Ticketmaster North America President & Chris Kuroda Talk Phish

Here's a great interview on YouTube with Phish lighting guru Chris Kuroda, who sat down with Jim of JimOnLight.com and Greg Owen to talk about the Hampton Coliseum shows, Topher's design work for the three-day run, and what phans can look forward to in the lighting design for Phish's 2009 Summer Tour.

Also, for everyone stressing about landing tickets to Phish 2009 Late Summer Tour, the Hidden Track blog posted this exclusive interview with Ticketbastard North America President David Butler, who talks about scalpers snatching up tickets and how Ticketbastard plays virtually no role in the secondary ticket market -- yeah, right. Below is an excerpt from that interview.

HT: I’m glad you mentioned TicketsNow. How does TicketsNow get its tickets? Are they just like the rest of the general public where they have employees on the phones and on the Internet?

DB: I’m so glad you asked that because it’s the number one misperception about the secondary ticket market. Ticketmaster, for primary tickets, owns zero inventory. We don’t own a single ticket to any Phish concert. We simply provide the mechanism for the band and the venue to sell their tickets to the public. Similarly, we own TicketsNow as you are aware, but we don’t own the tickets on TicketsNow. We simply provide an e-commerce site for buyers and sellers to meet and have a safe transaction between them. The tickets that are listed, typically, for resale on TicketsNow as an example, are owned, some by fans and most by brokers. Brokers get their tickets either by going in the on sale and buying tickets; many times they have season tickets for events so they get them that way. They may have a relationship with a promoter or a band but they don’t get any preferential treatment from Ticketmaster whatsoever.

HT: Does Ticketmaster take proactive efforts to thwart the efforts of scalpers beyond the Captcha software?

DB: Yes. Without giving away any secrets that would make it easier for them, I want you to know that our number one goal is that every ticket ends up in the fans hands. That’s what we try to make happen. So we have a number of layers of technology that we use to identify what appears to be either robotic traffic – if you look at our website you will see that we got an injunction against a company last year because they were selling the software program to brokers to attack our site to try to get tickets. We got the court to block that practice and enjoin the company not to do it anymore. We employ roughly 20 people all day long who are constantly looking at this cat-and-mouse game of automated programs and finding new ways to block or frustrate them.

In a perfect world, we wish every buyer at every on sale were the fan that plans to attend the event. That’s why we released paperless ticketing and if you notice the AC/DC concerts used it and Metallica used it when they played the (London) O2 (Arena) with us. In that scenario, when you buy your ticket, to enter the event you actually use the credit card you used to purchase the ticket to get in. That’s an anti-resale mechanism that our venues and our clients have as an option to make sure the fans are the ones who get the tickets.

HT: Does your battle with scalpers ultimately boil down to technology? You come up with something new and they come up with a way around it and so on?

DB: From a primary sales perspective, we don’t want anyone to get an unfair advantage over anyone else. Having said that, reselling tickets is legal in most of North America with a few exceptions and therefore we own TicketsNow because we know fans want to be able to sell tickets to events they can’t attend. I have season tickets for hockey and I can’t go to every game. There are a lot of fans like that who want the ability to resell their tickets and there are lots of fans who buy at the last minute and want to be able to get great seats and are willing to pay a premium price. I don’t mean to demonize the whole secondary world because I think it provides a valid business service in the marketplace. My point is that in our responsibility as the primary partner helping venues sell tickets for artists, we want to make it that nobody gets an unfair advantage. That’s why we refunded all the (Phish) orders (for Red Rocks) and instead will stick with the scheduled on sale. That’s why we try to block robotic traffic. In both those cases it was an unfair advantage for someone, albeit in the early presale it wasn’t the fans fault, it was our mistake. We want everything to be fair and transparent so every fan has an equal opportunity to get the tickets.

Phish Eyes Adding 2009 Late Summer Tour West Coast Show in Bend, Oregon

Apparently, Phish has been in contact with the promoter for the Les Schwab Amphitheater here in Bend, Oregon (my current hometown!!) -- a venue on the Deschutes River (here's a photo of the Deschutes River from inside the Bend city limits, just around the corner from the Les Schwab Amphitheater) that seats no more than 8,000 people. (Beck, Wilco and Stone Temple Pilots played here last year.)

Anyway, I have it from a very reliable source that Phish is looking to add a show between their run at The Gorge, August 7th and 8th, and their stop in Chicago at Toyota Park on August 11th. The promoter for the Les Schwab Amphitheater says he has contract in hand from Phish to perform here in Bend on August 9th.

The contract stipulates that the promoter has to be able to guarantee that $400,000 in ticket sales can be achieved. At $50 per ticket, with the Les Schwab Amphitheater holding 8,000 people, that brings them right at $400,000.

Whether or not this comes to pass remains to be seen. Truth be told, I find it highly unlikely that this will happen, but the truth is the promoter has Phish's contract in hand.

Stay tuned to The Wagger for more on Phish adding a Late Summer 2009 tour stop in Bend, Oregon. (Man, I would love to sleep in my own bed after a show. That's only happened to me three times since my first show on February 25, 1993 at the now-defunct Cameo Theater in Miami Beach, Florida. I saw Mimi Fishman play the vacuum that night to "If I Only Had a Brain!!!!!)

Along these lines, here is an article written in Boston Music Spotlight on March 23rd further speculating on the possibility of Phish adding that Fenway Park date to open Summer Tour 2009.

More Killer Hampton Videos

These were shot by none other than Brad Serling of Nugs.net fame. Nice job Brad! Possibly the highest quality video from Hampton available anywhere. They're all short, but super sweet! (Side note: If you read this Brad, I've been a big fan of Nugs.net since 1999!)

