Phish Thread

This is not really directly related, but, two quick ticket stories that all of the above reminded me of.

Some buddies of mine were headed from Chicago to Cleveland for the Bulls @ Cavs playoff series in 1992. They got to the end of their block, when someone asks to confirm they had the tickets - nope, they were still on the fridge under a magnet.

By far the jankiest Phish ticket situation I've ever personally encountered was - I was in Bend for a wedding on 9/11/99, when I realized I was on the redeye home to Chicago and with a 6pm start time (I think), I just might be able to squeeze in the 9/12/99 Portland Meadows show. So I arrived at the venue and walked up to the "box office." Since it was all GA, I guess it didn't matter, but there was like a folding table under a shade tent, and the dude sold me a pre-printed TM ticket out of a literal shoe box.
 
Here's my ticket debacle story. I feel like I've told this before. Maybe it was on the old site. Anyway, I posted this in a fb phish group on the 20th anniversary of this show.

12/4/99 - FirstStar Center - Cincinnati, OH

We had a crew of 8, and had stayed at some shitty hotel in Northern Kentucky the night before, after the 12/3 show. We woke up on 12/4 and headed back to Cincy, prepared for a full day of lot partying and of course, another night of Phish. Before the lots opened, we went to BarrelHouse brewery for lunch and beer. Apparently their stout spoke to us, so we decided to buy a 1/4 barrel and drink/sell it on the lot to recoup weekend expenses. 143-245, of course. We also had cans of Ice Cold Natty Light for $1. It was a warm day for early December, and we had a great day on the lot, especially compared to the year prior (11/14/98) where we'd been hassled (and ticketed) by undercover cops for possession and underage consumption. Fuckers.
Anyway, probably about an hour before showtime, we decided to head in. We had eight mail order tickets. As we were packing up, we realized we only had four tickets. Fuck.
Four. Were. Gone.
No idea where they went. All of them had been together in a FedEx envelope. Our only thought is maybe we somehow left half of them at the hotel. Seems really unlikely. Doesn't matter, we don't have time to go look. We head to the venue with no plan, eight people, and four tickets. On our walk from the lot, we crossed beneath an underpass, and heard that very familiar hiss. We immediately decided that nitrous was the best idea under the circumstances, and I'm not sure I can argue it wasn't after what happened next. We inhaled and headed for the gates.
The weird thing about FirstStar is that there's a first layer of gates a couple hundred yards from the actual venue where they check for tickets. It's a crowd control barrier that resulted from the infamous 1979 Who concert disaster. So if you didn't have a ticket, you weren't moving on to the entrance. Now, with only four tickets and eight people, here's where it got tricky. How do we all get through? You can't pass them back right in front of security immediately after you show the ticket. We concocted a plan. Four of us would go through the preliminary gate, and once through, we'd stick the tickets in a cigarette packs and toss them back across the security perimeter to our ticketless friends on the other side. Since there was a big crowd on the pre-entry side, we knew security wouldn't notice some flying detritus. They didn't. After a couple minutes and some tense ticket-tossing, we all made it through. But we also lost another ticket in that operation, and still had to get through the main entrance. Luckily, we had some time & space to scout.
The venue seemed like it was all doors, but only a few were in use. We could see yellow-shirted security guards manning the non-entrance doors on the inside. Three of us used the remaining tickets to get into the venue, while the rest of our crew tracked our movements around the perimeter of the concourse from outside. Pretty soon, we spotted a big section of doors being covered by only one security guard. While our buddy "shady" Dave distracted the guard, we slyly propped the door open & let the rest of our crew in. We quickly intermingled ourselves with the rest of the crowd and headed to our seats undetected and totally jubilant. It was a serious rush to pull off such a hastily-concocted scheme, but we were in and stoked for the show that was about to take place.
Funny thing is I don't have any specific recollections of the show itself. But the turmoil of getting into that show is something I'll never forget.

TL;DR we snuck 8 people into a Phish show with 3 tickets.
 
