thebreakfast.info
General Discussions => Tribal Funk Affliction => Topic started by: antbach on August 14, 2004, 10:49:45 am
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?If we?re worried about public health, I would probably be more concerned about the human waste I saw on the site,? Jamieson says, referring to the difficulties organizers had with servicing portable toilets due to the mud. ?To me, that would pose a greater public health risk.?
Right on. People **** everywhere at festivals, and everyone walks through it and lives. Nobody goes to a Phish festival to be in a healthy environment. Sometimes you just gotta go through some ****. Heck, a nice sludge bath would probably make half the people there cleaner.
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Ha Ha
What a g.d. mess
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http://www.sevendaysvt.com/-thisweek/col/localmatters.html
Phish or Foul
Last month?s farewell Phish shows in Coventry were plagued by torrential rains, treacherous mud bogs and a 25-mile traffic jam that turned Interstate 91 into a parking lot. As if the swan song for the Vermont-based jam band wasn?t already enough of a mess ? for organizers and fans alike ? it now appears that some concertgoers may have also been exposed to sewage sludge that was spread on the site just 10 months earlier.
About 66 acres of the 600-acre festival site at Newport State Airport were used for the disposal of municipal sludge from the city of Newport?s wastewater treatment plant, according to information provided by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Approximately 1.2 tons of sludge per acre were injected eight inches deep into the soil in a process known as ?biosolid application.?
Ordinarily, humans aren?t allowed onto sludge-treated fields for at least one year. The DEC first learned of the sludge last spring when the city of Newport and the festival organizer, Great Northeast Productions, contacted the agency. ?We consulted with appropriate state officials regarding this, and secured a permit from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources allowing us limited use of those areas during the event,? explains Great Northeast President Dave Werlin in a written statement to Seven Days. ?To the best of our knowledge, we were in full compliance with that permit at all times prior to and during the event.?
Christine Thompson, director of the DEC?s Wastewater Management Division, confirms that the DEC directed organizers to designate that area for day-use parking only. ?Otherwise, public access to that land was supposed to be restricted,? Thompson says. ?There was not supposed to be any camping or hanging around on that particular acreage.?
But two environmental groups that learned of the sludge aren?t convinced. ?We all know how festivals go, especially the Phish concert,? says Lindsey Hodel of the Montpelier-based Toxics Action Center. ?There was a lot of flooding and tents ended up being pitched on the day-use parking areas.?
Toxics Action Center and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the DEC seeking more data about what was spread and how much. Although sludge is not considered ?hazardous waste? by the state or federal government, both groups oppose biosolid application because sludge often contains high concentrations of human pathogens, heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins and other potentially toxic components. Those compounds can not only contaminate nearby wells and groundwater, both groups say, but can also pose a serious threat to human and animal health.
Exposure to class B biosolids, the most common form of municipal sludge and the kind spread in Coventry, has been linked to a host of health problems, including skin rashes, eye and respiratory-tract irritations, infections, gastrointestinal problems and flu-like symptoms. A 2002 report by the National Academy of Sciences notes that contact with sludge can even be lethal. In 1995, for example, two Pennsylvania youths died after contracting staph infections linked to a pathogen found in a sludge field near their homes.
Toxics Action Center and VPIRG are concerned that some fans may have camped or walked barefoot through sludge-treated fields. A medic who worked at the concerts, who asked to remain anonymous, reports that he treated ?thousands? of concertgoers with a wide range of foot injuries, including blisters, lacerations and the early stages of ?trench foot.? The medic expressed concern about the difficulty of keeping those wounds clean and dry in conditions that often included calf-deep mud.
The sludge spread at the Coventry site was heat-treated to kill some, though not all, of its pathogens, according to Cathy Jamieson, supervisor of the residuals management program at the DEC. Jamieson says class B sludge is routinely spread on fields that are used for growing crops.
?If we?re worried about public health, I would probably be more concerned about the human waste I saw on the site,? Jamieson says, referring to the difficulties organizers had with servicing portable toilets due to the mud. ?To me, that would pose a greater public health risk.?
An estimated 65,000 fans attended the August 14-15 shows by Phish, the four-man band that has attracted an international following often likened to that of the Grateful Dead. Fans routinely spent days camping and hanging around parking lots. But weeks of heavy rains in August made the Coventry site a veritable quagmire, resulting in the State Police setting up roadblocks and turning many fans away.