Grind
Tweeprise
Contact
2001
Frankenstein
A Day in the Life
Mike's Song
Lawnboy
It's Ice
Punch You in the Eye
Harry Hood
Possum
I Didn't Know
The Divided Sky
Bouncing Around the Room
Walking around the parking lot before opening night

Trey Anastasio to Release Time Turns Elastic

In other news, Trey Anastasio announced he will release a new solo album, "Time Turns Elastic," May 12th on Rubber Jungle Records. "Time Turns Elastic" is, of course, the symphony Trey wrote while he was on probation in upstate New York.

The East Coast premiere of Time Turns Elastic is at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland (why Baltimore I have no idea). The first half of the program will feature classic Phish songs and solo Trey compositions, while the second half of the program will feature the East Coast premiere of "Time Turns Elastic."

Here is the entire press release as posted at Trey.com:

Time Turns Elastic, a ground-breaking work for vocals, guitar and orchestra composed by Trey Anastasio and Don Hart, will be released on May 12th by Rubber Jungle Records. The piece – orchestrated by Don and performed by Trey and The Northwest Sinfonia, conducted by David Sabee – blends the intrinsic elegance of classical music with searing blues-rock guitar, resulting in an exhilarating work that engages and challenges fans of both genres.

“Neither of us had ever heard anything that uses a guitar as a serious instrument intermingled with an orchestra in the same way one would write a concerto for a violin and orchestra,” says Trey, who first collaborated with Hart at the 2004 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival while staging a piece from one of his solo albums, Seis de Mayo. “I grew up loving Ravel and Eric Clapton equally,” he continues. “So I kept saying to Don, ‘why can’t we have a piece of music that’s half Ravel and half Cream’s Disraeli Gears?”

Both Trey, named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone and a founding member of the genre-melding rock band Phish, and Don, who’s worked with a diverse group of musicians that includes Martina McBride, Collective Soul and Randy Travis and is currently Composer-in-Residence for Orchestra Nashville, are musical chameleons whose tastes cross all boundaries. While the pair’s collaborations on Trey's Shine (2005) and Bar 17 (2006), may prefigure Time Turns Elastic, the composition actually began as a Phish song.

“I was living in upstate New York when I started writing this little tune that just kept growing,” recalls Anastasio. “I initially thought it would be a Phish song, but after I sent a demo of it to Don, it just grew organically into an orchestral piece.” The 13-minute acoustic guitar demo – which is included on the album – evolved into “Movement 2” and “Movement 3” and provided Hart with the inspiration for “Movement 1.”

Trey and Orchestra Nashville (conducted by Paul Gambill) gave Time Turns Elastic its debut performance at the Orchestra’s season opener at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium in September 2008. “It was ambitious, strange and wholly entertaining,” said rollingstone.com. “There was no doubt that he had won over both his hardcore fan base and the Bach aficionados who were new to the party.”

Time Turns Elastic will receive its East Coast premiere on May 21st when Trey joins Music Director Marin Alsop (the first woman to head a major American orchestra) and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a special evening that will also feature classic Phish songs and solo Trey compositions.

Phish to Throw Festival in Georgetown, Texas?

NOTE FROM THE WAGGER:
THIS BLOG ENTRY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HALLOWEEN. I'm not sure why Google is sending people to this page, but it is. I appreciate all of you who read The Wagger, and hope you will keep coming back for updates on everything Phish-related in the future. To read what is current please click here to go to the home page.
Sincerely, Wag

======================================================

This little diddy was e-mailed to me this morning, and makes a lot of sense. I see this was posted at The Butter Room earlier this month, too.

Little attention has been paid to the cryptic flash animation and accompanying photo on the Phish ticketing website announcing the Late Summer Tour 2009.

As the animation looks from space and pans in on the globe, then North America, and then... Texas ???

It makes little sense as to what this has to do with the band's tour. However, doing a little research and utilizing Google's Earth and Maps features reveals much more.

The actual location is a small, family-owned farm in Georgetown, Texas outside of Austin. There's no doubt this is the same property. Also of note is the "09" in summer tour, plastered on the image. 09/09?

Calls to Georgetown 's Public Information Office did not verify that Phish will be throwing a festival, but do indicate that a touring band with a substantial following has indicated interest in using the location for a festival in late September, according to The Butter Room.

While it certainly is far from confirmed that Phish is playing a season-ending festival, there's no doubt that the band has always had a playful, humorous nature with their fans when it comes to revealing tour information.

Providing clues and hints while not directly providing us with answers seems very much in line with the announcement of a "summer tour" followed by... well the announcement of another "summer tour." Not to mention the all-but-confirmed Bonnaroo appearance which was also not in line with their initial tour announcement. An end of summer festival would mark the first Phish festival since the band's (then) career-ending natural disaster known as Coventry .

Ticketmaster Refunds Red Rocks Ticket Sales, StubHub Selling One Ticket for $35,000, Phish in Rolling Stone & Other News

By now just about everyone has heard about the ticket debacle regarding Ticketmaster's snafu that put four-day passes for Phish's Red Rocks shows (July 30th, 31st, August 1st and 2nd) up for sale on Wednesday, March 18th at about 5 p.m., according to Denver Post Reporter Ricardo Baca, a full eight days before the publicly announced on-sale date of March 26th.

Phish responded to the incident by posting this message on their website by mid-day Thursday. The Denver Daily News ran this story today (Friday, March 20th) about the incident, saying that Ticketmaster's Phish flub was due to "human error," noting that individual tickets never went on sale.

