Phish Entertainment Art Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA March 6, 7 and 8, 2009

Phish isn’t just about talented musicians and progressive jams; it’s truly a culture that digs deep into the souls and lives of many. Thousands of people flocked from all over the U.S., some rumored to have come from Europe, others driving cross-country from California. All walks of life gathered this past weekend, including children as young as one month old to aged couples in their forties and fifties, who have been following Phish since the 80’s.

Thousands of these people didn’t even have tickets but were just glad to be part of the celebration. It’s estimated that 75,000 people migrated to Hampton, Virginia this past weekend with only around 13,000 tickets available each night. Fans without tickets were offering up to $1000 cash a night for a single ticket and within days of the bands announcement of their reunion, nearly every hotel room was booked solid within a 20 mile radius.

Nearly the whole town got into the spirit of Phish, McDonalds displayed a sign that read “We Got Phish,” and hotels on the strip wrote corny messages including, “We’ve Hooked the Best.” One of the servers at the nearby Waffle House commented on how “nice and welcoming” everyone has been, saying how she “appreciates these kind of people and thinks it’s great they chose Hampton.”

The towing company reaped in on the benefits with the amount of people parking in the tow-zone area at the Best Western parking lot, explaining that “in two days we have already taken at least 80 cars, and that’s not including today!” (Incase your wondering, yes, I was one the 80 that was towed).

Before Phish took the stage Friday cars lined-up to get into the lot, and lines formed outside the doors with people waiting for over several hours. It was a mini Mardi Gras in Hampton, with people trying to make money selling beer, bootleg shirts, and dressing up in outfits that matched the bands songs; including a lady dressed as Fluffhead and a young man as an Antelope.

For those who weren’t partying on the lot or outside the Coliseum, you would find them hanging out on the hotel balconies, or at Kelly’s Tavern, which played Phish all weekend long. It was a battlefield of hippies that surrounded the coliseum; with people dancing as they blasted Phish out of their battery operated stereos, grilling up veggie burritos, playing Frisbee, hacky-sack, bags, and guitar.

Just like the South Park episode in which hippies invade Colorado for a Phish show, it was complete madness. Occasionally police seemed to turn their backs as people walked freely in the street with beer and wine, others casually smoked pot. However, under-cover drug busts did take place with 194 arrests and $1.2 million dollars worth of illegal drugs confiscated by police, according to the Associated Press.

As the sun set Friday evening fans gathered in and the moment became surreal; screaming and embracing each other with huge smiles and jumping into each others arms. The energy that filled the Coliseum was enough to power a small country for a century, boasting with fans roaring as the Vermont quartet took the stage. With a mere two-hour long first set comprised of 16 songs Phish opened with “Fluffhead,” a song that has not been performed since 2000. Nearly every person in the room got out either their cell phone, pad of paper, or camera to text, take photos, and record the memorable show that was unfolding right in front of their faces.

Now for those die-hard Phish fans out there, one can truly appreciate the “Fluffhead” opener, followed by “The Divided Sky,” and “Chalk Dust Torture.” As some described it as an orgasmic experience others jumped up and down, and some even cried at this moving experience. Friday’s set continued, with the high energy songs, “Suzy Greenberg,” “NICU,” to the blue-grass sounding song “Rift,” and the fantastic piano solo from Page McConnell at the end of “The Squirming Coil.”

The second set kicked-off with their new song “Backwards down the Number Line,” which was a little more up beat than when guitarist Trey Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon debuted at Rothbury Music Festival last Fourth of July weekend. Followed by crowd favorites, “Tweezer,” “Possum” and one of my personal favorites, “Harry Hood,” (Do you know where he goes?).

Topping off Friday night, the band closed with the barbershop style acapella song “Grind,” off their 2004 album “Undermind.” Followed by the poppy, “Bouncing around the Room,” in which the balloons that swung from the ceiling fell one by one to a most animated crowd. After the first balloon dropped, Trey assisted Page after the massive air-filled balloon nearly landed on top of him, followed by a sudden burst (and shock) over Trey and Page. Ending the night with “Loving Cup,” fans (including myself), were blown out of the water on how remarkable their first night back was.