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by far and away the absolute worst sounding phish show ive ever heard...instead of going out in a blaze of glory,on a high note,they did the opposite and embarrased themselves.trey should be embarrased to show his face in front of phish fans...mikes grove opener was as sloppy as ever...wilson disgusting....trey seek help now!!!!!prescription drugs are #1 supposed to be prescribed to you,which i doubt trey needs oxycontin for any reason and #2 ive never read on a prescription bottle to crush up and sniff these pills..sorry to hear it trey!
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i havn\'t heard a recording of it yet, but having been there, second night ripped. mikes groove opener, nasty down with disease, an emotional wading in the velvet sea, piper,wilson. of course the main reason to get this show is the last show value and it really doesn\'t stack up well against older shows, or even earlier shows from this years summer tour. i still think this was a great show at times and despite treys **** things up i know i will enjoy having this show on disc.
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I listened to the show on the web and though there were a few moments worth of pure bliss, this show is only worth the "last show " value. IMO
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I know my above post seems to take into account the majority view that the end was coming for a while and that 08/15 was not a great Phish show to end their career. However, just seen on etree that the show is up to BT with 1000+ seeding or leeching. Is it really THAT bad a performance or is it worth downloading for the "last show" value? More to the point, has anyone here got it yet to comment on quality/performance.
Thanks in advance.
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You know, when I heard trey and co were calling it a day, I was a bit bummed I\'d never got the chance to see them. For me, they were THE band of the late 80s and I bought every album there was on import (even the weird and wondeful SIKET Disc and Trey\'s first solo album), paying double normal UK prices.
But then again, I started to lose interest in them just before the "hiatus". SOTG had some great moments, but Farmhouse was only Ok in parts - the writing was on the wall then for me, to the extent that when Round Room came out, I didn\'t bother to buy it. Also live shows from this last period never seemed to have the **** factor earlier shows had.
Found myself listening to the biscuits, sci and then, pb, rather than phish - in fact, I can\'t remember the last time I played a phish cd or show. However, Coventry hardly seems to be the way to go out - the weather was well beyond there control I know, but if Trey\'s playing was even worse than it has been of late, it seems from what everyone is saying, they did us all a favour by splitting up while we can still remember the great years.
Guess I\'ll have to wait for the reunion tours!!
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Originally posted by ChrisPitch
I feel that over the last five years Phish lived off its reputation and took for granted its ability and situation, for which any person in the creative arts would gladly trade their left brain.
Chris "Pitch" Piccirillo
Totally agree.
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Phish\'s final performance was unquestionably the worst three-set show I\'ve ever heard. It made the Great Woods and Camden shows that preceded it seem like comparative classics. I truly feel sorry for the "devoted fans" who missed Camden by skipping it (that\'s devotion, huh?) to get jump on Coventry, only to bear witness to a pedestrian set list and a zillion **** ups, virtually every one of them courtesy of Trey Anastasio, who apparently decided to get the jump on his solo career by completely isolating himself from Mike, Fish and Page during Sunday\'s show. If the goal of Trey and Phish in their decision to quit was to avoid becoming a "nostalgia act," then they were clearly one show too late in accomplishing said task.
By the end of the simulcast, I was thankful to have been spared the horror and boredom of viewing Phish\'s final notes in person. The Phish organization left a putrid taste in the mouth of me and thousands of other fans with their disregard for people\'s money, time, travel and effort; their lack of an apology or explanation about the traffic ordeal during the show; and of course, their lackluster performance. A band that has accomplished as much as Phish has deserved better for themselves in their swan song. The same could be said of their fans, who begged for a second encore, only to be left at the alter yet again.
I feel that over the last five years Phish lived off its reputation and took for granted its ability and situation, for which any person in the creative arts would gladly trade their left brain.
Chris "Pitch" Piccirillo
36 shows
10/23/96-8/12/03
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Tansley....I was wondering what your story was.....
Give us the straight dope kid......
Did you end up finding Finny, Jen, Jer......?????
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Danny Devito was there..he\'s a phan!
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SIDE NOTE: For some reason everyone there was convinced Dave Mathews Santana Willie Nelson Shania Twain and Danny Devito were all gonna be there.. Lots of people would ask me if i heard about the guests and every time i said \'who?\' everyone rattled off the same 5 names. i think the idiot dj on \'the bunny\' started the rumor or something. he was a real jack ass
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Glad you had fun in the mud Jon.