"Ticketmaster was testing its online ticketing system for the Red Rocks shows when someone hit the wrong button and brought the ticketing process live, according to sources close to the debacle," Denver Daily News Staff Writer Peter Marcus reports.

The Denver Post reports that 1,900 people were able to purchase Red Rocks tickets Wednesday night. Ticketbastard announced that everyone who purchased tickets will be refunded in full, receiving a $50 Ticketmaster gift card taboot. But not everyone appreciates the gesture, according to the story.

"To be honest, this ticket is worth, to me personally, much more than $50," Phish-head Aaron Pence said in the story. "I suppose some compensation is better than nothing … but whether it appeases the fact that I didn’t get tickets, no, no it doesn’t."

In a prepared statement, Ticketbastard North America President David Butler said, "We are sorry that we were not able to provide you with the tickets you ordered and hope that we will have the chance to serve you better in the future."

Meanwhile, Phish's official response said, "We are in active dialogue with Ticketmaster to push them to address the inconvenience their error has caused. We are putting pressure on the ticketing providers to improve their systems. We are focused on the ticket broker activity in our tickets and the inability of the existing ticket systems to stop this. We are actively seeking options to limit this."

(Sigh) A lot of people are venting their frustration on the Hidden Track blog.

The question has been raised: Did Ticketbastard do this on purpose in an attempt to allow scalpers to procure Phish tickets to the Late Summer Tour 2009 Red Rocks shows (the first time Phish has been back since "The Incident" that occurred in downtown Morrison, Colo. back in 1996 -- I was there) and re-sell them on Ticketbastard's own ticket broker (can you say scalper?) website TicketsNow.com? (On a side note, if you capitalize the "S' instead of the "N" in TicketsNow it reads "TicketSnow.")

Even with all of the service fees Ticketbastard charges, the company announced this morning in its 2009 first quarter earnings report that it is suffering a $1 billion loss on accounting charges related to the current value of its stock, which recently traded near $4 compared to $15 in August 2008. The report also states that the proposed merger of Ticketbastard with LiveNation.com is expected to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Justice by the second half of 2009 (sometime after June).

StubHub: One Red Rocks Ticket for $35,000

StubHub.com has Red Rocks tickets for sale, as well as tickets for all shows to Phish's 2009 Late Summer Tour. In one case StubHub is selling one ticket to the August 1st Red Rocks show for $35,000!

WTF???

Incidentally, someone with the username "pilutico" claims to have four Red Rocks tickets for sale (two for July 30th and two for July 31st) on eBay with a starting bid of $700. So far there are zero bids.

Phish Featured in Current Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone put Phish on its cover -- not a cover photo but they printed a headline that says "Phish Reunite." And they have a killer slide show with tons of photos from the Hampton shows. They dedicated three pages inside the current issue of the magazine to Phish's reunion shows, posted detailed reports of night one and night two, and even supplied coverage of the parking lot scene. Nice to see the boys in the spotlight once again.

Little League Team Raises $6,000 Selling Phish Shirts

In other news, a Hampton Little League team -- the Peninsula Pilots -- that Phish allowed to circumvent a court order barring anyone from selling merchandise emblazoned with the band's name or logo, raised about $6,000 selling t-shirts, getting it halfway to its goal of $12,000. The team is raising the money for a planned trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, DailyPress.com reports.

Team Manager Don Gear called Phish fans "very polite," saying people made donations. "They'd say, 'Keep the change.' Or they would say, 'I can't afford the t-shirt, but here's $3," the DailyPress.com story said.

Hampton Letter to the Editor

Also at DailyPress.com is a Letter to the Editor from Hampton Resident Tanya Smith thanking Phish and Phish fans for injecting a reported $8 million into the local economy March 6th - 8th. "The fans spent a lot of much-needed money in our area, and we should want to hear about them in the newspaper the whole three days they were here, and we should hope they come back soon," Smith wrote in the letter, calling herself "a fan of the Phish fans."

Smith's sentiment seems to be mirrored in U.S. newspapers. A Google News search for Phish revealed dozens of articles from publications across the country touting Phish's return to their region.

Hampton Drug Bust Claims Don't Add Up

DailyPress.com also ran a story refuting claims by Hampton Roads law enforcement officials that $1.2 million worth of drugs were confiscated at the Phish shows. The story also shows a photo released by police of what is supposed to be dozens of mason jars filled to the brim with weed. What makes the claim doubtable is that the mason jars appear to be still unwrapped and in their original plastic packaging.

Can you imagine anyone showing up in the lot with a van full of weed in mason jars? I've seen some idiotic moves by people selling dope in the lot, but never anything as brazen as that photo suggests. It's just not believable guys!

Mexican Cousin Mix

Love it or hate it (I happen to love it), Phish dusted off Mexican Cousin when they played at the Hampton Coliseum earlier this month. Already feeling nostalgic for the reunion shows, the Coventry Phish Blog "created a mix of every version of Mexican Cousin because it's always been a favorite of mine and because the Joker said it's his new favorite Phish song."

You can download the Mexican Cousin mix by clicking here.

They also posted this ridiculous animated video of Trey & Page discussing the Red Rocks ticket fiasco. Good stuff.

Trey & Page Discuss the Allman Bros. Band

Quick video interview of Trey & Page following their guest spot sitting in with the Allman Bros. Band at the Beacon Theatre.

