MR. MINER'S PHISH THOUGHTS

Doubling Down?

Amidst the many rumors spiraling through cyberspace regarding Phish’s 2012 touring plans, two have taken hold and seem to have some legs. Coincidentally, the two stands that seem to be materializing are located in each coast’s gambling mecca—Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Each of the rumors have been semi-corroborated by a Las Vegas newspaper reporter and Atlantic City’s mayor, giving them a bit more substance than your everyday Internet hearsay. Since both are seeming somewhat likely at this point in time, let’s take a closer look at the buzz.

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LAS VEGAS: March 30 – April 1 ??

Phish only played on April Fool’s Day in their early years, the last time coming in Portland, Oregon in 1993. If this strongly rumored run goes down, this would mark the first time in 19 years that the band would perform on this made-for-Phish, prankster holiday. Just yesterday, Las Vegas Sun columnist, J. Patrick Coolican tweeted, “Phish fans: Source sez negotiations for a 2/3 nite VEGAS run APRIL FOOLS DAY have taken new intensity. 80-20 likely, sez source.” This tweet aligns with what I have been hearing from multiple sources, thus a return to the Thomas and Mack Center seems like a distinct possibility.

While I am always down for Vegas Phish, the timing on this stand seems a bit quirky. Mike is playing with his solo band at Jam in the Dam in mid-March and then playing another date in London on March 18. Trey will be focused on his symphony tour until March 10th. These two factors alone, regardless of what Page and Fish are doing during, would preclude much practice time before the first show on March 30th. Could they pull it off with but a ten-day buffer? Of course. Might the run turnout straightforward and contained as a result of the time crunch? Quite Possibly. It seems like latter-day Phish benefits from practice even more so than in previous eras, as their lives are diversified more than ever. These Vegas shows would be just the 5th, 6th, and 7th^,performances since Labor Day 2010, and practice would seem more necessary than usual. We shall see what develops.

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ATLANTIC CITY: June 15 – 17 ??

While Phish headlining at Bonnaroo is another rumor that has been circulating with strength, this three-day Atlantic City run would represent a Phish-only “festival” at Bader Field. Atlantic City’s City Council has already approved festivals for June 15-17 and June 24-25, and the mayor alluded to the former being a “jam band” festival that is expected to attract 30,000 fans. With Starr-Hill, Coran Capshaw’s sister company of Red Light Management, slated to throw these events (the other of which, allegedly, features a “rock band”) it is but a forgone conclusion that Phish will play these dates. Further confirmation comes in the fact that that the Dave Matthews Band, who brought their Caravan tour to Bader Field last summer, will not be returning for either of these dates. Many fans have taken all of this info, put one and one together, and booked hotel rooms for this weekend.

This run could conceivably come at the end of a short run in May and June (with Bethel rumored for Memorial Day weekend) and, if so, AC would be a great place to end a tour. As I discussed last week, three-night stands were Phish’s bread and butter last year, and another trifecta in AC—like Halloween 2010—seems like a great time for all. With all hotels in close proximity to each other, the post-music part of this “festival” would take place in the casinos and hotels up and down The Boardwalk rather than in campgrounds and RVs—a different mid-summer twist. And if you poll the fan base, I think you’ll find few fans who didn’t have a blast in Atlantic City last time around, so here’s to hoping this one comes to fruition!

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Jam of the Day:

“Help -> Slip -> Bag” 4.1.86 II

In honor of a possible April Fool’s Day show, here was how Phish opened up their second set of 4/1/86’s “Festival of Fools” at Hunt’s in Burlington—the classic “Help -> Slip -> Bag.”

Doubling Down? Read More »

Dates, Please?

As we prepare to turn the calendar to April, only four months stand between us and the alleged start of Phish’s second leg of Summer Tour. Trey and Mike have both completed their solo runs, June’s on-sales have come and gone, and yet still we have no dates confirmed for August. At this point, the delayed announcement, first rumored for last Tuesday and then for yesterday, has turned into a situation for more than a few puzzled fans. An older fan base who, collectively, has more life commitments than ever before needs more than a few months to plan its summer vacations, and with the lack of any definite dates for August, many people are being left in limbo.

On the very same token, there has still been no news about Watkins Glen. Except for the hacker-discovered (assumed) title of the festival—Superball 9—there has been no information announced regarding the details—or the confirmation of–the event. If, indeed, the Watkins Glen fest is to take place on July 4th weekend, that is only three months away. Though far fewer people will have to take vacation days to hit up the holiday-weekend fiesta, planning needs to be done, plane tickets purchased, RVs rented (if they haven’t been already), among other things. After posting the lyrics to “Contact” on his race track’s website, Michael Printup, better known to the Phish community as @theglenprez, has been surprisingly silent, while last week he seemed as giddy to announce the festival last week as a middle-schooler who just had felt breasts for the first time and couldn’t wait to tell his friends. To quote a question Cliff Clavin posed repetitively in his one-time stand-up routine—“What’s up with that?” At this point, one has to believe there is a reason for the delay, but what is it? You’re guess is as good as mine.

