Sunday Cinema | Animated Phish

While Phish is far from a mainstream band, the Vermonters have achieved a level of success that became impossible to ignore. In 2002 Phish had two dalliances with the mainstream when they were the musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live and an animated version of the group appeared on an episode of The Simpsons. A few years later they even made an appearance on South Park.

For today’s Sunday Cinema we’ve rounded up the three animated Phish appearances with the added bonus of a playlist containing animated versions of Phish and Phish-related songs.

PHISH ON THE SIMPSONS

Phish appeared on the April 7, 2002 Simpsons episode “Weekend At Burnsie’s.” In the episode Dr. Hibbert prescribes Homer medical marijuana which leads to the elder Simpson attending a rally for the legalization for marijuana where Phish is a featured performer. We see Phish play the end of “Run Like An Antelope” around the 13:45 mark:

PHISH ON SNL’S TV FUNHOUSE

Later that year Phish made their first, and to-date only, appearance on Saturday Night Live. Former Vice President Al Gore was the episode’s host and Phish performed “46 Days” and “Chalk Dust Torture.” The band also appeared in a “Jarret’s Room” skit and in Robert Smigel’s “TV Funhouse” skit in which they played “You Enjoy Myself” for the Peanuts gang:

PHISH ON SOUTH PARK

On March 16, 2005 an Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s version of Phish turned up in an episode of South Park titled “Die Hippie, Die.” Phish, complete with drummer Jon Fishman sporting his famed viking helmet, performs at a hippie jam fest that comes to tiny South Park, CO. Eric Cartman comes up with an inventive way to disperse the hippies that have invaded his town.

Bonus: ThePhishJams has put together a playlist containing animated versions of Phish and Phish-related songs. It starts with a “First Tube” animated video the band had made to promote the release of Farmhouse in 2000 and continues with an animation by Dennis Kelly based around the White Tape version of “YEM” as well as cartoons set to “Fee” and “Harry Hood.” Next up is a video of “Esther” that was made by Phish friend Scott Nybakken and was displayed during setbreak at a show in 1991. Finally, there’s a video of Mike Gordon’s “Soul Food Man” that was commissioned by Ropeapode Records.

 

[Originally Published: November 24, 2013]