Phish Red Rocks Tickets Debacle & Rolling Stone Feature

This was posted at Phish.com this morning:

A Response To Red Rocks Ticketing 03.19.09

Last night we learned Ticketmaster mistakenly put on sale a substantial number of four-day passes to Phish's concerts this summer at Red Rocks Amphitheater, giving some fans an unfair advantage to purchase tickets ahead of the March 26th publicly announced on sale date. Ticketmaster has fully acknowledged this significant error, and to make sure that all of our fans have the same, fair opportunity to purchase tickets to this event, they have canceled all of these orders with all charges being refunded.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause our fans. We are in active dialogue with Ticketmaster to push them to address the inconvenience their error has caused.

Phish takes this and all ticketing matters extremely seriously. We will seek assurances this type of error will not happen again in the future. The high demand for the tickets on Phish's return has overwhelmed the prevailing ticketing systems and revealed their flaws. We are putting pressure on the ticketing providers to improve their systems. We are focused on the ticket broker activity in our tickets and the inability of the existing ticket systems to stop this. We are actively seeking options to limit this.

As a reminder, the public on sale date for Red Rocks is Thursday, March 26th at 12:00 Noon Mountain time and additionally Phish's ticket request period will remain open until 11:59PM eastern time this Sunday the 22nd. Please visit http://phish.portals.musictoday.com/ to request tickets.

Thank you for your continued support.

Phish Featured in Current Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone put Phish on its cover -- not a cover photo but they printed a headline that says "Phish Reunite." And they have a killer slide show with tons of photos from the Hampton shows. They dedicated three pages inside the current issue of the magazine to Phish's reunion shows, posted detailed reports of night one and night two, even giving supplying coverage of the parking lot scene.

Rolling Stone also ran a short story called Ticketmaster's Phish Flub. Nice to see the boys in the spotlight once again.

Phish Announces Late Summer 2009 Tour Dates

Phish.com has a new video up announcing Late Summer 2009 Tour Dates that includes four nights at Red Rocks, two nights at The Gorge, Merriweather Post and Saratoga Springs. Fatty, phat phat!! Online tickets on sale now!

1. 7.30.09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
2. 7.31.09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
3. 8.01.09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
4. 8.02.09 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
5. 8.05.09 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
6. 8.07.09 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
7. 8.08.09 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
8. 8.11.09 Toyota Park, Chicago, IL
9. 8.13.09 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, NY
10. 8.14.09 Meadows Music Theater, Hartford, CT
11. 8.15.09 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
12. 8.16.09 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

The San Jose Mercury News reported yesterday that Phish is slated to perform at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009. Apparently, LiveNation goofed -- once again -- and posted the date on its website yesterday before Phish could announce the second leg of its 2009 Summer Tour.

Phish at Fenway Park? That's what the Boston Globe is saying. May 31st, the day after The Dave Matthews Band wraps up a two-day stand in front of the Green Monster. The Red Sox are in the middle of a road trip that week, playing in Toronto that day with no home game at Fenway until May 5th, so it could happen.

Phish Hampton Coliseum Downloads & Recent News Articles

There has been a ton of press coverage devoted to Phish's three-night Hampton Coliseum run. Here are some of the more interesting news stories and show reviews I stumbled upon:

Washington Times -- Top 5 Ways Phish can Revive the Economy
Portland (Oregon) Examiner -- Hampton Arrests Make Phish Phans Look Ridiculous
The Raw Story -- Phish Bankrolled 200 Cops, Including Feds, for Reunion "Security"
Lumino Magazine -- Phish Ph-E-Ver is Back
Drug War Chronicle -- Law Enforcement: Cops Go Phishing for Dope at Virginia Concerts, Reel in Plenty
The Tech (MIT's newspaper) -- Phamily Reunion
Burlington Free Press -- Brent's Notebook: Mike Gordon Talks Phish
KSL.com -- Restaurants, Hotels Celebrate Phish's Return, Too
The Associated Press -- Phish Dusts Off, Returns to Stage
The Smoking Gun -- Mugshots of Phish-heads Who were Arrested in Hampton Last Weekend
MTV -- Phish Kick Off Reunion With Hit-Filled Hampton Shows (review)
Relix Magazine -- The Phish Report Night 2: More Ghost Stories (review)
JamBase -- Phish | 03.06.09 | Hampton Night One
Billboard -- Phish Demo 20 Songs For New Album
WAVY-TV -- Phish Fans Spend Much Needed Dollars in Hampton
DailyPress.com -- Poster Artist: The Coliseum "Makes for Good Design"
DailyPress.com -- Phish OKs Baseball Team's T-Shirt Sales
Chicago Tribune -- Phish Fans Bring Big Business, Big Busts
Newport News -- Phish Concert Brought in $7 Million or More to Hampton
Newport News -- Hampton Coliseum and Phish have Long, Jam-Happy History
ChicagoTribune.com -- Take the Phish in Hampton Quiz
Jambands.com -- A Fan's Take: Forwards Up The Number Line (A Phish Projection)
Richmond Times-Dispatch -- Hampton Reunion Lives Up to High Expectations
Wall Street Journal Blogs -- After Five Years, Phish is Swimming Again and Suing Bootleggers
Mr. Minor's Phish Thoughts -- Twist --> 2001 --> Moma

As for O-Phishial news released by Phish, the free MP3 soundboard recordings of each night of the band's 2009 Hampton Coliseum reunion run (March 6, 7 & 8) are no longer available for free. The shows are still available to download at LivePhish.com but they now cost $9.95 per night, or $26.95 (about a $3 discount) for ordering all three shows at once. Here are individual links to the web page for each show:

March 6
March 7
March 8

Of course, you don't have to download MP3 files. For those of you who prefer the highest quality recording available, click here. FLAC files for each show can be purchased for $12.95 per night, or for a 10 percent discount of $34.95 for purchasing all three shows at once. You can also buy CDs of each show, complete with labels and jewel cases designed by the band's camp, for $23 per show, or for a 10 percent discount when purchasing all three shows for $57.95.

