7/14/19 @ Alpine Valley w/ Chris Bojar

Hi everybody and welcome to this week’s episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. You know, everybody has their own standards for what constitutes a “special” Phish show: a killer setlist, monster jams, rarities, meeting up with old friends, making new  friends, going to your hometown venue, and more. I mean, that’s the entire premise of this podcast! But every now and again, Phish plays a show that is an undisputed SPECIAL SHOW. A show that encapsulates all of the above, and maybe even a little more. Today’s episode with guest Chris Bojar revisits such a show from the recent past: July 14, 2019 at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin. 

There can be little doubt that Phish has a special affinity for the summertime shed, as they’ve played several great shows there. However, few shows are as explicit as this one, where the band went out of their way to tell the crowd how much they love playing at Alpine Valley, both directly and through goofy antics and banter, including a breakout version of Ruby Waves and putting the pressure on a certain couple to get married. Throw in the fact that Chris is from Wisconsin, and was able to have a buddies weekend at the height of summer and the table is set for an all time great show. And, boy, did Phish deliver.  

So let’s join Chris to talk about planning setlists, Spock’s Brain, and getting harassed by Kentucky police as we discuss July 14, 2019 at Alpine Valley.