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Thread: A Phresh Catch

  1. #1

    A Phresh Catch

    After a slow summer here, the point was made about how important everybody's contributions are. True stoke is too vital to be restricted though. Time to turn the flow back on high.

    This post is about Jones Beach, NY, with some local VT history, including Sugarbush, so it was hard to decide where to put it in the forums. If it happened at the mountain, does it belong there? Anyway, these existential decisions are not mine to make, finer minds are at work on it.

    My apologies in advance for the photo quality. Taking cellphone pictures in low light is more like painting than photography.


    Who's got my extra?

    Hannah and I recently spent some time rockin' out with VT's Phab Phour at the Jones Beach summer tour closer. The intimate scenic theatre is right on the water, geese paddled behind the band. As we entered on the final night, a double rainbow appeared, which ended on both sides of the stage, pot of gold territory.


    Straight as an arrow, no joking.

    I started listening to the boys back in '89 and saw my first show at a tiny bar in Buffalo '91. Even more fun, I worked security at the famous Amherst Roller Rink show that fall, where Trey rollerbladed through the audience while jamming.

    They were part of what drew me to VT a year later. Soon I became the events coordinator at Sugarbush and started lobbying hard to get Phish to play at the mountain. The first Mount Ellen show in '94 was a watershed moment for the fans and the band. So important, it was immortalized as LivePhish Volume Two.

    That night was when everybody knew they were truly going huge, ready to take on the world. By '95, they were already a little too big for outdoors in VT, and those two Sugarbush shows were the last outdoor concerts in the state until Coventry in '04.

    But that's the distant past and what's important is the near past. The whole 2010 summer tour was fiery, the band played with a fervor unseen in many years.


    Floating between land and water. Amphibious Phish!

    Commonly known as Phish 3.0, this incarnation is beyond expectations. They took creative chances, but also nailed the intricate composed pieces. Old songs were enthusiastically reinterpreted, peaks and valleys shifted, poly-rhythms, time changes, melodies and harmonies added, plus new songs and hot covers ... a whole lot of fresh funk from the trunk. The shows were total marathons, averaging close to three hours of playing.



    The first night was a slab of straight rock and roll. A massive Mike's> Simple> BackwardsDown> Caspian> RockandRoll> Groove filled a lot of the second set. There were covers from the Talking Heads, Joe Walsh, the Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground. We were blown away by the sustained energy, obvious practice and refined communication in the band.

    The final night was a little less energetic, but just as adventurous. Everybody was on their toes, Mike ripped big bass lines, Page played and sang his heart out, Trey plotted and flowed, Fish drove it all home. It was highlight after highlight, but the best for me were the careening Chaulk Dust and solid Harry Hood.





    What a treat to have Phish back and charging hard again.


    John

    Seen on car in the lot, "This Car Climbed Mount Iculus, GH"

  2. #2
    Hawk's Avatar
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    Sweet! Glad to see you haven't given up John. I wish I could have been there.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  3. #3
    Coincidently I was there that night and it was a great, great show. My first in many years. They rocked. When the weather is right, jones beach is a fantastic venue.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by HowieT2
    Coincidently I was there that night and it was a great, great show. My first in many years. They rocked. When the weather is right, jones beach is a fantastic venue.
    No alcohol hurts it a lot. Nice lot scene and great setting though.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Woodsman
    Quote Originally Posted by HowieT2
    Coincidently I was there that night and it was a great, great show. My first in many years. They rocked. When the weather is right, jones beach is a fantastic venue.
    No alcohol hurts it a lot. Nice lot scene and great setting though.
    More like makes it a much better show. It's so much easier to have a good time without belligerent jerks all over the place. I'd take no booze over that any day.

    Ideally, of course, a venue would serve everyone a small number of beers and then cut them off, but that'd be impossible to administer.
    Ithaca is (not) Vermont (but it is gorges)

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Woodsman
    Quote Originally Posted by HowieT2
    Coincidently I was there that night and it was a great, great show. My first in many years. They rocked. When the weather is right, jones beach is a fantastic venue.
    No alcohol hurts it a lot. Nice lot scene and great setting though.
    Uhhhh what do you mean? I know they are kind of strict in the parking lot, but everyone knows you need to put the booze in colored plastic cups. And, they sell beer inside. Although I was the dd for that show.

  7. #7
    Hawk's Avatar
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    Strat, It's a Phish show not some crazy metal show. I have never had any issues with that crowd. They are all fun and want to help out. These are mostly modern age hippies and peace and love is stil the rule. Mostly.....
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  8. #8
    Enjoyed the pics very much , John. Looks like a great time. ; }

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Strat
    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Woodsman
    Quote Originally Posted by HowieT2
    Coincidently I was there that night and it was a great, great show. My first in many years. They rocked. When the weather is right, jones beach is a fantastic venue.
    No alcohol hurts it a lot. Nice lot scene and great setting though.
    More like makes it a much better show. It's so much easier to have a good time without belligerent jerks all over the place. I'd take no booze over that any day.

    Ideally, of course, a venue would serve everyone a small number of beers and then cut them off, but that'd be impossible to administer.
    It's Strong Island - you're going to have belligerent jerks even if it was a Dan Fogelberg show.