So far there is no word on how many people participated in Phish's rideshare program. From Phish.com, "In an effort to help fans reduce their carbon footprint, Phish and Reverb have created a Rideshare Program to help drivers and riders connect with each other to carpool to the upcoming Hampton Coliseum shows ... Reverb is a non-profit environmental organization deeply rooted within the music and environmental communities. Reverb educates and engages musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability."

The Phish Rideshare Program will continue into the Summer 2009 Tour. Try to take advantage of it during Phish's 2009 Summer Tour in June. BTW, all shows are sold out except for The Bonnaroo.

It also appears that SuperFly Productions, the promotion company that stages The Bonnaroo each summer and played a primary role in the development and evolution of Phish's annual summer campout festivals, as well as Big Cypress, is looking for new investors to inject cash into the company coffers, according to this story published on Billboard's website.

And finally, with all of the focus on Phish's Hampton Coliseum reunion shows last weekend, a handful of items slipped through the cracks this week ...

First off, the Seven-DVD Box Set of The Clifford Ball is now available for $79 in stores, and through Phish Dry Goods. From Phish.com, "The box set features nine hours of concert and event footage, with six complete sets of music recorded live, August 16 & 17, 1996, and bonus features, including Phish's extended soundcheck, its late-night flatbed truck jam, and a 30-minute featurette with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage ... and more." Here's a great review of the Clifford Ball DVD Box Set.

Second, Jon Fishman will sit in with the Jazz Mandolin Project for two shows, February 19th at the recently-opened Port City Music Hall in Portland, Maine, and a hometown show on February 20th at Club Metronome in Burlington, Vermont. The JMP lineup for both shows will be Fishman, Peter Apfelbaum, Scott Ritchie and of course JMP Founder Jamie Masefield. Tickets are currently on sale with more information available here.

Third, Page McConnell will perform with Porter, Batiste, Stoltz on Saturday, May 2nd at Tipitina's Uptown in New Orleans. Tickets are being sold through Ticketweb.com (finally, no Ticketbastard involvement!!!) and are available here for $25 a pop. For this day and age, the cost of admission coupled with the performing musicians is a total steal.

Fourthly, Trey will join Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for orchestrations of classic Phish tunes, as well as the East Coast premiere of Anastasio's new composition Time Turns Elastic. Showtime is 8 p.m. Thursday, May 21st at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in downtown Baltimore.

Cinco, tracks from Mike Gordon's solo album released last summer, The Green Sparrow, has been receiving a lot of airplay on satellite radio's JAM ON channel. JAM ON is also re-playing each night of Phish's Hampton Coliseum reunion run during DJ Jonathan Schwartz's nightly Gone Phishin' segment, which airs weekdays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST, or from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. PST. The show is also re-broadcast at 2 a.m. EST, 11 p.m. PST on weekdays. Don't have satellite radio yet? You can get a free, online trial by following this link.

And last but certainly not least, Page and Trey sat in with the Allman Bros. Band at the newly re-designed Beacon Theatre last night (Thursday, March 12th) during the Allman's annual epic, late-winter run in New York City -- this year the ABB is playing for 15 nights. Trey & Page sat in for some blistering takes on ABB classics Southbound and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, as well as the traditional, often-covered tune I Know You Rider. With Trey, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and Buddy Guy (who also sat in for a few tunes) all on stage together for Southbound, those in attendance witnessed four of the baddist-ass guitar players in the world tearing it up onstage. Here is a review of the musical magic from the Hidden Track blog at GlideMagazine.com

Again, don't forget to check back on Monday, March 16th to read my original article covering the 250 arrests and the alleged value of drugs seized in and around the Hampton Coliseum parking lot for Phish's reunion shows, March 6th, 7th and 8th 2009.

Phish Hampton Coliseum Videos, Setlists & Reviews for March 6, 7 & 8

Couldn't make Phish's reunion shows at the Hampton Coliseum last weekend (March 6, March 7 & March 8)? We have the next-best thing here at The Wagger. Well, close to the next best thing.

We scoured YouTube and compiled a list of some of the better video posts from all three shows, and posted links to each video on one page here so you don't have to search YouTube yourself. These are not complete versions of each song, but there are some song-length videos here. Nonetheless, this page serves as your gateway to live video footage from Phish's Hampton Coliseum reunion shows, March 6, 7 & 8, 2009.

Enjoy, and feel free to pass along links to this page to everyone you know who could not be there. Also, we have individual pages dedicated to each night of the Hampton run, complete with setlists and photos. You can find links to those pages over on the right. Have fun, and check back in at The Wagger for regular updates, including the most recent news stories, on everything Phish-related now that the boys are back.

The free MP3 soundboard recordings of each show are available at LivePhish.com
March 6
March 7
March 8

Or, download audience recordings of the shows to get a feel for what it sounded like standing inside the Hampton Coliseum at Mr. Minor's Phish Thoughts Blog.

