and showrunner of PhanDesignz, an online fan art store, and big time Phish nerdery as we go deep during today’s conversation. I’ll let Scott tell the story as we go back to The Spectrum on December 28, 1996. Support the show

    1h 31m

  4. APR 1

    8/3/91 @ Amy's Farm w/ Matt Leaf

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: It’s always exciting when a guest reaches out to tell about their experience at a Phish festival. On Attendance Bias, we’ve heard about pretty much all of them, except Big Cypress and Coventry. But wait…today’s guest, Matt Leaf messaged me to tell about his ride to a forgotten festival. A “proto-festival” as we call it throughout today’s episode. Matt has quite a personal story to tell how he ended up at a free, 3-set show at Larrabee Farm in Auburn, Maine on August 3, 1991, most commonly known as “Amy’s Farm.” There was no ferris wheel, no cheeky names for campgrounds, and no secret late-night sets…but it still set the tone and, as Matt calls it, the “rough draft” that would eventually blossom into the Clifford Ball just 5 years later, and Big Cypress by the end of the decade. Things were just on a smaller scale then. Matt explains how he got into the scene through his older brothers’ love of the Grateful Dead in the mid-80s, and then some fortuitous connections at a Maine summer camp steered him into the direction of Phish, which in turn led him to this free show that has lived in the tape decks of thousands of fans for years.  It was almost excruciatingly exciting to hear about being at Amy’s Farm from a first-person point of view. You can even hear my voice speed up at certain points because I wanted to know more and more about what it was like to be there. Matt showed up today, big time, giving all the details that stand out in his memory as well as giving his take on the big picture of “what it all meant,” both at the time the show was played, and in retrospect as we look back and listen back today. There’s a lot to digest as we join Matt to talk about the sound quality, sold out tshirts, and extension cords as we time travel back to Amy’s Farm on August 3, 1991 in Auburn, ME. Support the show

    1h 21m

  5. MAR 18

    “Tweezer” from 12/31/25 @ MSG w/Chris Witaske

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started, I want to remind you  that you can support Attendance Bias by going to www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donating  anything you can manage. You can also leave a rating or a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, onto today’s episode: Shopping for car insurance? Invested in the drama of an elevated dining Chicago restaurant, scrolling Netflix lately and came across the new show Free Bert or adult cartoon Chicago Party Aunt? If any of the above is true for you, then you already know today’s guest. Actor Chris Witaske who you may recognize as the guy trying not to become his parents in the Progressive tv commercials, as Pete in the FX show The Bear, or as the villain on Free Bert with the exquisitely chosen character name Landon Vanderthal, is also a huge Phish fan. He and I were lucky enough to sit near each other on New Year’s Eve 2025 and had the greatest time watching a bunch of Broadway-style milk cartons dance across the stage of Madison Square Garden. By the time the third set was over, Chris, myself, and everyone around us were reminded of what we already knew: Phish is incredible, and we are so lucky to see them at another peak of their career. I got in touch with Chris a few days after New Year’s and asked him if he would be interested in basically nerding out about Phish for an hour, based on a jam of his choice. He was immediately game, and after a bit of discussion, he asked if “Tweezer” from New Year’s Eve 2025 would be too “on the nose.” That was immediately followed up with a message that said, “it’s so good.” I obviously want my guests to tell us about whatever show or jam they want, but after a few relistens, it’s clear that this 30 minute Tweezer from New Year’s Eve is a bona fide classic. It’s one of the jams of the year, and Chris had so much to look forward to in 2026 that it was an auspicious start to the year. It’s a great long jam, but there’s so much more to it than just the music.  But let’s hear it from Chris as we talk about Deep dish pizza, High Fidelity, and having too many options in a Phish calendar year, as we discuss “Tweezer” from December 31, 2025 at Madison Square Garden. Support the show