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Pretty emotional time in Coventry. Stressful, tiring, exciting and muddy. That place truly was destroyed by the rain before we got there. cars would drive in through the one entrance and sink right into mud.. had they planned for this it would have been better but theres only so much they could do i think. As for us..we jumped out of line after about 7hours of sitting on 91 getting stoned and drunk as possible and we went to a camp site (someones back yard) about 2 miles away, left our truck and hitchhiked into the venue. it was the best decision all weekend.
The music...deffinatley not the tightest or best we\'ve seen Phish, but isnt that why they\'re stopping. First day/night i think people were feeling so lucky to be there, including myself, that the quality of the songs didnt really get to me, until that awful Wedge or when Trey was talking about when he wrote Bowie to give phish a unique sound and then preceeded to hack it up. oh well. lots of things floating around about trey and his condition..i dont know if he really just doesnt give practice as much care or if hes just wrecked on stage and isnt playing the notes. Then you see them take off during Piper and you wonder how one could be doped up and still rippin like that..although Jerry did it for 30 years so i guess its possible. Either way, the people inside that place for the most part were all helpin each other out, gettin people out of the mud and feeling a part of something real special once it came down to that last set. And Ill admit right now i deffinatley choked up a bit when Page was streaming tears during Velvet Sea and they did the final extended bow. No band could ever do or replace what phish has in the mere 25 times or so i have seen them.
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enjoy!
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thanks :)
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Yep livephish.org Photos from VT
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Wow bummer. I just checked it out also. I got the link from livephish.org. Try there under the Photos from VT thread. Some really great pics of the site, first nite concert and lots of people shots. Sorry it does not work anymore from here.
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Originally posted by leith
From these pics it looks like it was all a hoax! There\'s mud yeah but looks like plenty of people made it and were having a friggin blast!
http://www.dotphoto.com/GuestViewImage.asp?AID=1714141&IID=54114148
Leith,
Tried checking out your link but it asked for a password and username.... ???
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Seth,
Why did you decide to get rid of all your Phish tapes? Something metaphorical to their ending? I hope you saved some of the good one\'s for me. Tell me if you want any music and I\'ll bring some to Dave + Lisa\'s house warming party.
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Originally posted by Stephengencs
The Brooklyn Curtain With WAS AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL....
I think there was just WAY TOO MUCH hype around this last show.
Even for one of the best rock and roll groups of all time ever....
Don\'t believe the hype!! uh huh
That 1st Brooklyn show kicked major ass. That show really helped me decide to let Vegas be my last in person Phish show and let Brooklyn be my last live Phish experience. I listened to most of last nite on the web as background music, well as much as I could handle as I thought they were just not very good. Everyone had moments but overall BLAH!
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The Brooklyn Curtain With WAS AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL....
I think there was just WAY TOO MUCH hype around this last show.
Even for one of the best rock and roll groups of all time ever....
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Bad jams are ENTIRELY subjective so a bad jam by any other name could be a great jam. When they busted the With out in Brooklyn I bet you were lovin\' it and not thinking what\'s this extranous rift jam? Then again you probably were or counting notes.LOL
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Regardless of the technical name of it, the point is that this particular moment of music did not sound good last night. I guess I prefer just plain "The Curtain" that ends suddenly at the top.
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yeah what Wah said!
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you tell em peck!!
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Originally posted by Wolfman
he couldn\'t even remember the chords to the jam so he went into some awful Rift jam and then did the unthinkable by stopping the band mid-jam and telling them, through the mic, to change keys.
fyi, that awful Rift jam is what makes it \'The Curtain With\'... it\'s part of the song.
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Ugh! Thought the show was mediocre at best. I will never be able to get Simple and Glide out of my mind....just a couple train wrecks of songs. Somebody should have told Trey to give it a rest after that 122nd line of coke.....
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From these pics it looks like it was all a hoax! There\'s mud yeah but looks like plenty of people made it and were having a friggin blast!
http://www.dotphoto.com/GuestViewImage.asp?AID=1714141&IID=54114148
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So I guess this is now the final show review thread... I\'m really tired but I want to get something down before I go to bed.
First of all, thanks to my heroes, Phish. The band and the people around the scene have been an absurdly huge impact on my life. I caught on and bought Junta in 1992 at the highly impressionable age of 11, and since then everything I listen to and most of the friends that I have are at least partly attributable to Phish pulling me out from the musical quagmires. It\'s been great!