Hampton Video Montage

FRIDAY, MARCH 6 (Mr. Minor's review)
Phan's post from outside The Mothership just before the doors opened
First Tube Video (complete song)
You Enjoy Myself (trampolines video)
YEM (vocal jam video)
Fluffhead (video)
Tweezer (video)
David Bowie (video)
Harry Hood (video)
Sample in a Jar (video)
Bouncin' Around the Room (video)
Stash (video)
Farmhouse (video -- shakey recording)
NICU (video -- excellent!!!)
I Didn't Know (video)
Backwards Down the Number Line (video)
The Squirming Coil (video)
Train Song (video)
Theme from the Bottom (video)
Grind (video)
Possum (video)
Chalk Dust Torture (video)
Oh Kee Pah Ceremony (video)
Suzy Greenberg (video)
Horn (video)
Rift (video)
Water in the Sky (video)
Loving Cup (video)
Waste (video)

SATURDAY, MARCH 7 (Mr. Minor's review)
Runaway Jim (video)
Mike's Song (video)
I am Hydrogen (video)
Weekapaug Groove (video)
Wolfman's Brother (video)
Run Like an Antelope (video -- complete song)
A Day in the Life (video)
Reba (video)
Punch You in the Eye (video)
Prince Caspian (video)
Limb by Limb (video)
Lawn Boy (video)

SUNDAY, MARCH 8 (Mr. Minor's review)
Sanity, Wilson (video)
Maze (video)
Frankenstein (video)
Twee-prise (video)

SETLISTS
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
SET ONE

Fluffhead, The Divided Sky, Chalk Dust Torture --> Sample in a Jar, Stash, I Didn't Know*, The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony --> Suzy Greenberg --> Farmhouse, NICU --> Horn, Rift, Train Song, Water in the Sky, The Squirming Coil, David Bowie

SET TWO

Backwards Down the Number Line, Tweezer --> Taste, Possum, Theme from the Bottom, First Tube --> Harry Hood, Waste, You Enjoy Myself**

ENCORE

Grind, Bouncin' Around the Room, Loving Cup

TIME OF SHOW: 4:20

*Fishman introduced as "Dad" before vaccum solo.
** Stopped and re-started, possibly a nod to Hampton Jan. 2003

SATURDAY, MARCH 7
SET ONE
Back on the Train, Runaway Jim, Brian & Robert, Split Open & Melt, Heavy Things*, Punch You in the Eye**, Gumbo, Reba#, Mexican Cousin, It's Ice*** Halley's Comet, Beauty of a Broken Heart ****, Guelah Papyrus*****, Lawn Boy, Run like an Antelope

Time of Set: 1:39

SET TWO
Rock'n'Roll^ --> Limb by Limb, Story of the Ghost --> Piper --> Birds of a Feather, Wolfman's Brother^^ --> Prince Caspian, Mike's Song --> I am Hydrogen --> Weekapaug Groove --> Character Zero

ENCORE
A Day in the Life^^^

# no whistling
*Phans did the wave; **HUGE screams from the crowd during the "Hey" part; *** VERY spacey middle section; **** On Page's solo album, first time played; ***** Trey & Mike dance
^Glowstick war; ^^ Chris Kuroda seen dancing at the lightboard; ^^^Trey & Fishman walked off arm-in-arm

SUNDAY, MARCH 8
SET ONE
Sanity, Wilson, Foam, Bathtub Gin, Undermind^, AC/DC Bag, My Friend My Friend, Scent of a Mule, All of These Dreams, Maze, She Thinks I Still Care*, Army of One, Tube, Cars Trucks Buses, Free, Frankenstein**

SET TWO
Down with Disease***, Seven Below, The Horse --> Silent in the Morning, Twist, 2001, The Moma Dance, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Slave to the Traffic Light

ENCORE
Contact, Bug, Twee-prise Reprise

*George Jones original, first time played, Mike sings; Page used strap-on keyboard; ***Phans threw roses onstage before song started
^First time played live by Phish -- previously performed by the Trey Anastasio Band

Phish Hampton Coliseum Setlist, March 8, 2009

Was it not everything you could possibly want?

HAMPTON COLISEUM, MARCH 8

SET ONE
Sanity, Wilson, Foam, Bathtub Gin, Undermind^, AC/DC Bag, My Friend My Friend, Scent of a Mule, All of These Dreams, Maze, She Thinks I Still Care*, Army of One, Tube, Cars Trucks Buses, Free, Frankenstein**

SET TWO
Down with Disease***, Seven Below, The Horse --> Silent in the Morning, Twist, 2001, The Moma Dance, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Slave to the Traffic Light

ENCORE
Contact, Bug, Twee-prise Reprise

*George Jones original, first time played, Mike sings; Page used strap-on keyboard; ***Phans threw roses onstage before song started
^First time played live by Phish -- previously performed by the Trey Anastasio Band

Photos & Videos
Photo One
Photo Two
Frankenstein
2004 Wallpaper
Photo Five
Outside The Mothership
Photo Seven
Sanity, Wilson (video)
Maze (video)
Frankenstein (video)
Twee-prise (video)

Phish Hampton Coliseum Setlist, March 7, 2009

It's a wrap. One more show tomorrow night, March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Vir. But you already know that!