  10. #10
    Way to alienate an entire island filled with millions of people, TW . Nice!

    We went to Saratoga this summer too, and they sold beer. The crowd was nicer at Jones Beach, but I don't think it had anything to do with how much alcohol was present or how much New Yorker there was. Everybody in the JB lot had plastic cups and seemed to be trying to injest enough to last 3.5 - 4 hours. There was no beer inside JB, unless you were in a reserved box, right Howie?

    We planned on buying beer at the concert, but were somewhat pleasantly surprised that you couldn't. It certainly saved us a chunk of change and we felt better at the end of the shows too. BTW, the beer at Saratoga was $13 for a 24 oz craft brew or import, a 16oz bottled water at JB was $6.

    All outdoor venues suck in bad weather. The thing about Jones Beach that impressed me the most though, besides the awesome setting, was the traffic situation. From Hannah's parent's house in Port Washington to the lot was less than half an hour, both directions. We never waited in a car line more than 5 minutes. As soon as we exited the lot, it seemed like normal LI traffic.

    The day of the first show, we went to the actual Jones Beach for a good chunk of the day, cavorted in the waves, sat in the sun, then back to the in-laws for showers, snacks and sustenance, and left again at 6:45pm for a 7:30 gate, with extra planned walking time. No problem. I've scored easy access to shows many times with good planning, but never so easily.

    But back to the music, do yourself a favor and download something from the summer tour at phish.com or free audience versions from bt.etree.org. This is like being around for another prime period, something I thought had passed utterly in the 90's. During Chaulkdust , the refrain, "Can't this wait til I'm old, can I live while I'm young?!" sounded fresh, even from guys pushing 50. There is reason to believe. Just look at Egan.

    You can feel good about Hood.

    John

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by atkinson
    Way to alienate an entire island filled with millions of people, TW . Nice!

    We went to Saratoga this summer too, and they sold beer. The crowd was nicer at Jones Beach, but I don't think it had anything to do with how much alcohol was present or how much New Yorker there was. Everybody in the JB lot had plastic cups and seemed to be trying to injest enough to last 3.5 - 4 hours. There was no beer inside JB, unless you were in a reserved box, right Howie?

    We planned on buying beer at the concert, but were somewhat pleasantly surprised that you couldn't. It certainly saved us a chunk of change and we felt better at the end of the shows too. BTW, the beer at Saratoga was $13 for a 24 oz craft brew or import, a 16oz bottled water at JB was $6.

    All outdoor venues suck in bad weather. The thing about Jones Beach that impressed me the most though, besides the awesome setting, was the traffic situation. From Hannah's parent's house in Port Washington to the lot was less than half an hour, both directions. We never waited in a car line more than 5 minutes. As soon as we exited the lot, it seemed like normal LI traffic.

    The day of the first show, we went to the actual Jones Beach for a good chunk of the day, cavorted in the waves, sat in the sun, then back to the in-laws for showers, snacks and sustenance, and left again at 6:45pm for a 7:30 gate, with extra planned walking time. No problem. I've scored easy access to shows many times with good planning, but never so easily.

    But back to the music, do yourself a favor and download something from the summer tour at phish.com or free audience versions from bt.etree.org. This is like being around for another prime period, something I thought had passed utterly in the 90's. During Chaulkdust , the refrain, "Can't this wait til I'm old, can I live while I'm young?!" sounded fresh, even from guys pushing 50. There is reason to believe. Just look at Egan.

    You can feel good about Hood.

    John
    I wasn't aware they didnt sell beer at the regular concessions but they do in the "VIP" section which is on the south side of the venue. I guess that's how they get people to buy the VIP passes. 'Nothing more than beer, wine and burgers etc. But you can buy the "VIP" pass for any seat and walk to and fro at will, but I think you can only drink in the designated area. and yes, the party suites are stocked with free beer (corona, corona light-I was glad to be the DD).

    The highway to the theater has the capacity for peak beach traffic so a theater event is no problem. As for the rest of LI, the traffic is a nightmare. I don't know how people live there. My wife is from Rockville center but thankfully my in laws no longer live there. But when I have to go there for work, the traffic is unavoidable.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by atkinson
    Way to alienate an entire island filled with millions of people, TW . Nice!
    I think they're used to it. Not like that statement is original.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Hawk
    Strat, It's a Phish show not some crazy metal show. I have never had any issues with that crowd. They are all fun and want to help out. These are mostly modern age hippies and peace and love is stil the rule. Mostly.....
    I'm not worried about stabbings or anything. I've just been to a lot of Grateful Dead-family shows, and Phil and Friends in Summer 08 at Jones Beach was the mellowest, easy-going crowd ever, and I had a great time. Everyone was just jovial and happy to be there. Same goes for Furthur in Ithaca back in February.

    In contrast, The Dead at MSG in April 09 was wild. I actually asked a roving beer vendor if he could cut off the guy behind me after I watched him drink 10 in the first set and proceed to yell obnoxiously at the back of my head.

    (I've had good shows with alcohol too, but especially in the NYC area... I'm happier when it's not there.)
    Ithaca is (not) Vermont (but it is gorges)

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