Here's my ticket debacle story. I feel like I've told this before. Maybe it was on the old site. Anyway, I posted this in a fb phish group on the 20th anniversary of this show.

12/4/99 - FirstStar Center - Cincinnati, OH

We had a crew of 8, and had stayed at some shitty hotel in Northern Kentucky the night before, after the 12/3 show. We woke up on 12/4 and headed back to Cincy, prepared for a full day of lot partying and of course, another night of Phish. Before the lots opened, we went to BarrelHouse brewery for lunch and beer. Apparently their stout spoke to us, so we decided to buy a 1/4 barrel and drink/sell it on the lot to recoup weekend expenses. 143-245, of course. We also had cans of Ice Cold Natty Light for $1. It was a warm day for early December, and we had a great day on the lot, especially compared to the year prior (11/14/98) where we'd been hassled (and ticketed) by undercover cops for possession and underage consumption. Fuckers.
Anyway, probably about an hour before showtime, we decided to head in. We had eight mail order tickets. As we were packing up, we realized we only had four tickets. Fuck.
Four. Were. Gone.
No idea where they went. All of them had been together in a FedEx envelope. Our only thought is maybe we somehow left half of them at the hotel. Seems really unlikely. Doesn't matter, we don't have time to go look. We head to the venue with no plan, eight people, and four tickets. On our walk from the lot, we crossed beneath an underpass, and heard that very familiar hiss. We immediately decided that nitrous was the best idea under the circumstances, and I'm not sure I can argue it wasn't after what happened next. We inhaled and headed for the gates.
The weird thing about FirstStar is that there's a first layer of gates a couple hundred yards from the actual venue where they check for tickets. It's a crowd control barrier that resulted from the infamous 1979 Who concert disaster. So if you didn't have a ticket, you weren't moving on to the entrance. Now, with only four tickets and eight people, here's where it got tricky. How do we all get through? You can't pass them back right in front of security immediately after you show the ticket. We concocted a plan. Four of us would go through the preliminary gate, and once through, we'd stick the tickets in a cigarette packs and toss them back across the security perimeter to our ticketless friends on the other side. Since there was a big crowd on the pre-entry side, we knew security wouldn't notice some flying detritus. They didn't. After a couple minutes and some tense ticket-tossing, we all made it through. But we also lost another ticket in that operation, and still had to get through the main entrance. Luckily, we had some time & space to scout.
The venue seemed like it was all doors, but only a few were in use. We could see yellow-shirted security guards manning the non-entrance doors on the inside. Three of us used the remaining tickets to get into the venue, while the rest of our crew tracked our movements around the perimeter of the concourse from outside. Pretty soon, we spotted a big section of doors being covered by only one security guard. While our buddy "shady" Dave distracted the guard, we slyly propped the door open & let the rest of our crew in. We quickly intermingled ourselves with the rest of the crowd and headed to our seats undetected and totally jubilant. It was a serious rush to pull off such a hastily-concocted scheme, but we were in and stoked for the show that was about to take place.
Funny thing is I don't have any specific recollections of the show itself. But the turmoil of getting into that show is something I'll never forget.

TL;DR we snuck 8 people into a Phish show with 3 tickets.

i remember this story b/c of the keg of stout.
 
Here's my ticket debacle story. I feel like I've told this before. Maybe it was on the old site. Anyway, I posted this in a fb phish group on the 20th anniversary of this show.