One rumor about the delayed announcement of any further Phish shows is that management wants to first see more ticket sales for June’s East Coast shows. Let me be of help here: if you want East Coast Phish shows to sell out faster, or at all, play less shows! Sure that sounds like the last thing you would ever hear me say, but from a business perspective, if that is really the problem, then why supersaturate the Northeast with concerts? Some things I will never understand.

Nonetheless, we can guess and second-guess as to why things haven’t been announced yet, but until the dates drop, that is all we can do. Sorry for the lack of real hard facts here, but there is nothing to go on at this point except rumors. And speaking of rumors, wouldn’t it be great if the one saying Phish will play three nights at UIC Pavilion in Chicago, instead of Deer Creek and Alpine, came true? It has gained steam in the past weeks, but until we hear officially, we’ll just keep guessing and making tentative plans with refundable deposits and courtesy holds all across the nation.

Throw us a bone…drop the dates already.

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Jam of the Day:

“YEM” 11.18.95 II

Fifteen years before they played the North Charleston Coliseum last fall, Phish dropped this classic “Brickhouse”-laced “YEM” in the very same room.

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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:

12.30.1992 Symphony Hall Springfield, Massahusetts

FLAC Torrent (via etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links

Symphony Hall Springfield, MA (M.Murray)

The night before New Year’s Eve—1992 style. A classic show.

I: The Landlady, Sparkle, Split Open and Melt, Esther, Chalk Dust Torture, Fluffhead, Paul and Silas, Reba -> I Walk the Line -> Reba, I Didn’t Know, David Bowie -> Timber -> David Bowie

II: Axilla, Rift, Bathtub Gin, You Enjoy Myself*, TMWSIY > Avenu Malkenu > TMWSIY, Possum, Big Ball Jam -> HYHU > Love You > HYHU, Take the ‘A’ Train, Llama

E: Ride Captain Ride, Sweet Adeline

* w/ Auld Lang Syne jam

Source: SBD > DAT > cassette

Dates, Please? Read More »

Summer Speculation

With the announcement and on-sales of Summer 2011’s opening leg behind us, the announcement of both Watkins Glen and summer’s second leg are now the next imminent off-season events. Plenty of rumors have swirled about the year’s only festival and the path of August, and now the community awaits the confirmation of both. With an announcement video looming, let’s look at the possibilities and probabilities for the rest of summer; first Watkins Glen.

Watkins Glen’s President, Michael Printup, has been blowing up his Twitter feed (@theglenprez) with not-so-subtle hints about Phish’s forthcoming festival. Last Friday, he tweeted “I think I am going phishing this weekend!” only to follow up with another message saying “I can’t wait until Monday!!!! Huge….large….biggest news ever coming from The Glen!!!” Adding one and one together, much of the community expected Phish’s rumored festival for July 1-3 to be confirmed on Monday. But when Monday came, so did another Tweet from Printup: “Oh boy….I think my good news is delayed!!! Sorry……but stayed tuned!!!! Mpp.” As fans peppered him with virtual questions, he stated both “not intentional….just trying to get a deal done!” and then seven hours later, “we are ok….just need time!” So where do all these hints leave leave us?

Well, for one, there will clearly be a Phish festival happening at Watkins Glen this summer. But with the push back of the announcement, one theory that has popped up among fans—though unlikely—is that the festival will take place at the end of Summer Tour rather than as a stand-alone, July 4th celebration. While all sources have pointed to a patriotic Phish party, perhaps the band has bumped the festival to the far more logical time—to conclude the summer (and possibly the year.) Festivals have traditionally ended summer tours, with Oswego (mid-tour), Big Cypress and Indio (standalones) as the only exceptions. The rumored Watkins Glens dates have always seemed odd, as Phish will inundate the North East (including New York state) with shows in June and then, as it has been rumored, head right back there for a massive festival on the first weekend in July? Hmmm. Soon enough we shall find out.

