Phish: Bittersweet Motel

A tour documentary about the band Phish. The group is among the best-known names in America's tradition of improvised live music. Songs stretch out in concert, the arrangement changes every night, and much of the audience follows a whole tour from start to finish. The documentary is about that relationship: the band on stage, the community in front of it, and how the two feed each other. The camera is at the concerts and also in the dressing room, on the bus and in hotel rooms. Trey Anastasio is not defensive when he talks; he speaks openly about criticism, about the band's commercial position and about his own doubts. Todd Phillips directed. It is his second documentary and comes before the comedies that followed. One interesting thing: the band took its first long break not long after this film. So the record also documents the end of that period. A record aimed squarely at admirers of Phish and of improvised music culture. For a viewer unfamiliar with the band, the film introduces nothing; the concert passages are long and the context is not explained.