12/4/99 - FirstStar Center - Cincinnati, OH

We had a crew of 8, and had stayed at some shitty hotel in Northern Kentucky the night before, after the 12/3 show. We woke up on 12/4 and headed back to Cincy, prepared for a full day of lot partying and of course, another night of Phish. Before the lots opened, we went to BarrelHouse brewery for lunch and beer. Apparently their stout spoke to us, so we decided to buy a 1/4 barrel and drink/sell it on the lot to recoup weekend expenses. 143-245, of course. We also had cans of Ice Cold Natty Light for $1. It was a warm day for early December, and we had a great day on the lot, especially compared to the year prior (11/14/98) where we'd been hassled (and ticketed) by undercover cops for possession and underage consumption. Fuckers.
Anyway, probably about an hour before showtime, we decided to head in. We had eight mail order tickets. As we were packing up, we realized we only had four tickets. Fuck.
Four. Were. Gone.
No idea where they went. All of them had been together in a FedEx envelope. Our only thought is maybe we somehow left half of them at the hotel. Seems really unlikely. Doesn't matter, we don't have time to go look. We head to the venue with no plan, eight people, and four tickets. On our walk from the lot, we crossed beneath an underpass, and heard that very familiar hiss. We immediately decided that nitrous was the best idea under the circumstances, and I'm not sure I can argue it wasn't after what happened next. We inhaled and headed for the gates.
The weird thing about FirstStar is that there's a first layer of gates a couple hundred yards from the actual venue where they check for tickets. It's a crowd control barrier that resulted from the infamous 1979 Who concert disaster. So if you didn't have a ticket, you weren't moving on to the entrance. Now, with only four tickets and eight people, here's where it got tricky. How do we all get through? You can't pass them back right in front of security immediately after you show the ticket. We concocted a plan. Four of us would go through the preliminary gate, and once through, we'd stick the tickets in a cigarette packs and toss them back across the security perimeter to our ticketless friends on the other side. Since there was a big crowd on the pre-entry side, we knew security wouldn't notice some flying detritus. They didn't. After a couple minutes and some tense ticket-tossing, we all made it through. But we also lost another ticket in that operation, and still had to get through the main entrance. Luckily, we had some time & space to scout.
The venue seemed like it was all doors, but only a few were in use. We could see yellow-shirted security guards manning the non-entrance doors on the inside. Three of us used the remaining tickets to get into the venue, while the rest of our crew tracked our movements around the perimeter of the concourse from outside. Pretty soon, we spotted a big section of doors being covered by only one security guard. While our buddy "shady" Dave distracted the guard, we slyly propped the door open & let the rest of our crew in. We quickly intermingled ourselves with the rest of the crowd and headed to our seats undetected and totally jubilant. It was a serious rush to pull off such a hastily-concocted scheme, but we were in and stoked for the show that was about to take place.
Funny thing is I don't have any specific recollections of the show itself. But the turmoil of getting into that show is something I'll never forget.

TL;DR we snuck 8 people into a Phish show with 3 tickets.
Did you catch Ray's Music Exchange at the Barrel House for the aftershow on 12/4? That band fucking threw down for a few years in the Cincy>Lexington>Louisville area. Regardless, I bet we high fived somewhere in passing.

Also, got left at barrel house by friends on 12/4, cabbed to their house, couldn't get them up to open the door for two hours, tired to sleep on their porch with coolers and a lawn furniture to block cold wind, and finally got one of them awake at 3am to let me in. Despite all that, makes a great story, Phish was great, and Ray's was too.
 
Did you catch Ray's Music Exchange at the Barrel House for the aftershow on 12/4? That band fucking threw down for a few years in the Cincy>Lexington>Louisville area. Regardless, I bet we high fived somewhere in passing.

Also, got left at barrel house by friends on 12/4, cabbed to their house, couldn't get them up to open the door for two hours, tired to sleep on their porch with coolers and a lawn furniture to block cold wind, and finally got one of them awake at 3am to let me in. Despite all that, makes a great story, Phish was great, and Ray's was too.

I don't *think* we went to that after show, but I could be wrong. Definitely saw Ray's at the Barrelhouse a couple times back then though. I still have one of their discs & I believe a couple live shows. And yes, they threw down. They played in Oxford (I went to Miami) a decent amount as well. Their drummer, Jason Smart, went on to play with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey during their early-mid 2000s heyday.

And yeah, I like to think we've high fived somewhere along the way.
 
