Editing Phish (section)

===''Billy Breathes'', ''The Story of the Ghost'', and ''The Siket Disc'': 1996–1999===

In early 1996, Anastasio and Fishman formed a [[free jazz]] side-project called [[Surrender to the Air]], inspired by the music of [[Sun Ra]], which also featured [[Marshall Allen]], [[Michael Ray (trumpeter)|Michael Ray]], [[John Medeski]], [[Oteil Burbridge]], [[Kofi Burbridge]], and [[Marc Ribot]], among other musicians.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jon |title=Twenty Years Later: Trey Anastasio Presents Surrender To The Air |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/twenty-years-later-trey-anastasio-presents-surrender-air |website=JamBase |access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref> The group's only album, ''[[Surrender to the Air (album)|Surrender to the Air]]'', was released in March.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pop Music: Small Faces |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-04-ca-32059-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=1 September 2023 |date=4 February 1996}}</ref>

Following an appearance at the [[New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival]] in April 1996,<ref>{{cite web |title=Phish Releases Jazzfest '96 and Tipitina's '91 For New Orleans Relief - Glide Magazine |url=https://glidemagazine.com/7232/phish-releases-jazzfest-96-and-tipitinas-91-for-new-orleans-relief/ |website=Glide Magazine |access-date=16 September 2018 |date=6 October 2005}}</ref> Phish spent the summer of that year opening for [[Santana (band)|Santana]] on their European tour.<ref>{{cite web |title=Two sets of Phish opening for Santana, summers '92 and '96 |url=http://kdrt.org/audio/two-sets-phish-opening-santana-summers-92-and-96 |website=KDRT 95.7FM Davis |date=3 June 2012 |access-date=16 September 2018  }}</ref> In August 1996, the band held their first festival, [[The Clifford Ball (DVD)|The Clifford Ball]], at the decommissioned [[Plattsburgh Air Force Base]] on the New York side of [[Lake Champlain]]. The festival attracted 70,000 attendees, making it both Phish's biggest concert crowd to that point and the largest single concert by attendance in the United States in 1996.<ref>{{cite news | title =  Small Adirondack Town Is Host of a Giant Concert | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = August 18, 1996 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E1D61630F93BA2575BC0A960958260 | access-date = 2007-11-26 }}</ref> Phish recorded their sixth album ''[[Billy Breathes]]'' in the winter and spring of 1996, and the album was issued in October of that year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Phish history timeline: February 1996 |url=https://phish.com/band/february-1996/ |website=Phish}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Phish history timeline: October 1996 |url=https://phish.com/band/october-1996/ |website=Phish |access-date=25 July 2023}}</ref> The album's first single, "Free", peaked at No.&nbsp;24 on the [[Alternative Songs|Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks]] chart and No.&nbsp;11 on the [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart, and was their most successful song on both charts.<ref name="phishmain"/><ref name="phishalt">{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/mrt/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=22 September 2018}}</ref>

By 1997, Phish's concert improvisational ventures were developing into a new [[funk]]-inspired long form jamming style.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Jake |title=Album Review: Phish - Hampton/Winston-Salem '97 |url=https://consequence.net/2011/12/album-review-phish-hamptonwinston-salem-97/ |website=Consequence of Sound |access-date=5 December 2019 |date=16 December 2011}}</ref> Vermont-based [[ice cream]] conglomerate [[Ben & Jerry's]] launched "Phish Food" that year. The band officially licensed their name for use with the product, the only time they have ever allowed a third-party company to do so, and were directly involved with the creation of the flavor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ben & Jerry's: Phish Food Ice Cream |url=https://www.benjerry.com/flavors/phish-food-ice-cream |website=Ben & Jerry's |access-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822054600/https://www.benjerry.com/flavors/phish-food-ice-cream |archive-date=22 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Proceeds from the flavor are donated to the band's non-profit charity [[The WaterWheel Foundation]], which raises funds for the preservation of Vermont's [[Lake Champlain]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phish.net/faq/phish-food|title=What's the story behind Phish Food?|work=Phish.net FAQ|publisher=Phish.net|access-date=2011-02-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724005615/http://phish.net/faq/phish-food|archive-date=2011-07-24}}</ref> On August 8, 1997, Phish [[webcast]] one of their concerts live over the internet for the first time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gershuny |first1=Jason |last2=Smith |first2=Andy |title=100 Things Phish Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die |date=2018 |publisher=Triumph Books |isbn=9781641250191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOwwDwAAQBAJ&q=phish%201997%20webcast%20tinley&pg=PT211 |language=ar}}</ref>

