“Never been so stoked to see a $324 charge on his credit card!!!”
“The MO ticket goddesses rejected her…booohoooo”
“TELLURIDE!!!”
“Who’s got my extras…??? i need Phish tix”
“The Phish lottery did me right!!!”
“Phish tickets sucks…No if’s and’s or butt’s about it. It’s a scam like spam.”
“I GOT 2 TICKETS TO’RIDE!!!”
“tickets are for noobs”
“Best birthday surprise ever (revealed at dinner): we won the ticket lottery. See you at the Greek and Telluride!”
“Scored 471 Greeks and 202 Tellurides! YAY!!”
“There Are Two Sides to Everything”
*****
There are two sides of every coin. Regardless of what names one affixes to them – the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, the lightness and the darkness – all experiences are split in two, allowing for life’s peaks and valleys. Yesterday, this dichotomy became evident as as emails rolled back from Phish, pronouncing our pre-season ticket fates. Above were excerpts from my friends’ Facebook status updates, a news feed that was dominated by the swirling emotions left in the wake of the ticket lottery. In a cloud of black smoke, peoples’ dreams of stress-less Fridays were crushed, while many others sung a distinctly jovial tune. As is the aftermath of each tour’s mail order maelstrom, the community is left divided – celebratory and bitter – waiting for this weekend’s public on-sales.
And now everyone braces for a ticket barrage like none in recent memory, as the entire summer tour will drop within two days. Ticketmaster is hosting many of the shows, and everyone knows what to expect from their servers. But the biggest farce of the summer is Telluride’s chosen agent, Tickethorse, who will sell 2-day passes through one phone number and a janky website that will go down like Oceanic 815. The bottom line – get your credit cards and mouse clicking fingers ready. Or plan a stealth getaway to that outlet that you discovered last summer, because after Saturday, all the ticket will be spoken for – temporarily.
Ticket Mania – (P.Tschudy)
Through grassroots efforts, fans always seem to get tickets to other fans, and now with the Internet’s help, it’s never been easier. Between Phantasy Tour, Cash For Your Extra, Phish Thought’s very own Ticket Exchange,and other various message boards, the web is helping the community subvert scalper efforts. While stressing face-for-face exchanges, these fan-run sites do allow people to set their own bargaining chips, providing an friendly, online marketplace for fans to barter with other fans, instead of high-priced, geeked-out guidos with mullets. Since the modern era of Phish has dawned, and largely following Hampton’s (expected) debacle, fans have stepped up to facilitate a fair-trade ticket market, doing their best to intercept scalping middle-men, TicketsNow and StubHub.
But alas, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here people. Tickets haven’t even gone on sale; chill out for just a minute. Nobody is shut out of anywhere. And aside for the Greek and Telluride, any other ticket should be easily attainable for face value or under between now and then. Point being, don’t write off summer plans based on what the lottery spun your way, because aside for these western shows, tickets will be out there!
Jones Beach ’09 (W.Rogell)
Regardless of anything else, the conclusion of this weekend’s “official” festivities will bring us into April, as the community shift gears with Chicago’s summer opener only two-plus months away. And that is what is important to keep in perspective. Most of these preseason ticket shenanigans are fueled by emotion in the moment, but in 2009, tickets were the last concern on anyone’s list, so in 2010, the situation should only get easier. The only stubs that should cause a stir in the scalping landscape will be The Greek and Telluride. Otherwise, they’d best be served my sticking to U2 and Hannah Montana, where the demand actually far outweighs the supply. But if not, you know they’ll always be there if you need em!
As we all embark on individual quests this weekend, just remember, everyone will be inside in the end. But, as always, the wait is a bitch.
Best of luck. And remember, all is fair in love, war and tickets. Game on.
Continuing today’s mini-musical glimpse on Alpine history, here is a re-post of Phish initial visit to their now-staple tour stop in the Midwest. Check out the stellar versions of “Reba” in the first set and the “Hood” in the second.
I: My Friend, My Friend, Poor Heart, AC/DC Bag, Fee, Reba, I Didn’t Know, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Rift, Bathtub Gin, Cavern
II: Wilson, Down with Disease, Scent of a Mule, Free, Fluffhead, Hold Your Head Up > Whipping Post > Hold Your Head Up, Harry Hood, A Day in the Life