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Sitting here watching/listening to fireworks with this as the soundtrack



hadn't realized this but there are only 5 shows on 7/4 in phish hx.

99 Atl
00 Camden
10 Alpharetta
12 Jones Beach
14 Saratoga

based on only looking at setlists, alpharetta might be tops for independence day shows (forbins/mockingbird, tela, harpua, killing in the name of). but jones beach has a shit ton of bustouts including Head Held High and Purple Rain, both with over 300 show gaps. however, Camden's 5 song, second set calls to me. I was at that one, but don't remember it at all. Jones Beach as well but that one I do recall and it was a lot of fun. probably should knock all 5 of them out one weekend.

oh, and starting at noon today, Fare Thee Well is streaming for free. All three shows. straight.

 
Thanks for the recs/responses, Sand is a fav of mine, got my first Albany fall 2000, fun version. So I was pumped to hear some (and one in particular) I hadn’t before.

I’ll start with an honorable mention to capnmike for 2 great sets 10/2/99 (tweezer, on your way down, piper etc) and the element set of 8/11/15.

The winners were 1a and 1b. First, gregkoko gave a stellar Piper 7/18/99 and the 9/2/12 Sand also had an awesome Ghost and Piper in the set.

coach tho. Whoa. 6/7/09 Sand was a heater. A rocking 22 mins that I hadn’t heard before. 11/1/13 twist was a fun ‘I was there’ recollection.

So if gregkoko and coach want to slide into DMs with your addresses I’ll be happy to toss some goodies your ways.
 
hadn't realized this but there are only 5 shows on 7/4 in phish hx.

99 Atl
00 Camden
10 Alpharetta
12 Jones Beach
14 Saratoga

based on only looking at setlists, alpharetta might be tops for independence day shows (forbins/mockingbird, tela, harpua, killing in the name of). but jones beach has a shit ton of bustouts including Head Held High and Purple Rain, both with over 300 show gaps. however, Camden's 5 song, second set calls to me. I was at that one, but don't remember it at all. Jones Beach as well but that one I do recall and it was a lot of fun. probably should knock all 5 of them out one weekend.

oh, and starting at noon today, Fare Thee Well is streaming for free. All three shows. straight.


i thought 7-4-99 was the consensus favorite*

*since I was there.

That Ghost>Slave though...and first WTU.
 
i thought 7-4-99 was the consensus favorite*

*since I was there.

That Ghost>Slave though...and first WTU.
Was at 12 and 14. Always thought 00 was far and away the best
Camden 2000 is definitely my favorite but I assume I'm biased since it's the only one I attended

If you have LivePhish+ (or if you d/l'd the Live Bait releases when they were free), you can put together all of set 2 of 7/4/00 from the SBD.

Jibboo>Saw It Again>Magilla is on vol 14, and the Twist>Slave is on vol. 4. Heard that Twist>Slave last night on beer, and need to revisit it today. I need more summer 2000 SBDs in my life.
 
If you have LivePhish+ (or if you d/l'd the Live Bait releases when they were free), you can put together all of set 2 of 7/4/00 from the SBD.

Jibboo>Saw It Again>Magilla is on vol 14, and the Twist>Slave is on vol. 4. Heard that Twist>Slave last night on beer, and need to revisit it today. I need more summer 2000 SBDs in my life.
Good call. I just went to see what I had for the Live Bait Series, and of course I'm missing vol 14 (along with vol 9 and vol 12). If anyone has any of those downloaded and is willing to share I'd love to complete that set.
 
Good call. I just went to see what I had for the Live Bait Series, and of course I'm missing vol 14 (along with vol 9 and vol 12). If anyone has any of those downloaded and is willing to share I'd love to complete that set.

I just uploaded 14 to Dropbox. I'll PM you the link in a second. I can also help with 9 & 12, but I'll probably try to put those on mediafire or something. Dropbox is a pain in the ass.

If anyone wants the link, slide into my DMs.

Also, I'm missing volumes 2 & 8 if anyone has those to share.
 
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