Phish...part 1

Waiting to enter on the 3rd night

WOW, what a weekend! I am not fully recovered from the weekend, so my post will be in a few installments.
First, I know my blog audience is mostly comprised of non Phish fans, so I am writing geared to them (sorry Christina and Nichole). I have to explain the image the media portrays of Phish versus what they really are. The media equates Phish shows to Grateful Dead shows, in that the crowd is a bunch of tie-dyed, dreadlocked, smelly hippies. But come on now, there is no way a bunch of dirty hippies could afford to fly across the country, buy 3 concert tickets and pay for a weekend of food and lodging. The media also compares Phish's music to that of The Dead, but wrong again! Phish is really more like a rock 'n' roll band that tends to jam (I mean, wail on the guitar!). So now that your previous Phish notions are out of your head, I can explain who they really are and what the crazy scene is all about.
Phish is a 4 person band from Vermont who've been around since they were in college in the 80s. They have pretty much been touring non-stop until 2004, when they decided to break up. Over the almost 20 years of being together, Phish gained quite a following, they were able to sell out anywhere they played within seconds. Amazingly, this following never dwindled during their 5 year break up. So it really was no surprise that the tickets to these 3 reunion shows sold out in literally seconds (and also so surprising that we actually snagged some).
Now, I am not a big Phish fan, but I married into it. I only attended 1 show before "the break up", and that show, according to my friends, was one of the worst (I just thought it was an awesome huge concert). So for the past 5 years, I couldn't quite understand the devotion my friends gave to Phish, until this past weekend.
Phish is not only a band with rockin' music, they are a reason for friends to reunite, party, and dance. Phish is the only band I know that draws their crowd from all over the country. I mean, in Virginia this past weekend, I met more California folks than Virginia folks. We traveled out with our friends Chris, Brian, Nichole, Mike, and Sam. And once there, we met up with Jaime, Renata, Johnny, Jen, and Jaime (there were 2 Jamies, and they're best friends). This big group only reunites for weddings and Phish, since we live in different cities and states. Pretty much, these people are our Phish Phamily =) And let me tell you, this group, and the majority of the fans, are well-educated young professionals, mostly in their 20s and 30s. A walk through the parking lot reveals Range Rovers, Infinitis, Acuras, and yes, there a few of the VW busses, but really they are in the minority.
People line up for hours to see Phish. We need good seats (especially now that we're 30 and actually want seats and not spots on the floor). Once the doors open, its a mad dash to secure seats, buy limited edition posters, rush to the bathroom, and buy over priced beer. And then, when the show starts, 100% of the 13,000 fans are on their feet and dancing (and not just for 1 song, for the whole entire show). There is an amazing energy to it. And Phish knows what the fans like. They have amazing lights...not psychedelic-like, but more like rock'n'roll craziness...which move with the music. On the floor, you are likely to encounter some interesting dancing styles (like the guy who actually tapes a masking tape square onto the floor to dance in and gets snippity if anyone steps into it.) But up in the seats, we're a pretty normal crowd. We do have glowsticks, but that is a whole other post...
So there, now you know that Phish is really an awesome band that friends travel to in order to unwind, unstress, and have fun.
More to come later...