On August 16 and 17, 1997, Phish held their second festival, The Great Went, over two days at the [[Loring Air Force Base]] in [[Limestone, Maine]], near the [[Canada–United States border]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=The "Went Gin" Turns 20 Today, And It's Still One Of The Definitive Phish Jams [Video] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/20-years-later-went-gin-phish/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=9 September 2018 |date=17 August 2017}}</ref> In October 1997, the band released their second live album ''[[Slip Stitch and Pass]]'', which featured selections from their March 1997 concert at the [[Markthalle Hamburg]] in [[Hamburg, Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish 'Slip Stitch & Pass' Vinyl Release Due On Black Friday |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-slip-stitch-and-pass-vinyl |website=JamBase |access-date=26 May 2020 |date=9 October 2018}}</ref>

Following the Great Went, the band embarked on a fall tour that was dubbed by fans as the "Phish Destroys America" tour after a [[Kung fu film|1970s kung fu]]-inspired poster for the opening date in Las Vegas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=10 Years Later: Phish Destroys America |url=https://glidemagazine.com/140037/10-years-later-phish-destroys-america/ |website=Glide Magazine |date=13 November 2007 |access-date=9 April 2019}}</ref> The 21-date tour is considered one of the group's most popular and acclaimed tours, and several concerts were later officially released on live album sets such as ''[[Live Phish Volume 11]]'' in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Siegel |first1=Scott |title=Phish Fall 97: Remembering November 17th In Denver |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-fall-97-remembering-november-17th-denver |website=JamBase |access-date=9 April 2019 |date=17 November 2017}}</ref> Phish ended 1997 as one of the ten highest grossing concert acts in the United States that year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stones rule as 1997 top concert tour |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1433754/stones-rule-as-1997-top-concert-tour/ |website=MTV News |access-date=24 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114124922/https://www.mtv.com/news/1433754/stones-rule-as-1997-top-concert-tour/ |archive-date=14 January 2021 |date=15 December 1997 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In April 1998, the band embarked on the [[Live Phish Series#Island Tour|Island Tour]] - a four night tour with two shows at the [[Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum|Nassau Coliseum]] in [[Uniondale, New York]] on [[Long Island]] and another two at the [[Dunkin' Donuts Center|Providence Civic Center]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]].<ref name="island20">{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Remembering Phish's Island Tour 20 Years Later |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/remembering-phishs-island-tour-20-years-later |website=JamBase |date=2 April 2018}}</ref> The four concerts are highly regarded by fans due to the band's exploration of a [[jazz-funk]] musical style they had been playing for the previous year, which Anastasio dubbed "cowfunk".<ref name="island20"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Collette|first1=Doug |title=Phish: Live Phish: Island Tour |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-phish-island-tour-by-doug-collette.php |website=All About Jazz |date=8 October 2005 |access-date=30 September 2018  }}</ref> The band performed the tour in the middle of studio sessions for their seventh album, and were inspired by the quality of their performances to further incorporate the cowfunk style into subsequent sessions.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 Little Known Facts About Phish's Island Tour |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/10-little-known-facts-phishs-island-tour |website=JamBase |access-date=30 September 2018 |date=5 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Phish Releases Four Show 1998 Island Tour - Glide Magazine |url=https://glidemagazine.com/6971/phish-releases-four-show-1998-island-tour/ |website=Glide Magazine |access-date=30 September 2018 |date=29 June 2005}}</ref> The resulting album, ''[[The Story of the Ghost]]'', was released in October 1998.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Provides Soundtrack For Part Of A 'Dawson's Creek' Episode In 1998 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-provides-soundtrack-for-part-of-a-dawsons-creek-episode-in-1998 |website=JamBase |access-date=27 July 2020 |date=9 October 2016}}</ref> The album's first single "[[Birds of a Feather (Phish song)|Birds of a Feather]]", which had been premiered on the Island Tour, became a #14 hit on Billboard's [[Adult Alternative Songs]] chart.<ref name="triplea">{{cite magazine |title=Phish Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/phish/chart-history/aaa/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref> To promote ''The Story of the Ghost'', Phish performed several songs from the album on the public television music show ''[[Sessions at West 54th]]'' in October 1998, and were interviewed for the program by its host [[David Byrne]] of [[Talking Heads]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Brien |first1=Andrew |title=12 Days Of Phishmas 2018: David Byrne Conducts Wide-Ranging Interview With Phish In 1998 [Watch] |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/phishmas-2018-day2-david-byrne/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=4 March 2019 |date=17 December 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Lemonwheel August 14-16, 1998 (2175395920).jpg|thumb|Phish performing at Lemonwheel in 1998]]
In the summer of 1998, the band held Lemonwheel, their second festival at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. The two-day event attracted 60,000 attendees.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Frank |title=Phish Fans Attend Lemonwheel |url=https://apnews.com/20aa03825987457a068bf5b26da8f599 |website=Associated Press |access-date=27 July 2020 |date=15 August 1998}}</ref> The band played another summer festival in 1999, called Camp Oswego and held at the Oswego County Airport in [[Volney, New York]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Scott |title=Phish Concludes Camp Oswego Festival On This Date In 1999 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-camp-oswego-1999 |website=JamBase |access-date=27 July 2020 |date=18 July 2019}}</ref> Unlike other Phish festivals, Camp Oswego featured a prominent second stage of additional performers aside from Phish, including [[Del McCoury]], [[The Slip (band)|The Slip]] and [[Ozomatli]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Guide Through The First 10 Phish Festivals Ahead Of Curveball |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/curveball-phish-festivals-guide/ |website=Live for Live Music |date=14 August 2018 |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref>

