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Starting in 1996 the band Phish hosted a series of festivals.
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The Clifford Ball
The Clifford Ball was the first of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on August 16 and 17, 1996, on the site of a former Air Force base in the upstate town of Plattsburgh, New York, about one hour west from Phish's home base of Burlington, Vermont. Seventy thousand people attended,[1], thus making the event Phish's largest concert up to that point. It was also the largest rock concert in the United States in 1996. The event was named after Clifford Ball, a man who held events for famous aviators like Amelia Earhart. The Clifford Ball was a proposed name for the 1990s traveling festival that ultimately was named H.O.R.D.E..
Phish was the only band at the event, with the exception of a symphony orchestra that performed an afternoon set of classical pieces chosen by Trey Anastasio. Phish performed seven sets of music over the two nights, including a late night set on a flatbed truck in the wee hours of the morning. Fans camped out onsite in tents, creating a community of people that became the ninth largest city in New York over the weekend. Despite the size of the concert, it got very little coverage from the mainsteam media. MTV aired a documentary of the experience, using footage from Phish's production company, Dionysian Productions.
The two-day event added $20 million to the local economy.[2]
The Great Went
The Great Went was the second of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on August 16 and 17, 1997, at the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, just miles from the Canadian border. 75,000 people attended, thus making the event Phish's largest concert up to that point. It was also the largest rock concert in the United States in 1997. The event was named after a quote from the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
Phish was the only band at the event, performing seven sets of music over two nights, including a late night disco set at 2:30 AM featuring all four members on keyboards. Musically the festival is held in high regard, continuing the funk of 1997. The second set of the second night is often called one of the band's greatest sets ever, in particular the "bright" jam out of "Bathtub Gin". Fans camped out onsite in tents, creating a community that became the largest city in Maine over the weekend.
Although Phish was the only rock band to play, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra performed Peter and the Wolf during the afternoon of the second day.
Throughout the weekend, the band had the audience paint their own individual piece of art. Each piece of fan artwork was attached to make a huge tower that was several stories high by the end of the weekend. Backstage, Phish was also creating their own piece of art. During a jam on the final day of the weekend, the band passed their artwork through the audience. The audience attached the band artwork to the fan artwork, thus connecting band and audience in true fashion. A giant matchstick was lit, burning the tower to the ground. This can be seen in the film Bittersweet Motel.
Lemonwheel
Lemonwheel was the third of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on August 15 and 16, 1998, at the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, just miles from the Canadian border. 60,000 people attended[3]. At the time, it was the longest Phish concert ever.
Phish was the only band at the event, performing seven sets of music over two nights, including a bonus set of ambient music on the first night. Fans camped out onsite in tents, creating a community of fans that became one of the largest cities in Maine over the weekend.
At the festival, the band had the audience make candles throughout the weekend. At the end of the first show, the band lined the stage with the candles, turned out all the lights, and played one long, quiet, ambient jam.
Camp Oswego
Camp Oswego was the fourth of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on July 17 and 18, 1999, at the Oswego County Airport in Volney, New York, a small rural upstate town. 65,000 people attended.
Phish was the only headlining band at the event, performing five sets of music over two nights. Second stage bands included the Del McCoury Band, Ozomatli, and others. Fans camped out onsite in tents, creating a community of fans that became one of the largest cities in New York over the weekend.
Band and audience attempted to break the world record for the largest number of people doing the same dance at one time during the song "Meatstick," but the record was not broken (representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records were on hand).
The following weekend just a few towns away, Woodstock 1999 was making new headlines as 200,000 people rioted and burned the concert grounds. New York Governor George Pataki made mention of the peacefulness of the Phish show as compared to the debacle at Woodstock.
Big Cypress
Big Cypress was the fifth and largest of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on the eve of the millennium - December 30 and 31, 1999, at the Big Cypress Indian Reservation near the Big Cypress National Preserve in southern Florida. 85,000 people attended, making it the largest Millennium Eve concert on earth that night, surpassing shows by Sting, Barbra Streisand, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, The Eagles, Eminem, Jimmy Buffett, KISS, Metallica, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Elton John.
In a 2000 cover story for Entertainment Weekly, three of the four Phish members declared Big Cypress to be the greatest Phish concert ever. It was also voted as the most popular Phish show ever by fans in the final volume of The Pharmer's Almanac. It was also the longest Phish concert ever, culminating in a seven-and-a-half hour second set from midnight on New Year's Eve to sunrise New Year's Day . Phish was the only band at the event, performing five sets of music (nearly sixteen hours) over two nights. As fans left the concert area at sunrise, The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" played over the PA speakers.
Peter Jennings reported on the huge audience in an episode of ABC World News Tonight. The band's performance of "Heavy Things" was broadcast during ABC's millennium coverage. Following the song, at the band's request, fans chanted the word "cheesecake" instead of cheering to confuse viewers at home. The ABC broadcast was also shown to billions around the world apart of 2000 Today. At the beginning of the band's legendary seven-and-a-half hour second set, guitarist Trey Anastasio mentioned that the band had portable toilets onstage so they could use the restroom during the marathon set, and a team of security guards lined the stage to prevent band members from "wimping out" and trying to leave the stage. In a later interview with Charlie Rose, Anastasio stated that this was the peak of Phish's career.
