The Festival Buzz
Watkins Glen, New York
The Watkins Glen rumor mill got some strong spins this weekend from two conflicting sources. On Saturday, BandsThatJam.com, a blog based out of New York state, poured gasoline on an already-burning fire by claiming that Phish had signed contracts in place for an 8 set, 3 day Phish-only festival. This report came as a tremendous relief for Phish fans, many who had feared, based on last-week’s speculation, that the band’s festival might be encroached upon by the unwanted scene of The Dave Matthews Band. But as soon as Phish fans began celebrating and discussing summer plans, there came a retort.
Yesterday, Watkins Glen Racetrack President, Michael Printup, publicly denied these reports in the Elmira Gazette saying:
We don’t know who is putting that out. There are a bunch of erroneous sites out there. We’ve been working with a concert promoter. But we don’t even have a contract. It’s all wishful thinking. We haven’t even signed a contract with a promoter. You do that first. Then it’s up to him to see what band he gets…Watkins Glen International is looking at some kind of summer concert, but it’s too early to even start talking about bands.
But when Hidden Track.com‘s Scotty B reached out to Peter Stergion of BandsThatJam for clarification of their report, Stergion was quick to stand by his story. Stergion explained:
The WGI President has to deny the story. They can’t publicly confirm until all the loose ends have been tied up. Our source has given us credible, specific information. Our source is not a Phish fan so they wouldn’t even have the ability to make up the information which is very consistent with what Phish has done in the past.
While not getting any more specific on their, allegedly, rock solid source, Stergion went on to defended his report to Hidden Track:
We publish stories based on good information from good sources. We take a look at the circumstances of the information and decide whether or not it’s credible. In this case we believe this will happen so we published it…We never heard DMB mentioned by anyone in person or any sources from within Watkins Glen. We’re confident that Watkins Glen will be a Phish-only festival.
10.31.09 (G.Lucas)
Well, we’ve heard both sides of this hot topic, and while I am leaning towards believing the report of a Phish-only festival, who can know for sure? The Phish at Watkins Glen rumors have circulated for quite some time now, but a true scare came last week when The Dave Matthews Band, who shares a management company, announced 4 multi-day, multi-band festivals around the country this summer. The feared crossover of the Phish and Dave Matthews scenes seemed imminent, and plenty of people were quick to voice plenty of reasons why that was not a good idea. But let’s not even go there. Hopefully, that disaster has been averted. If such an atrocity ever materialized, be sure I’ll weigh with my two cents.
But for now we will wait…and wait. Phish announced their entire 2010 Summer Tour in March last year, but in 2009, they dropped their first set of dates in January and their second set in March. In short, we could hear any day between now an April. With both Trey and Mike about to kick off their own tours, one might guess that Phish wait until they are done to tell us their summer plans. But then again, who knows? Surrounding hotels (of which there are few) and RVs have already been booked around the Watkins Glen area based on buzz alone. And if I had to guess, 8 sets over 3 days sounds just right to end a tour. One can hope…
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Jam of the Day:
“Ghost” 7.23.97 II SBD
A seminal Summer ’97 version.
[audio:http://phishthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/7.23.97-Ghost-DSDB.mp3]
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
7.23.1997 Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, Georgia
FLAC Torrent (via etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links
The third show US Summer ‘97 capped a comic-book opening to US Summer ’97. Following Virginia Beach and Raleigh, Phish moved down to Atlanta and funked hard in their second visit to the venue. With, perhaps, the hottest “Ghost” of the summer and a smoking “YEM” the band left some legitmate jams in Atlanta, and they were off to Texas at the beginning of a revolutionary summer season. This show goes out via Twitter request to @LacobbieWan! (If you’re on Twitter, follow me @mrminer)
I: Julius, Dirt, NICU, Dogs Stole Things, Ginseng Sullivan, Water in the Sky, Limb By Limb, Split Open and Melt, Billy Breathes, Possum
II: Punch You in the Eye, Ghost > Sample in a Jar, You Enjoy Myself > Rocky Mountain Way* > Chalk Dust Torture
E: Frankenstein
Notes: *Debut, Joe Walsh cover
Source: Schoeps CMC641 > Sonasax > SBM-1 > DA-P1
Tags: 2011, Festivals, Rumors, Summer 2011
how do you open with such an unbelievable, connected jam?
that is exactly what I was thinking
My parents vinyl:
Jimmy Smith
Bud Powell
Herbie Mann
Hugh Masekela
Don Ellis
Maynard Ferguson
I was lucky.
NY Times opinions aren’t great. Friedman and Krugman are questionable at best. But Frank Rich is a fuckin’ genius.
I was at that 4/15/99 show too. Fucking incredible.
frank rich def rules
Mr. Palmer – newest one is linked below, a reggae/rubadub/dancehall kinda ting.
http://www.mediafire.com/?fqon821q11y29wa
thanks AJ..
yeah man. nice up the blizzard.
I like this mon. I have no idea who i’m listening to, but it is damn good. 1st puff of the day is helping as well. ‘feel Irie’ ….
I sadly cannot track down the tracklisting, may be on old computer. May have to just have to try to call them.
no worries. Snowing there?
Crazy blowing sideways and sounds like trucks hitting my building wind. This is a storm.
That’s wild @AJ
Phish should cover Chameleon . no horns but, i think it would be a great jam. Mike and Page just thumping, trey doing his little plucking, Fish holding that tight beat. Unless of course they already did sometime way back when.
Tube> Chameleon>Cities…… get funky!
Class is cancelled tomorrow..
i just listened to 4/15/99 the other day for the first time, and that Viola Lee Blues fit perfectly within my morning commute and i could not believe that was how they opened not just a show, but a 3-night run. Must have been nuts to be there.
Just finished watching the movie Let Me In. Highly recommended, extremely well done. you’ve got to be able to stomach some gore, but man is it a unique twist on the classic love story.
on to more Fringe season 2 catchup…
Tube> Chameleon>Cities
I like it!
KP- As good as the Original?
I can only imagine how incredible seeing Hampton 3.6.09 Fluffhead must’ve been…I know I freaked out when I heard No Spoilers the next morning
EllJefe
haven’t seen the original yet but it’s queued up on the media player. i wondered if i should watch the original first but i heard the newer US version is different enough that it doesn’t feel like a cheap remake…plus i was feeling lazy and didn’t want to read subs tonight.
hey all,
i love phish, but im a pretty big noob when it comes to older shows. have definitely hit a lot of the “necessary” shows/jams to listen to as a phan, but im currently trying to make a “majestic phish jam” playlist that by miner’s definition of the msghost “could make a grown man cry”. right meow i’ve got a pretty meager playlist wif:
12/31/10 ghost
12/06/97 tweezer
went gin
6/15/00 ghost
6/19/04 piper
11/28/09 seven below
and would love some suggestions on great jams to grab that in all likelihood i have not heard. thanks in advance for tolerating my noobery
If you are driving out in the snow, please wipe off the snow from your windows at a minimum, and your roof preferably or risk getting a nasty look from me and maybe even a finger wag if it’s especially egregious. Don’t know why but it is my number one unreasonable pet peeve.
i really liked how it’s randomly set in 1983 New Mexico, so you’ve got the token early 80s music and clothing attire. and two amazing performances by 12 year olds. future stars, mark it 8.
ok more Fringe. just had to call the landlord due to some dripping water which is coming from ice dams melting thru the walls….this winter is kicking so many people’s asses.
11/7/98 Gin
7/2/98 Stash
11/16/96 Hood
10/31/94 Reba
6/14/00 Twist->Jam
etc etc