12, 13, 20 years ago we were .....

[khalpin]

24th year phishiversary today!  woo hoo!

Love that Tweezer!

[phishhead92s mom]

10 years ago on 8/11/09 I saw my first show! My dad's first as well, he saw his second at Blossom, so maybe I should get him posting here :hereitisyousentimentalbastard I can't believe it's been 10 years. Not a great show by any means... got TTE'd, but it was special nonetheless, Curtain With, Gumbo, Paul and Silas were the highlights.

It's been a ride since then!

More importantly, Mirthmania I.

Even more importantly, whatever happened to PH92's Zappamom?

Well, I joined the Nitrous Mafia and have been pimping out my tank all over the east coast. I'll be standing right outside of Carnegie Hall before and after the Trey shows!

[Buffalo Budd]

There she is!!! 

[Caravan2001]

 :hereitisyousentimentalbastard :hereitisyousentimentalbastard :hereitisyousentimentalbastard :hereitisyousentimentalbastard

[VDB]

Happy 20th to one of my favorite Tweezers.

[gainesvillegreen]

Happy 20th to one of my favorite Tweezers.

I've always really enjoyed the Jim which comes just after that Tweezer.

Very straightforward short-ish performance, but it is blistering. Akin to the Down with Disease from 12/1/95.

[anthrax]

Happy Hampton Day, everyone!!

[mistercharlie]

Happy Hampton Day, everyone!!

[WhatstheUse?]

Man. 11 years. What a blast it's been. So many friends made, so many brain cells sacrificed.

I'd do it all the same again if I had the chance. Probably would take 1 instead of 2 when Todd says so the second time around but...

[PIE-GUY]

25 years ago tonight was an epic end to an epic summer tour... and was, incidentally, the highest I've ever been ever ever.

Sugarbush foretold of things to come. It was the last Phish show before Jerry died. The last "just us" blowout before the masses from Dead tour hopped on Phish tour. It was a precursor to Clifford Ball in a lot of ways. They let us camp right there. It was, in essence, a mini-festival. These two nights at Sugarbush were the absolute peak of my Phish experience. Up there with Big Cypress... no lie.




Here is what I wrote about that weekend five years ago for Surrender to the Phlow:

Sugarbush 95 - The Trick Was To Surrender To The Flow

It's codified Phish lore that Amy's Farm was the first "Phish Fest," but it was only one night, and it was a relatively small gathering. I contend that the roots of Phish's festivals were actually planted 20 summers ago at Sugarbush, VT. As we prepare for Magnaball, it's as good a time as any to look back at this important (and incredibly fun) run.

The touring community in the Summer of 95 was pretty tight-knit, and word spread amongst us in the week leading up to Sugarbush that camping would be allowed on the mountain. Knowing this, most of us drove straight from the Great Woods lot to get to Sugarbush early the next morning and secure a campsite. I remember watching the sunrise from the bottom of the hill with about 200 people who had been driving all night and were still unable to sleep.

Thousands of cars streamed in all morning followed by busloads of phans from satellite parking lots. By show time on July 2nd, there were significantly more people on the mountain than the 15,000 tickets sold. Fences were ignored; crowds were more or less welcomed by staff and security. Announcements were made from the stage asking for patience and reminding everyone to "have a good time." In essence, this had become a free show, leading to an even bigger crowd on July 3rd as word spread across New England. Despite the massive influx of Phish heads, everyone acted like adults and treated each other with kindness. Trey suggested that  "for those of you who were kind of walking through the woods and found yourself at the concert, perhaps you can take the money you would have spent on a ticket and donate it to the King Street Youth Center."

Bear in mind, on this very same night, gatecrashers were wreaking havoc on Deer Creek causing the July 3rd Grateful Dead show to be cancelled. All of this came just 2 weeks after about 100,000 fans attended the Dead's Highgate, VT show in what can only be described as horrid conditions. The juxtaposition was not lost on the Phish organization. The goal for the next big summer tour-closer would be to take these lessons to their logical end. "Our intent is all for your delight" became the mantra. If the intent is good, the people will be kind and smiles will ensue. Don't just put a stage in a field and have the people fend for themselves, or worse, bilk them for cash at every turn. Build art installations for them to explore. Provide twice as many Portajohns as every expert recommends. Have reasonably priced food and free water. Play your heart out for three sets a night and throw in surprises around every corner.

And that's exactly what they did. The Clifford Ball was like nothing that had come before it. 70,000 people showed up and none of them crashed the gates. They danced and smiled and treated each other with kindness. The rest, as they say, is Phishtory.

[Superfreakie]

  :rawk:

[anthrax]

sweet write up!  but this dude kinda ripped you off...

https://phishcrit.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-tours

[GBL]

sweet write up!  but this dude kinda ripped you off...

https://phishcrit.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-tours

The fact that that guy said this:

Throwing the occasional Bertha or St. Stephen into their set would've been the easiest move possible to light up those new fans (and many of the old ones too), but it wasn't obligatory by this point, and they wisely opted against it.

Leads me to believe he is an idiot...

[PIE-GUY]

sweet write up!  but this dude kinda ripped you off...

https://phishcrit.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-tours

[Buffalo Budd]

sweet write up!  but this dude kinda ripped you off...

https://phishcrit.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-tours

This and Big Cypress are my 2 biggest misses.