Given how popular indie music has become in this decade, more respect should be given to one of rock's ultimate do-it-yourself acts: Phish.
Though Phish eventually signed to a major label, the band got little to no promotional support throughout its career, especially in the early days.
Phish created its fan base on the road, playing fresh, improvisational jams each night, much like its forefather, the Grateful Dead.
That Phish is still shrugged off by many is no surprise. Its music is strange, definitely an acquired taste, and remains more of a live, visceral experience than something you can neatly present at a dinner party.
As Phish gears up for its first summer tour since calling it quits in 2004 — no Arizona dates are scheduled — fans in Tucson may have to settle for "The Clifford Ball."
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Released in March, it's a seven-disc DVD set showcasing the Vermont band's first multiday summer music festival, which eventually would become an annual happening.
On Aug. 16 and 17, 1996, "The Clifford Ball" drew about 70,000 fans to upstate New York to see what was then widely regarded as some fringe hippie jam band make a bunch of nonsense noise.
Phish was the only musical act at the event — aside from a symphony orchestra that briefly played at one point — and the band performed three sets each day.
Each set gets its own disc in the DVD collection, and the sum is just about every classic Phish song you'd want to hear, including "Chalk Dust Torture," "Tweezer," "Bathtub Gin" and "YEM."
The mid-'90s are generally considered Phish's prime, and you can hear it throughout these DVDs. The playing is tight, spontaneous and energetic, while the band is visibly having the time of its life. Afterward, it is said that Phish regarded "The Clifford Ball" as the then-pinnacle of its career.
The live concert footage is shot well enough, but it's not as visually stunning as the material in the 2000 Phish documentary, "Bittersweet Motel."
Phish and its crew were taking a big gamble even filming "The Clifford Ball," let alone organizing such an event, but this group has always embraced wild-eyed experimentation.
Why it took 13 years for "The Clifford Ball" to get the full DVD treatment is not expressed in the accompanying materials, but the packaging is so well done that you can forgive it.
The colorful and elaborately illustrated box set contains photo postcards of the event, complete with fake stamps, and a booklet written by journalist Parke Puterbaugh that chronicles "The Clifford Ball" from inception to reflection.
On the seventh disc, on the last bonus feature, the four members sit in a living room talking about wanting to play the world's longest gig: Could they play for 36 hours straight? Should they book a venue for 72 hours just in case?
With Phish back on tour, you never know.
And that's always been half the fun.
• "The Clifford Ball," Phish. Jemp/Rhino.