HAMPTON COLISEUM, SAT. MARCH 7

SET ONE
Back on the Train, Runaway Jim, Brian & Robert, Split Open & Melt, Heavy Things*, Punch You in the Eye**, Gumbo, Reba#, Mexican Cousin, It's Ice*** Halley's Comet, Beauty of a Broken Heart ****, Guelah Papyrus*****, Lawn Boy, Run like an Antelope

Time of Set: 1:39

SET TWO
Rock'n'Roll^ --> Limb by Limb, Story of the Ghost --> Piper --> Birds of a Feather, Wolfman's Brother^^ --> Prince Caspian, Mike's Song --> I am Hydrogen --> Weekapaug Groove --> Character Zero

ENCORE
A Day in the Life^^^

# no whistling
*Phans did the wave; **HUGE screams from the crowd during the "Hey" part; *** VERY spacey middle section; **** On Page's solo album, first time played; ***** Trey & Mike dance
^Glowstick war; ^^ Chris Kuroda seen dancing at the lightboard; ^^^Trey & Fishman walked off arm-in-arm

Download March 7 show for free from LivePhish.com

Photos
Back on the Train
Outside the Mothership
Runaway Jim
Split Open & Melt
The Rhombus
Reba
Sample in a Jar video (last night)
YEM Trampolines (last night)
Divided Sky (last night)
Photo 7
Everything you could want in photos from tonight, March 7
March 6
Setbreak, March 7
Photo 11
Limb by Limb
Ghost
View from the Soundboard
Randomness
Piper
Photo 17
Mike's Song
I am Hydrogen
Grind (last night)
Runaway Jim (video)
Mike's Song (video)
I am Hydrogen (video)
Weekapaug Groove (video)
Wolfman's Brother (video)
Run Like an Antelope (video -- complete song)
A Day in the Life (video)
Reba (video)
Punch You in the Eye (video)
Prince Caspian (video)
Limb by Limb (video)
Lawn Boy (video)

Cops are out in full force, arresting 50 people today.

Here's a photo and another from Andy Gadiel just a few minutes before show time. Here's another one from last night. And here are a ton of cool photos and a review of last night's show from Jambase.com. And don't forget the great images from Phish.com's From the Road. More below.

Phish Hampton Coliseum Setlist, March 6, 2009

Whew! What a show! On paper it rivals Big Cypress, and I can say that cause I was there!

Here's a brief video of "the moment." And another of the quiet section in Divided Sky. But this is one awesome photo from the taper's perspective. More available on Phish.com here.

HAMPTON COLISEUM

SET ONE

Fluffhead, The Divided Sky, Chalk Dust Torture --> Sample in a Jar, Stash, I Didn't Know*, The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony --> Suzy Greenberg --> Farmhouse, NICU --> Horn, Rift, Train Song, Water in the Sky, The Squirming Coil, David Bowie

SET TWO

Backwards Down the Number Line, Tweezer --> Taste, Possum, Theme from the Bottom, First Tube --> Harry Hood, Waste, You Enjoy Myself**

ENCORE

Grind, Bouncin' Around the Room, Loving Cup

TIME OF SHOW: 4:20


*Fishman introduced as "Dad" before vaccum solo.
** Stopped and re-started, possibly a nod to Hampton Jan. 2003

Download the complete show for free at LivePhish.com

###

Phish.com threw up a new "From the Road" page, complete with high-res photos from the show.

Photos & Videos

Photo One
Photo Two
Photo Three
Photo Four
Photo Five
I Didn't Know
Photo Seven
Chalk Dust Torture
Photo Nine -- Showtime
Photo 10
First Tube
Photo 12
Photo 13
First Tube Video (complete song)
You Enjoy Myself (trampolines video)
YEM (vocal jam video)
Fluffhead (video)
Tweezer (video)
David Bowie (video)
Harry Hood (video)
Sample in a Jar (video)
Bouncin' Around the Room (video)
Stash (video)
Farmhouse (video -- shakey recording)
NICU (video -- excellent!!!)
I Didn't Know (video)
Backwards Down the Number Line (video)
The Squirming Coil (video)
Train Song (video)
Theme from the Bottom (video)
Grind (video)
Possum (video)
Chalk Dust Torture (video)
Oh Kee Pah Ceremony (video)
Suzy Greenberg (video)
Horn (video)
Rift (video)
Water in the Sky (video)
Loving Cup (video)
Waste (video)

Apparently, Shakedown Street got Shaken-down today in the Hampton lot.

And here is a decent rundown of the reunion. I love the guy who said his name is Rod Stewart.

Countdown to Phish at Hampton -- tonight's the night!

Well, well, well. The day we've all been waiting for is finally here. After 1,664 days in hibernation, Phish returns to the scene tonight at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia for the first of a three night run.

All hail The Mothership.

Developments this week leading up to the show include a rehearsal with a confirmed setlist; word that LivePhish.com will offer free MP3 downloads of each show within 24 hours of Phish walking off stage each night; a No Spoiler audience recording of the show will be available within a couple of hours of the last note being played each night; the band succedded in getting a federal judge to bar people from selling merchandise in the parking lot with their name or logo on it, but the judge will not allow workers to seize merchandise; Phish has plans to return to the studio next month with 20 new songs demoed for recording -- although it seems they only plan to perform "Backwards Down the Number Line" this weekend; and Phish plans a return to the Machine-Gun Trey mid-1990s era by spending a lot of time in rehearsal and focusing on many of their long, written out songs rather than short, simple diddys like many of the tunes that appeared on Undermind.

Oh, and the New York Times article says the boys are going with setlists this weekend. I wonder if they will deviate from it at all once things get hot and heavy?

And judging from these photos taken for the recent New York Times article, it appears Phish has returned to its original stage setup with Fishman's drum kit over on the far right-hand side of the stage.

Here is a story that just came out from the Associated Press, "Phish heads descend on Hampton."

This article spills the beans on how Hampton police plan to deal with traffic congestion. And according to this article at HamptonRoads.com, the city will deploy 113 officers and detectives in and around the coliseum. The Hampton force will be supported by nine outside agencies, including the Virginia State Police. Be careful out there. I hope no one comes this far with tickets in hand just to get rolled in the parking lot.

Mr. Minor posted this photo of last night's sunset at The Mothership.

