Phish - Bittersweet Motel (2000)

Synopsis: A low-key addition to the rockumentary genre, BITTERSWEET MOTEL is a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road with the mega-cult jam band Phish. Fans of Phish's anything-goes musical... A low-key addition to the rockumentary genre, BITTERSWEET MOTEL is a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road with the mega-cult jam band Phish. Fans of Phish's anything-goes musical philosophy--one segment finds them bringing down the house with their take on a barbershop quartet--will surely be begging for more, while the uninitiated will get a glimpse not just of the curveballs they throw onstage, but also their goofball camaraderie offstage and the down-to-earth quality that obviously endears them to their ardent followers. As the primary inheritors to the Grateful Dead's fanatic posse of latter-day hippies, the band steers clear of that band's more mystical deep end in favor of a "we're all in it together" approach, and it's this lack of pretension that BITTERSWEET MOTEL most accurately reveals. The film was commissioned by the band, and some of the funniest moments arise as they begin to question why they did it--apparently uninterested in trotting out the usual rock-star cliches, but hoping to show what makes them tick. Directed by Todd Phillips (who also directed HATED, a documentary of punk renegade GG Allin), BITTERSWEET MOTEL roams freely from onstage to backstage to rehearsals to interviews with fans, giving a three-dimensional look into a band that studiously avoids big-media hype. [More]

Starring: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon

Starring: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon

Director: Todd Phillips

Director: Todd Phillips

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