It
It was the sixth of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on August 2 and 3, 2003, at the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, just miles from the Canadian border. 60,000 people attended[4], resulting in one of the largest Phish concerts ever. This was also their most-played festival venue (see also The Great Went and Lemonwheel). PBS was on hand to make a documentary of the experience.
Phish was the only band at the event, performing seven sets of music over two nights, including a late night ambient set on top of the air traffic control tower at 2:30 AM after the first night's concert. Fans camped onsite in tents, creating a community of fans that became one of the largest cities in Maine over the weekend.
Coventry
Coventry was the seventh and final weekend-long festival hosted by the rock band Phish. The event took place on August 14 and 15, 2004, at a farm in the small town of Coventry, Vermont.
Phish was the only band at the event, performing six sets of music over two nights. Fans camped out onsite in tents, creating a community of fans that became one of the largest cities in Vermont over the weekend.
110,000 people were expected to attend. It was simulcast to thousands more in movie theaters across America. The event was also simulcast on XM Satellite Radio. Unfortunately, a week of rain had flooded the concert field to the point where people were turned away, causing gridlock on the highway and roads leading to the site. Rumors circulated that the stage was sinking. The band had made use of a local radio station turning it into "The Bunny" radio with live reports. The soothing DJ voices insisted that the fans would all get into the venue and to be patient and all would work out. The DJ's calming tones led fans to keep from breaking traffic rules, however when Phish Bassist Mike Gordon came on the radio, he announced that the field and venue were in a state of disaster and that no more vehicles would be allowed into the venue. Rumor quickly spread up and down the traffic lines which had now been 48-72 hours long that there would be another concert and that Coventry would not be the end since the band could not end things this way. With less than 20,000 fans in the venue, this was not the farewell that the band nor fans had planned.
Instead of turning away, tens of thousands parked their cars on highway medians, in breakdown lanes, and on the sides of roads. Then they hiked in to the concert venue, some walking as far as 30 miles to the venue. Local residents stepped in and began shuttling fans in and out of the site and to their vehicles. Some residents engaged in a practice of charging concert goers for parking on their land and shuttled the fans in by tractor or truck while others picked up the hitchhikers for around $10 a ride. The resulting garbage from a line of traffic that literally left fans stranded on the side of the road for 48 or more hours was a huge problem, even though event goers dedicated themselves to cleanup tasks in a most organized manner. The eventual bill was sent from the State of Vermont to the Phish organization who picked up the bill in its entirety.
Noteworthy scenes from the show included the encore of the first night where Trey and Mike played from the rocks in the front of the stage in order to see if their proximity to the audience would have a measurable effect on the, "Flowage of the notes" - Anastasio
The musical quality of the show was not what long time fans of the band would consider exceptional, however the raw emotionality of the event and they way the songs were played ("For the last time....EVER" - Trey Anastasio, Coventry) resulted in some of the most powerful music ever produced by the band. In spite of any technical failings or missed notes, the shows consisted of a playbook of many of the bands finest and most beloved numbers, including some songs written at Coventry to glorify members of the team (Bruno and Dicky Scotland). The band gave away their trampolines during You Enjoy Myself (The most played live Phish song of all time)[5], and while it was not the first time the band had tried this stunt, this was clearly more emotional. The trampoline survived for several hours with audience members photographed standing on it above the crowd. The eventual whereabouts of the trampolines is unknown. The band broke down crying onstage several times, most notably when Page McConnell choked up during the ballad "Wading in the Velvet Sea." Unable to continue singing, he turned the microphone to the audience, who took over in chorus.
Audience antics were high. Fireworks were launched from the audience and a glow stick war raged throughout the song "Down With Disease" including a huge quantity of bright orange glow sticks that had a remarkable intensity and many fans were at first convinced this was the venue catching on fire rather than glow sticks adding to an already over the top energy from the mudsoaked crowd.
Notably, the final Phish song was "The Curtain (with)" and once done the audience held thousands of lighters to the sky only to be slowly extinguished one by one when it was clear that Phish had indeed ended. The crowd left the venue with an almost otherworldly silence that those in attendance would describe as a deafening silence, and an almost meditative funeral-esque sense of foreboding and completion. The festival end was unlike any others in the past in terms of its significance to the fans (who had been put through an incredible emotional roller coaster just to get into the venue, and many slept in muddy fields with no blankets or sheets to protect them from the elements) who were suddenly faced with the harsh reality that the band that had brought them together was now a part of history.
References
- ^ "Small Adirondack Town Is Host of a Giant Concert" (August 18, 1996). Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
- ^ Weiss, Lois (September 4, 1996). "Concert shows potential for military bases - Plattsburgh Airbase, New York", Real Estate Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
- ^ "Phish Fest Nets $81,000 In Drugs; 1,200 Arrests". SonicNet News. sonicnet.com (1998-09-02). Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Phish Festival Falls Short, but Still 'It'". Phish Archive. Reuters/Billboard (2003-08-18). Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
- ^ http://ihoz.com/raw.htm
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- This page was last modified on 6 October 2008, at 02:30.
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