Tonight\'s was a tale of two shows. I thought first and second set were top-notch. There were some throwback-style jams that smoothly went all over the place. First set kept picking up. Mikes>H2>Weekapaug was standard but good, Reba was a little bit better, Carini>Chalkdust was very good and then after a quick Possum came one of the best Wolfman\'s ever. (In my humble Wolfman opinion.) The jam went into several of those Phish-only jam areas, followed by a sweet and rare Page vs. Fishman jam. Trey and Mike were up to the challenge after this and performed an equally creative duet that could only have been played by people who have spent 21 years practicing together. Second set didn\'t let off at all. DWD had to be played and it was every bit as powerful as some of the \'94-\'96 DWD\'s that helped make the band famous. Tough to watch Page in Velvet Sea, but I had already briefly lost it way back during Weekapaug, so I was good for the rest of the night. Trey\'s guitar playing in Glide was an unfortunate foreshadowing of things to come, however. The loooong SOAM>Ghost was the highlight of the show, possibly the greatest post-hiatus Phish jam. It went up and down and in and out and was generally on point. Boy was I psyched to see what 3rd set had to bring...
... ... ... sigh ... ... I hate to do this right now so I\'m going to keep it brief. This was probably the worst set I\'ve ever seen or heard out of Phish. It started out decently, FEFY was fine and Seven Below had a very nice jam to make up for the early miscues. Then the train fell off the track an hour too early. I don\'t need to explain to anyone here how bad this was, when you hear it you\'ll know pretty quickly. I thought The Curtain was a fantastic and unexpected song to close with, but Trey obliterated it. Forget the hard parts, he couldn\'t even remember the chords to the jam so he went into some awful Rift jam and then did the unthinkable by stopping the band mid-jam and telling them, through the mic, to change keys. My god, just fade it out. I think Page, Mike, and Fish might wake up in a cold sweat from time to time for the rest of their lives thinking about this set. Oh well, I think I can be satisfied to remember only the first two sets from tonight and the 3,000 other great sets that came before. Thanks Phish! :)
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Figures you loved that goofy ass **** in Vegas considering the shape you were in ;) I\'m glad you\'re not covered in muddy **** also btw :D
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I am on Timmy Tour......and thank the good lord for that.
I got called a "mass-hole" tonight because some stupid chick from Utah said that the simple was "hot" and I told her it most certainly was "not".....
It was almost like watching a car accident happen right infront of you.
Page was ON FIRE the whole night however. He saved me from leaving halfway through the third set.
The Seven Below along with Fast Enough For You were the only highlights for me tonight...
I am so glad I am not dirty, smelly, and covered in ****, ****, and mud with a 15 mile walk and 8+ hour ride home right now....
good night you ser **** heads......
PS the I dug the crazy freaky Trey meatstick dance scene in vegas.....
Tonight he just earned himself a nomination for best actor in a motion picture.....
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Standby SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! But that **** was fuckin worth it! Phish @ their Best!!
War Big Cypress!!!
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oh, and another 13 hours at the airport on standby...
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leith, by the way - 18 hours, a missed flight, and 2 new $306 one-way plane tickets for me & lisa to get out of the lot at BC! :)
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Yeah listening to it halfheartedly on the net I was very glad I made the choice to both not even think abt going in the 1st place AND not going to the theater. Trey\'s action have been atrocious from his "dancing" in Vegas to this poor display tonight. Way to go out indeed. Trey=Dumbass! (Like Red says it)
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peck dont you know,"**** is a hulluva drug"rick james
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..and after seeing that train wreck of a show on the big screen tonight, i can now say without hesitation that we made the right choice.. props to page, mike, and fish for holding it down, as trey did just about everything he could to destroy the songs they played. seeing trey miss changes, licks, and lyrics because he was too busy rubbing his nose was absolutely disgusting, and it upsets me to have even seen it in the theatre.
just not the way you want to see your once-favorite band go out. i thought i\'d cry when it was over, but i wasn\'t sad in the least bit... *sigh*
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The more I read and hear it seems this time if you were determined to see the show no matter the consequences you did. I personally would never put myself through all the B.S. for Phish. A 14 hour wait in traffic for Big Cypress was it for me, but I applaud the initiative and guts it took to ignore common sense, band members, and State Police to see one\'s favorite band much less the high chance of getting sick,hurt etc. Phish got what it wanted for their last show and that was an audience ENTIRELY DEVOTED to them,MIND and SOUL. LOL Ego maniacs !! ;)
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My buddy I was suposed to go with turned around, got off the next exit south and took back roads in. He is camped in some farmer\'s field with about 300 other people about a mile away. Cost him $75 for the weekend and the guy is shuttling them back and forth....and giving them morning coffee and bagels. Seems the locals are really accomodating everyone the best they can.