    1h 11m

  6. MAR 4

    Venue Remembrance: The Haunt, w/Howard Fuchs

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: Last year around this time, once Phish announced their summer tour dates, I aired a new series called “Venue Previews.” The goal was to introduce fans to each venue Phish would play on their summer tour, and have a guest tell us about the ins and outs of each city, as well as review Phish’s history in that venue. I loved it so much that when today’s guest, Howard Fuchs proprietor of the Smokin’ Sandy Pineapple food truck, rang me up, we came up with an idea that was similar, but different. Today’s episode is the inverse of a “Venue Preview.” Instead, it is a “Venue Remembrance." Howard was in college in the late-80s and early-90s in Ithaca, New York. During his time there, he saw Phish no less than 5 times in the now-legendary club, The Haunt in Ithaca. The Haunt no longer exists, but Howard recalls specific details of seeing Phish at least five times in the 1990 calendar year. Today’s episode is a look back at those five Phish shows (although no audio exists from one of the shows). More than that is a look back at the city of Ithaca, its natural beauty, and its socially conscious attitude that pervaded the community for decades, including the time period we’re discussing today. Now, for those of us who are just here for the music, there’s another layer to this story. 1990 was a tremendous year for Phish. They were regularly venturing out of New England, mostly to college campuses and small clubs in the northeast. At the same time, they were recording Lawn Boy while still writing new material that would eventually appear on A Picture of Nectar. All the while, they were grinding it out in their van, playing these venues, most of the time without recordings or even surviving setlists. These are shows we know happened, but don’t know anything about. And more often than not, these venues are no longer standing. That’s why today’s conversation with Howard is such a treat. Not only does he wax poetic about The Haunt, but we get to be a fly on the wall during a time of the band’s history that, I would guess, most listeners of this podcast did not experience. As a side bonus, we get to hear the band’s evolution in real time through the lens of The Haunt, which they played 5 times, from January to November of 1990, before moving on to the beginning of their small theater era. So let’s journey to the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Bring your sweatshirt and $7 for the cover charge as Howard and I talk about crunchwraps, slipping on bracelets, and finding your tribe in college as we remember The Haunt, in Ithaca, New York. Support the show

    1h 36m

  7. FEB 18

    8/1/98 @ Alpine Valley w/ Matt Huber

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to today’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: I’ve spoken a lot on this podcast about how different Phish years have different personalities. When Attendance Bias was first getting off the ground, I had an unofficial goal to learn more about the 1999 Phish calendar year. But at this point, about five years in, I think that 1998 is the more intangible year. Everyone loves 1997, we’ve covered a lot of shows and jams from 1999, but 1998 remains elusive. The band was still funky, but they also kept their guitar-powered speed rock and combined it with a ton of unexpected cover songs that kept the crowd guessing. If we could distill the cagey feeling of 1998 into one show, it may be today’s: Matt Huber is here to explain what it was like to attend Phish's show from August 1, 1998 at Alpine Valley. A classic venue that, in this case, featured Phish at the top of their game during an under-explored summer. Matt and I have a lot to say about today’s show, but there’s this inescapable feeling that, even with a 90 minute episode, there’s a lot left unsaid. We talk about the summer of covers, imaginary conversations between band members, and even compare Fikus to Quadrophonic Toppling. This is a nerdy episode, and we go out there. But, maybe what makes 1998 such a great year for Phish has yet to be defined no matter how much we talk. In the meantime, Matt and I give it our best shot today. Let’s join Matt Huber to discuss The Story of the Ghost, The Velvet Underground, and who should take the high vocal parts at  August 1, 1998 at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin. Support the show

    1h 29m

  8. FEB 4

    6/9/09 @ The Asheville Civic Center w/ Derek Hill

    Send us Fan Mail Hi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Before we get started with today’s episode, I just want to remind everyone that if you enjoy the podcast, you can show your support by leaving a rating and review of it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit www.buymeacoffee.com/attendancebias and donate anything you can to keep the podcast going. Now, onto today’s episode: 2009 was the most exciting year to be a Phish fan. After years of waiting and hoping, while band members were in their various solo outings, and the jamband scene seemed more inclusive than ever, Phish returned to the stage. After their Hampton comeback in March, they hit the road for a HUGE summer tour and expectations were out of control. At the time, lots of long-time fans were overwhelmed with the excitement of Phish being back clean, sober, and cohesive but we were also wondering: where are the jams? But with time comes perspective and we are lucky today to have returning guest Derek Hill to explain why today’s show–June 9, 2009 at the Asheville Civic Center–and 2009 in general deserves its due, deserves respect, and deserves attention instead of being brushed aside as “the band getting back on their feet.”  You may remember that Derek was previously on Attendance Bias to tell about another show from 2009–the memorable Hartford show from August 14 when the band busted out several Gamehendge favorites, a killer version of Ghost, and even played Psycho Killer!  That show was an instant classic, but today’s show from Asheville was a bit more under the radar. It was early on in Phish’s 3.0 return, and had several features that would become trademarks of the early-3.0 era; long sets, old favorites mixed in with songs from the new album, strong vocals, type 1 jams, and the occasional jam that pushed the boundaries.  But there’s also the personal aspect to it–the reasons Derek wanted to tell his story, and I’ll leave that to him. So let’s join Derek to talk about Sarah Palin, Fishman’s journal, and what it’s like UNDER the stage, as we discuss June 9, 2009 at the Asheville Civic Center. Support the show

    1h 27m
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About

Attendance Bias is a podcast for fans to tell a story about an especially meaningful Phish show.

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Weinstein
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    246
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Attendance Bias
  • Show Website
    Attendance Bias

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