Harvey’s Outdoor Amphitheatre – Lake Tahoe

Perhaps the announcement of Watkins Glen will now coincide with the more significant announcement of summer’s second set of dates (loosely rumored to drop next Tuesday.) But through various tour dockets circulated on the Internet, the general path of leg two has more or less been figured out. Phish will likely start The Gorge for a hotly-anticipated multi-night stand on August 5 (with, perhaps, a show before to warm up.) From there, the most likely scenario I’ve heard is a long-awaited, one-night stop at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles before heading back up north for what could be the two of the prize shows of the summer at Harvey’s Outdoor Amphitheatre right over the California/Nevada border at Lake Tahoe. As idyllic a setting for a Phish weekend as any, Tahoe would provide the community with a couple nights in the mountains, and the intimate, 7000-person shows could turn into the only tough tickets of the summer. Phish will likely wind up their west coast stint with an appearance at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival, a rumor that seems all but solidified.

After this West Coast swing, the word on the street is that Phish will work their way back across the country, finishing up on the East Coast towards the end of August (just in time for a festival). The rumored stops along the way have included many of the usual suspects such as Colorado, Alpine, Deer Creek, Chicago, Star Lake, SPAC, Jones Beach and Hartford. Perhaps all of these will materialize or perhaps different dates will intersperse the mainstays, but the path of West to East during August seems like a forgone conclusion. Maybe the timing of the festival is the detail holding up both announcements and they will drop together in the near future. But until anything is posted on Phish.com, all we have are rivers of speculation. Might as well jump in.

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Jam of the Day:

“Tweezer” 11.26.97

The opener of Hartford’s 1997 installment, this is one of the lesser-known “Tweezers” of the fall.

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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:

2011.03.20 MGB @ The Orange Peel, Asheville, North Carolina

FLAC Torrent (via etree), Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Links

I: Morphing Again, What Things Seem, 15 Step, The Grid > Makisupa Policeman, Fire From a Stick, I Miss My Mind, River Niger, Flashback, Babylon Baby

II: Andelmans’ Yard, Easy To Slip > The Field, Access Me, Time (The Revelator), Spiral, No One Receiving > Weekly Time > Suskind Hotel

E: Mound

“The Grid -> Makisupa Policeman“

Source: Audix m1280/HC > Lunatec V2 > (Oade Warm) PMD-661 (24/48)

Summer Speculation Read More »

Ten Random Rumors

Phish won’t likely announce their summer schedule until Trey finishes touring in March. Perhaps that estimate is off by a little, but it doesn’t seem that any word is coming imminently. During the off-season, I only report legitimate rumors from reliable sources. But today, just for the fun of discussion, I figured I’d throw out some of the random buzz that I’ve heard from various sources that are not my connects. Take them with a grain of salt, folks, this is more of a fun than predictive Thursday exercise.

1. Hampton for Memorial Day weekend is not happening.

2. The July 1-3 festival at Watkins Glen will end a nationwide tour that skips the Northeast.

3. Phish will play in Florida in June, specifically, West Palm Beach.

4. Phish will return to Alpharetta for multiple nights.

5. The end of tour will go Alpine > Deer Creek > Star Lake > Watkins Glen.

6. Hampton for Memorial Day weekend is happening.

7. Red Rocks – June 17 and 18

8. Phish will hit the west coast again, but to what extent is the real question. All I’ve heard is Shoreline.

9. The Gorge with DMB on Labor Day weekend. Say it ain’t so!

10. Northeast Leg II? No Leg II?

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Jam of the Day:

“Rock and Roll > Theme > Dog Log” 9.17.00 II

Though the latter two thirds of Merriweather’s set opening combo made it to an archives show, for some reason the best part of the trio was left out. Check out the seamless segment in full right here.

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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:

11.16.1990 Campus Club, Providence, Rhode Island SBD

Mp3 Torrent, Megaupload < Link

Let’s stick with the early-90s soundboard theme for the entire week. Enjoy this November 1990 relic that is laced with teases of several TV show themes.

I: Suzy Greenberg, Buried Alive, Foam, You Enjoy Myself, Magilla, Llama, The Divided Sky, Golgi Apparatus

II: The Landlady, Mike’s Song > Hydrogen >Weekapaug Groove, Lawn Boy, Tube, Paul and Silas, The Lizards, Runaway Jim, I Didn’t Know, Possum

E: Contact, Fire

Source: SBD

Ten Random Rumors Read More »

The Festival Buzz

Poseted in Uncategorized
With the 2011, Festivals, Rumors, Summer 2011
On January 31, 2011
By Mr.Miner

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.

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.

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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

The Festival Buzz Read More »

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MR. MINER'S PHISH THOUGHTS

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MR. MINER'S PHISH THOUGHTS

Doubling Down?

Dates, Please?

Summer Speculation

Ten Random Rumors

The Festival Buzz

Get the Book!

Island Run Pins

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