Trey in Princeton

We could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you.

You are looking at the clandestine monolith known in Phish lore as the Rhombus. Its location is a scene secret and remains unknown to many phans. Trey would refer to it every now and then during Phish shows, but now that I know where it is and have been there, I see his “clues” were classic Trey—totally misleading directions designed to keep the secret alive.

Its significance is vague for some phans, and mystifying at best to non-phans. In essence, Trey’s senior thesis, “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday,” is a heady fable that has a guy (Col. Forbin) walking his dog (McGrupp) and stepping into another world where its inhabitants, the Lizards live under the control of Wilson, worship the Rhombus and live by the code of the Helping Friendly Book. That’s Gamehendge in the smallest of nutshells. Trey is the master raconteur and the story has so many subplots and characters it serves as both a testament to Trey’s genius, as well as an example of the esoteric nature of Phish lore.

Another art installation at the site of the Rhombus.


The Rhombus is a real work of art (actual title: "New Piece") that Trey incorporated into his trippy story. We knew it was around Princeton and that it served as the muse for Trey and Tom Marshall as they wrote some of Phish’s most beloved tunes, in particular “Divided Sky.” (It used to have a trap door on top! But of course it has since been sealed due to horseplay and hijinx.) It has become a sort of mecca for phans on two levels: visiting a tangible site of youthful creativity, as well as fulfilling a quest for a mythical structure.

As Phish is no longer together, Trey has since embarked on a tour with the second incarnation of his post-Phish band, this one known as 70 Volt Parade. Chris was alerted to extra tickets for their Princeton show, which we thought was doubly awesome because Trey is from Princeton and has never performed there. Every true phan wants to find the Rhombus, so we took the opportunity to see Trey on his old stomping grounds and make our pilgrimage. Through the master sleuthing of my husband, we found it and paid our respects. The juxtaposition of autumnal nature and a sleek geometric monolith was very 2001—it looks beautifully out of place, particularly from afar.

Plus it’s super-cool to play around on a structure that indirectly led to some of the most fun times of my life.

Princeton's campus predominantly features a gothic style of architecture that reminds me of both European cathedrals and Virginia Tech's Hokie stone buildings.



Art installation depicting Princeton students before exams.