In July 1999, the band released an album of improvisational instrumentals titled ''[[The Siket Disc]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kahn |first1=Andy |title=Vinyl Edition Of Phish 'The Siket Disc' LP Available For Pre-Order |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/vinyl-edition-of-phish-the-siket-disc-lp-available-for-pre-order |access-date=30 September 2018 |work=JamBase |date=25 October 2015}}</ref> The band followed that release with ''[[Hampton Comes Alive]]'', a six-disc box set released in November 1999, which contained the entirety of their performances on November 20 and 21, 1998 at the [[Hampton Coliseum]] in [[Hampton, Virginia]]. The set marked the first time that complete recordings of Phish concerts were officially released by Elektra Records.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Christopher |title=Phish to issue six CD live set: Hampton Comes Alive |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/518983/phish-to-issue-six-cd-live-set-hampton-comes-alive/ |website=MTV News |access-date=25 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524010521/http://www.mtv.com/news/518983/phish-to-issue-six-cd-live-set-hampton-comes-alive/ |archive-date=24 May 2022 |date=11 October 1999 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Phish 12.15.99 (2175393442).jpg|thumb|Phish performing in December 1999]]
To celebrate the new millennium, Phish hosted a two-day outdoor festival at the [[Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation]] in [[Florida]] in December 1999. The festival's climactic New Year's Eve concert, referred to by fans as simply "The Show", started at 11:35&nbsp;p.m. on December 31, 1999, and continued through to sunrise on January 1, 2000, approximately eight hours later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-12-31 |title=December 31, 1999 Setlist |publisher=Phish.net |access-date=2014-04-11}}</ref><ref name="mostof">{{cite web |title=Most Of Phish's Big Cypress Seven-Plus-Hour-Long Millennium Set Is On YouTube |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/all-of-phishs-big-cypress-is-on-youtube/ |website=Live for Live Music |access-date=27 July 2020 |date=22 September 2014}}</ref> The band's performance of the song "Heavy Things" at the festival was broadcast live as part of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[ABC 2000 Today|2000 Today]]'' millennium coverage, giving the band their biggest television audience up to that point.<ref name="mostof"/> 75,000 people attended the sold-out two-day festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=Highway gridlock halts Phish concert traffic; pedestrian killed |url=http://archives.cnn.com/1999/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/30/phish.concert.01/ |website=CNN Archives |access-date=27 July 2020 |date=31 December 1999 |archive-date=3 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503210224/http://archives.cnn.com/1999/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/30/phish.concert.01/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=MUSIC; Happily Reunited to Go Against the Grain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/arts/music-happily-reunited-to-go-against-the-grain.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=13 November 2019 |date=8 December 2002}}</ref> In 2017, ''Rolling Stone'' named the Big Cypress festival one of the "50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years".<ref name="greatshows">{{cite magazine |title=The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-50-greatest-concerts-of-the-last-50-years-127062/phish-at-big-cypress-194414/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=18 October 2018 |date=12 June 2017}}</ref>