Without even a single cloud in the sky, Saturday was off to a great start. Fans discussed Friday’s set list over morning beers and started taking bets on what the opener would be for the evening. Once again, the lot filled up as soon as it opened, and people danced and partied in the street.

Dusting off the vault, Phish dug deep into their roots, with Saturday’s show being filled with many musical improvising and old school jams, and a great selection off their album Story of the Ghost. It was only fitting for them to open the show with “Back on the Train,” followed by, “ Runaway Jim,” and “ Brian & Robert.” Saturday’s crowd had a variety of fans, some celebrating their first show, while others were counting into the triple digits. The show only got better, as the second set opened with a cover of “Rock and Roll,” followed by other high energy songs including, “Wolfman’s Brother,” and “Prince Caspian.” The encore for the evening was just a single song, and probably the most heartfelt from the band, covering the Beatles esteemed song, “A Day in the Life.”

Obama even took part in the festivities this weekend, making an appearance at Sunday’s show----well, a cardboard cut-out of Obama. Before the show started Obama seemed content crowd surfing along a bed of people decked in glow sticks. However, the people weren’t nearly as rowdy; must have been from all the “Hippie crack” (aka Nitrous balloons) being sold on nearly every floor of every hotel on the strip Friday and Saturday night. As soon as the lights went down though, the energy grew and roared through the walls.

Opening Sunday’s show with “Sanity,” followed by, “Wilson,” and “Undermind.” The crowd absolutely went nuts with, “AC/DC Bag,” as nearly everyone had been talking about when they were going to hear that song. They closed out the first set “Frankenstein,” one of my personal favorite covers by Phish.

The second set kicked-off with a twenty-minute, “Down with Disease,” into, “Seven Below.” The best part of the evening came when they covered the Beatles song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” followed by one of the most beautiful versions of, “Wading in the Velvet Sea.” It was a remarkable moment for all fans inside the coliseum, as everyone was silent taking in the experience that surrounded them.

As it was drummer Jon Fishman’s father Leonard’s birthday, the encore kicked off with the crowd singing, “ Happy Birthday,” into, “ Contact,” then, “Bug,” and finally, “ Tweezer Reprise.” Barely speaking the entire three days, Trey finally spoke into the microphone thanking the crowd for what an amazing experience the past weekend. It took me back to Phish’s 1999 New Years Eve show at Big Cypress Seminole Reservation nestled in the Florida Everglades, when Trey said, “It’s something really special that we got going here and thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for everything that you do for us.”

Phish is back and stronger than ever. With one of the most passionate fan bases around, filled with such joyful, careful people that stem from all walks of life. Driving thousands of miles, many without tickets, all just to be part of the experience that is Phish. Though some went home Monday without catching a single show, everyone left with amazing experiences.

For those who didn’t make it into the show, Phish is giving away free downloads of each nights show at www.livephish.com . (I highly suggest you try to make it to at least one show off their summer tour!!!)

Personal Note: Without knowing a soul, I immersed myself into thousands of these people, though I had no friends with me to embark on the beautiful journey, I had my family. Thank you to all the wonderful people I met this past weekend ( Kevin, aka “ The Machine,” Ryan, “ Stubbs,” Cosmo, Derek, Colin, Steve and many, many more. Pond Sweat lives forever).

Comments

JoAnna Written by Guest on 2009-03-13 09:20:47   Nice to hear some positive feedback on the shows. It truly was a magical weekend.

Written by Guest on 2009-03-13 11:34:17 Great article,    So many journalists are only covering the drug busts that went down in the parking lot, but the real story for the people who were there was how unbelievably on point the guys were after 5 years off. Well written phriend.

Weak sauce Written by Guest on 2009-03-15 01:12:30 "Just like the South Park episode in which hippies invade Colorado for a Phish show, it was complete madness. "   What incredible powers of description; good thing you avoided using a stale, inaccurate cliche from an adolescent cartoon show.

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