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Hey I can understand not wanting to leave your car unprotected but EVERY Phish festival has had traffic problems. This is Fact. Combine this with the knowledge of weeks of rain, why would you even attempt the journey? Phish has no legal obligation to do anything but play the shows they announced and even that they really do not have to do. Rain or Shine policies have been in effect for over 2 decades. I agree that Trey\'s announcement **** a bunch of people but if there are people there enjoying the mud and music than as far as I\'m concerned Phish has done what they advertised. Refunds are common in situations such as this. Too bad the memories would have been worth more.
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Originally posted by leith
After all that grief and 60,000 in the show. Make up what to the fans? That is astonishing.
the numbers are so conflicting from all the different sources, who knows how many people are in there at this point?
the bottom line is anyone who followed the instructions of phish and/or state and local authorities is not at coventry right now. i was not opposed to walking miles to the show. i had no problem with getting there and not knowing where i\'d be sleeping, or getting soaked in the rain. i did have a problem leaving my $45k+ vehicle full of valuables on an interstate, and that\'s why i\'m not at the show right now.
it\'d been raining for weeks. something could have been done to prevent this.
i put mike\'s radio broadcast up for download HERE (http://www.pbfans.com/mike.mp3). - 4.5mb .mp3 file.
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After all that grief and 60,000 in the show. Make up what to the fans? That is astonishing.
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this is interesting...
COVENTRY, Vt. Some of them had to walk more than 15 miles to get there, but by last night, almost 70-thousand fans had made it to the Newport State Airport to see the band Phish play.
Fans abandoned their cars and started walking yesterday after police put up roadblocks. Heavy rains had made parking areas too muddy to take any more cars.
Ticket-holders were told they\'d get refunds if they were turned away.
But most of the fans that were headed for the band\'s final show this weekend were determined to make it -- and they did.
Police estimated last night that 60 to 68-thousand people packed into the concert grounds in Coventry.
More than two-thousand cars were left on Interstate 91. Fans might not have to walk back to them after the festival ends this evening -- police are talking about bringing in some buses.
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=2175730
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Originally posted by Stephengencs
Thr Bunny blew last year and blows now....
"why isn\'t it Friday today?"
Because it\'s SUNDAY bro!
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Thr Bunny blew last year and blows now....
"why isn\'t it Friday today?"
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Originally posted by leith
Just heard that Mike announced on "The Bunny" Coventry Radio this morning that this will not be the last shows due to the situation. I have been unable to get a confirmation just yet but sounds like due to having to close the gates and shutting out 10\'s of thousands most due to Trey telling everyone not to show until today they will make it up somehow. Can not wait to see what they come up with.
Originally posted by davepeck
we heard mike on the bunny this morning. he most certainly did not say that.
And there\'s my confirmation! Thank you Dave. I personally hope they just end it with these shows. They certainly have no obligation to "make up" anything to the fans. Weather can not be controlled,well unless you happen to be Grateful Dead. I can not count the many many times they seemed able to stave off inclement weather until the show was over. Vegas,Eugene, Phoenix,Sacramento the list goes on. Anyways let this horrible situation just enter Phish lore and be done with it already.
War Coventry mud fairies!
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the quote from Mike on The Bunny was that the band is "brainstorming ideas of a way to make this up to the fans". Okay, that\'s not the EXACT quote but is close enough.
And Wolf, you are exactly right, and I feel like an ass now for posting this, but the problem in Florida is much much bigger than this, I have family down there, and thankfully they did not get the big destructing part of the storm. May god bless the families and friends of those who got steam rolled.
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Originally posted by leith
Just heard that Mike announced on "The Bunny" Coventry Radio this morning that this will not be the last shows due to the situation.
we heard mike on the bunny this morning. he most certainly did not say that.
