Back to the Future with Phish

The Storage Jam set at Super Ball IX was the event of the entire weekend and maybe of Phish 3.0. The Self Storage USA building was the centerpiece of the Ball Square Powerhouse, which was billed as a trilogy of American History. The Olde Forge represented an early American settlement; the Bull Run & Sun Co. represented the Industrial Revolution and the Self Storage building represented the future. The building had a few exhibits in each corner, but many of the garage doors remained closed all weekend. Until Saturday night, when the Storage shed was transformed into the hidden stage and Phish performed an unannounced 60+-minute set of improv, electronica and Pink Floyd-esque jams. It wasn't until the next day during the narration of "Fly Famous Mockingbird," did the true story behind the storage jam come to light. Trey explained as the band was setting out on their first tour to Colorado, the van they were driving broke down and the band was forced to put their equipment in storage while the van was getting fixed. Now anyone who has broken down on a road trip knows what a downer that can be. The cost of getting a vehicle fixed, hotel rooms during the wait, general agony and frustration of the unknown can all mount on one's head. Instead the band used the time in the storage shed to play and get closer to each other and the music and as Trey said, create a mental projection of a future reality. And more than twenty years later, Phish used a piece of it's past to spell out it's future. It's all come full circle for the band, the smaller festival, cool vibes and great music brought Phish back to the future.