Don't have tickets yet but you're in the Hampton Roads area? Why not link on over to StubHub and plop down as much as $4,500 for a three-night pass -- or $825 just for tonight? Just use that nest egg you've been saving; why invest in your future when the future is now!

It looks like Rolling Stone will have a presence in Hampton, and plans to post reports from the scene throughout the day.

This video of "It's Ice" from the Clifford Ball DVD should whet your whistle while you kill time waiting for the lights to go out, signaling the start of the show.

Apparently, Phish is going to allow the 11-and-under baseball team that planned to sell t-shirts in the lot this weekend in order to raise enough money to visit the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame to go ahead and hock their wares.

I'll add to this post as news items continue trickling in today.

Check back tonight as I will be updating the setlist in near-real time all weekend.

Phish Hampton Rehearsal Setlist & New York Times Story

This comes from a very reliable source -- friend who is working production inside the Hampton Coliseum. Apparently, Phish played a mock show for about 20 people, all working personnel, inside the Mothership today, and we have the exclusive setlist:

HAMPTON REHEARSAL
MARCH 4

SET ONE

46 Days --> Pebbles and Marbles, Down with Disease, Possum --> Carini, Taste, Seven Below --> Fast Enough for You

SET TWO

Mike's Song --> Harry Hood, Waste, Ya Mar, Chalkdust Torture, Stash

This was a full-on dress rehearsal with a light show included. Checking the International House of ZZYZX website, this is the first time Mike's Song has ever segued into Harry Hood. Nice!

Also, here is a great story in the New York Times about the Phish reunion, and in fact it mentions the Stash played at rehearsal. And here are the photos from the dress rehearsal at Hampton as taken by Jay Paul for the New York Times.

Apparently, they've gone back to their original stage setup with Fishman's drum kit over on the right. That's a nice little surprise!

Countdown to Phish at Hampton, Day 2

The big news of the day is that Phish plans to offer free MP3 downloads of the Hampton shows, available at LivePhish.com, within 24 hours of the end of each show. You can also purchase a FLAC version for $12.95 or order a CD for $23.

Of course, if you can't wait that long there is a "No Spoiler" audience recording being uploaded ASAP after the first show ends (thanks to Mr. Minor for taking the initiative). I'll probably download both, to tell you the truth. It'll be nice to have an audience and a soundboard recording of the festivities.

In an about face from the free downloads, the Phish camp has asked a federal judge in Norfolk, Vir. "to allow its workers to seize any unauthorized merchandise at its three Hampton Coliseum shows ... and at venues across the country," according to this article in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. No clear word on whether the band seeks to halt the sale of merchandise bearing its logo, name or both.

I wonder how that injunction will effect an 11-and-under baseball team from the Hampton Roads area that planned to sell t-shirts showing the famous image of the Hampton Coliseum with the words "Mothership" and "Phish Hampton Reunion March 6-8." Going by the lawsuit, since the name Phish appears on their shirts, Phish's workers would have the right to seize all 600 shirts the team printed up. The boys are just trying to raise enough money to get to Cooperstown and the Major League Baseball Hall-of-Fame. Let them play!!!

According to a recent post with photos at Hidden Track, Phish's stage setup has already been loaded into the Mothership, which seems to confirm my belief that they are rehearsing inside the venue this week (but that is a wild guess). There is also some construction going on, courtesy of Russ Bennett, who is responsible for much of the layout and design at previous Phish festivals, near the fountain in front of the coliseum, with speculation on what it may be. A mini-Mothership??

Also, here is an article published in the Tampa, Fla. edition of Creative Loafing magazine as part of its "Phish Saves America" series. Funny stuff and some video links posted as well.

And for those of you lucky enough to go to Hampton, here is a post from Jambands.com written by a local and Phish-head that details local establishments well-worth visiting, as well as suggestions for things to do outside of waiting around your room for the lots to open. Get out and get to know the area!

Count Down to Phish at Hampton, Day 4

We're entering the home stretch of the days leading up to Phish's reunion at the Hampton Coliseum. I've had my head down lately and haven't updated The Wagger, but this week marks the return to Total Coverage I've been waiting for ...

There's been a lot of chatter out there about the inherent problems with Ticketbastard, hotel reservations along The Hampton Strip, and various other gripes and grievances related to the Hampton run and Summer Tour 2009, so I won't go into them here. What I will focus on in the ensuing days is sharing some of me favorite tour memories -- good and bad -- posting links to the best entries from the vast wasteland of Phish-related blogs out there, as well as any relevant newspaper coverage.

To get the juices flowin' -- yours and mine -- here is a link to the complete unedited 1992 Phish Mtv interview, as posted over at Jamtopia.

Phish's "hometown" newspaper, the Burlington Free Press, ran an article on Sunday declaring Phish has returned but the scene has changed. I'm not sure how much the parking lot festivities will be different, but I know that I have changed since Summer Tour 2004 (my last show was Saratoga Springs, and we were blessed that day with a 40-or-so minute Piper --> Gotta Jibboo). It goes without saying everyone has been able to focus their efforts, especially financially, elsewhere since Phish stopped playing, I just hope this return to the stage doesn't bring with it hordes of people who are not there for the music at all. Wishful thinking???

Mr. Minor (always an entertaining read) has some information on his blog about where you can score a copy of each Hampton show as soon as possible. Apparently it's being done in such a way that, if you are patient and can stay off of PhantasyTour.com or other sites where the setlist will likely be posted in real time, you can download a "No Spoiler" copy of the show, without song names attached, and be as surprised as everyone lucky enough to be inside the MotherShip.

Good idea. I think I'll get onboard.