Destiny Unbound

"Destiny Unbound," debuted September 14, 1990, is a song written by Mike Gordon for Phish. It has only been played live 39 times in Phish's 30-year history: seven times in 1990, 22 times in 1991, once in 2003 (a show that is documented on Live Phish: 2-28-03), and nine times since the band's reunion in 2009.

Early versions of the song slightly changed beats but mostly kept to the original form. Then, after 9.15.91, the band did not play "Destiny Unbound" for over a decade. It isn't exactly clear why the band dropped it for twelve years. One theory is that it was "said to sound too much like the Grateful Dead and, ... [had] legendary status as the too over-requested rare tune." ([1]) Another propounded theory is that Gordon didn't like the song, and since he sang most of it (with some backup help), it might have been his decision (see Chanting, Hampton '97).

Phish is a prolific band that wrote a dozen songs for each one they kept and played. Thus, songs often appeared briefly in a tour and then disappeared, becoming fabled rarities. In the case of "Destiny Unbound", to which this occurred, Phish fans, over time, requested it more and more, until it acquired a mythical connotation. "Destiny Unbound" was jokingly synonymous with the impossible.

In the mid-Nineties, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio announced that the band would play "Destiny Unbound" if the entire audience sang it. Consequently, the next several years saw many fan-led efforts to organize the audience and coordinate a mass chant. Throughout the tours, this occurred in 1996 at the Melkweg in Amsterdam and at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, in 1997 at the Hampton Coliseum (the famous "death chant" show), and in 1998 at the Lemonwheel, to name a few.

The 1997 Hampton show remains poignant in the memories of many fans for two reasons. First, when the band walked onstage after setbreak to see and hear the audience singing "Destiny Unbound" in unison, they were very surprised, and Trey Anastasio joked: "That just sounds like a horrible cannibalistic chant for people who want blood, I don't know what you're saying to me, right? Hunda neela rhonda gila rholla lilla gruh. Is this the human sacrifice part of the show? Alright, bring 'em up here" Second, the band's response to the audience's effort to revive "Destiny Unbound" seemed to indicate the reason for its disappearance. Phish.net posted this report by Jesse Alderman:

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