6/9/90 @ The Wetlands w/ Josh Gertz

Hi everybody, and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. You know, prom night is full of cliches: carnations, gowns, tuxedos, slow dances, limousines, and so on. Now, take all those tropes and add an unexpected twist: your afterparty is taking your limo with a bunch of friends into Manhattan to see Phish play two sets at the hottest live music club in the city. And THAT is the story of today’s guest, Josh Gertz, who is here to tell us about his prom afterparty: Phish’s show on June 9, 1990 at the Wetlands Preserve. My prom afterparty was to go to the Limelight Nightclub and then to Wildwood, New Jersey for the weekend. I’d trade that for Josh’s experience in a heartbeat.

Phish was in a transitional period in 1990; they were still composing their multi-part nerd-rock opuses, but were also poking out of the comfort of the northeast, slowly growing their audience while they infused their strange band personality with musical virtuosity. It’s arguably for the better that Josh didn’t know what he was getting himself into, because even 35 years ago, the band was figuratively and literally pushing their boundaries.

This incredible music all played out against the backdrop of the Wetlands Preserve. Talking about lower Manhattan is a constant refrain in today’s conversation; Josh is originally from Northern New Jersey, and I’m originally from Long Island, so two households, both alike in dignity, going to the city to see live jamband music bore some common talking points. And that was just the beginning of our conversation.

So bring your change of clothes, cool off if you need to, and give Trey a high five as Josh Gertz tells us about Phish at the Wetlands on June 9, 1990.