The Next Picture Show

The following is a guest review by TIMEOFF assistant editor Adam Grybowski.
-Anthony Stoeckert

In 2004, when Phish played what was then their final show (the band has since regrouped), some 70,000 fans made the trek to Coventry, Vermont. The show was billed as a three-day festival, a final gathering and celebration of a band that developed a die hard fan base with few rivals.

In Chris Pepino’s new documentary, We Enjoy Yourself, which will premier at the New Jersey Film Festival Sept. 4-5, we see those fans demonstrate their dedication. A downpour nearly derailed the festival, causing a massive traffic jam that snaked for 10, 20 miles down I-91. Some fans sat in traffic for around 50 hours - more than a two-day standstill. Then they’re told they wouldn’t be allowed in because the grounds were too muddy. Should they turn around and go home? Perhaps some did, but the majority, it appears, decided to abandon their cars and hike for miles to the show.

The drama provides tension to the movie, which otherwise would have been only been a record of Phish fans testifying to their connection to the band. Besides the traffic jam, the entirety of the 60-minute We Enjoy Yourself takes place in amphitheater parking lots and on the road, where Phish fans are interviewed before and after shows, and we get glimpses of their culture - the food, language, clothes and politics.

Director Chris Pepino
The fans come off as remarkably earnest, cheerful, easygoing and adaptable. Despite the beyond-belief traffic jam, nearly everyone is smiling as they parse rumors and ruefully scheme ways to bypass the traffic and reach the venue in time before the first set. Or they’re sleeping in their cars. Or they’re dancing in the street, having opened their doors and turned on Phish.

Who are these people - and who is this band? For the uninitiated, We Enjoy Yourself won’t explain the reason Phish attracts such ardor. In this movie the band is mysterious. Their songs and voices are heard in music clips and announcements but they’re never seen (except for bass player Mike Gordon, who is shown driving a golf cart among fans before a show, and they treat his appearance rather casually).

Neither does the movie explain why Phish is calling it quits, what’s caused them to abandon these fans. In any case it’s clear the fans don’t want them to go. They express overwhelming gratitude to these four musicians, and the band’s sound clips from the stage mirror that affection. During this last performance they take turns telling the fans how much they love them and appreciate their fantastic efforts to support them. Despite the bittersweet stamp of it all coming to an end, not to mention the mud and traffic, Phish’s Coventry concert was a love-fest, an emblem of one band’s ability to unite the masses. The band and their fans seem to not only enjoy each other, but to create joy together.

We Enjoy Yourself will premier at the New Jersey Film Festival, Scott Hall, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Sept. 4-5, 7 p.m., with in-person appearances by director Chris Pepino. Tickets cost $8-$10. www.njfilmfest.com