And all my plastic melodreams are waiting for their new shine

Jon Fishman vacuum solo during Phish's 2026 Sphere run

For Phish fans, the deep incantation of the a cappella line, “I didn’t know…” is a signal, a sign, a rallying cry for what’s about to unfold. 

Last weekend, I spent three nights at the Sphere in Las Vegas with 18,600 of my closest friends seeing our favorite band. Over 167,000 individually amplified speakers and 160,000 square feet of LED screen (approximately 4 acres) line the interior, making this a concert experience like no other. The haptic seats – which I lovingly call rumble butt – add to the immersion, with Mike Gordon’s bass tickling tushes as sound enveloped you in a 360-degree audio environment. 

In his recent Rolling Stone review of the run, Benjy Eisen wrote, “They used the Sphere as an instrument, making the building bend to the music. They created tapestries of sound, entangling the visual content and the immersive sound into their web in real time.”

This fully immersive experience was displayed best not with one of their classic heavy hitters, but with the most Phish of all antics. For that rallying cry indicates one thing – drummer Jon Fishman is about to take center stage with his baby blue 1965 Electrolux vacuum cleaner. 

Honestly, I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Here we were, in the most advanced concert venue in the world, and Phish decided to put it all to the test with one of their quirkiest songs and a vacuum cleaner solo. A 20-story tall Fishman in his iconic donut-print mumu took to the machine like a bizarro world harmonica, while its motor growls and high-pitched whines spun all around us – use of the 360-degree audio system in full force. 

I leaned to a friend and said, “This has got to be the weirdest thing this screen will ever see.” 

I loved so many things about this moment. It was so authentically Phish. They’re so good at making fun of us and themselves at the same time; this humor is part of why we love them. They continuously push the boundaries of creativity and innovation while staying true to who they are. 

The graphics, the sound, the jams, the crowd, the immersion was all so stunning, so impressive. They played 161 songs over nine shows in three weekends – no repeats. As usual, they offered the perfect balance of light and dark, Phish nostalgia and new favorites. An incredible feat all around. 

And yet, this was a grounding moment in my mind. A reminder that yes, they are the best band in the world in one of the greatest venues, but they’re also just four nerdy dudes making music with their besties. 

Over the past 30 years of seeing Phish, they’ve been a constant source of inspiration for me. In risk-taking, marketing, attention to detail, community building, philanthropy and fundraising, creativity, the power of collective consciousness – a master class in how to build emotional connections with an audience.

This was a great reminder that as hard as we work, as important as the work is, we don’t have to take ourselves so seriously. 

Just serious enough. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ptgYoAT-s