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Just heard that Mike announced on "The Bunny" Coventry Radio this morning that this will not be the last shows due to the situation. I have been unable to get a confirmation just yet but sounds like due to having to close the gates and shutting out 10\'s of thousands most due to Trey telling everyone not to show until today they will make it up somehow. Can not wait to see what they come up with.
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THAT would be a catastrophe of epic proportions. As for Coventry, the people there, other than being neck deep in mud are just fine.
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Originally posted by Wolfman
This is the doozie to end all doozies. The proportions of this doozie\'s epicness are incomprehensible to the mortal mind. On a scale of 1-10, the number is so high that I don\'t even know how to say it. (What comes after trillion...gazillion?) God save Coventry and everyone involved.
Of course, this doozie is merely miniscule minutiae compared to the doozie of devastating damage in Florida from the hurricane, so God save them too. Coventry is affecting people we actually know so we think of that first, but Florida is a much worse situation. Man, imagine if the Phish fest was being held in Big Cypress...
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Originally posted by weekapaug19
i\'m just thinkin about those fools who spent 400+ on ebay....who\'s gonna get that refund now???? My guess is the seller on ebay because that\'s where the credit card number came from
Holy cow, that\'s an interesting point! However, I don\'t think they will refund to the credit card numbers that ordered. They cannot refund everyone who bought with a credit card because many of them are actually in the show. They also cannot possibly refund everyone with a credit card number and everyone who mails in a ticket beacause they would end up refunding more tickets than actually exist. Therefore, they\'ll probably refund face value only to those who mail in tickets.
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If it wasn\'t the rain it would have been something else. Spending a weekend in the mud no matter who was playing is not really appealing to me in any way. I hope Phish sticks to their guns and this is it. If they play after this to "make up for the weather",that\'s Bull !! Rain or Shine ever hear of it? For those that made it great have fun in the mud. For those that got turned away bummer. Chances you take i guess. Weather Report for the NINE? Raining Beer!
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i\'m just thinkin about those fools who spent 400+ on ebay....who\'s gonna get that refund now???? My guess is the seller on ebay because that\'s where the credit card number came from
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Oh no, and Phish told everyone not to come until Saturday morning! Trey announced it at Camden Thursday night and it\'s been up on the website. Now they\'re really up **** creek. Oh no, oh no. Not only will refunds not placate anyone, but it\'s practically a slap in the face for those who:
1. Traveled hundreds or thousands of miles
2. Spent way more than $150 on the ticket
3. Were told by the band not to go until Saturday morning!
This is the doozie to end all doozies. The proportions of this doozie\'s epicness are incomprehensible to the mortal mind. On a scale of 1-10, the number is so high that I don\'t even know how to say it. (What comes after trillion...gazillion?) God save Coventry and everyone involved.
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:holyshit:
Coventry is ****! Oh no! Apparently fans are ditching the cars and walking. Here\'s another article posted 5 minutes ago.
Stymied By Mud, Police Turn Back Phish Fans
Roadblocks Up On I-91
POSTED: 11:12 am EDT August 14, 2004
UPDATED: 11:35 am EDT August 14, 2004
COVENTRY, Vt. -- With hundreds of cars stuck in the mud and more pouring in from many directions, Vermont State Police on Saturday started turning back traffic headed to the Phish festival, and telling ticketholders they would get refunds but no admittance.
Police erected a roadblock on Interstate 91 and other roads on Saturday morning and told fans headed to the two-day festival at the Newport State Airport to turn around.
"Because of the heavy rains, parking inside the festival site has basically become impossible, and they\'re concerned for peoples\' safety," said Adam Lewis, a spokesman for the concert promoter, Great Northeast Productions, said Saturday.
All ticket holders denied entry to the site will get their money back, the promoter said in a statement.
The promise of a refund was no comfort to fans stopped on Interstate 91 Saturday, many of whom abandoned their vehicles and headed out on foot for the concert site, about a dozen miles from the nearest exit.
"There is no way I am not going to try to get in," said Erika Sander of Blodgett, Oregon, who flew to Manchester, N.H., and rented a car to drive to the show. She left the car on the side of the road and started walking to the concert Saturday.
"There\'s no way I\'m going to be defeated," Sander said.
A law enforcement official who asked not to be named said tow trucks had been sent to the highway to remove the abandoned cars.
The Coventry Phish concert Saturday and Sunday is the band\'s last, and 70,000 people bought tickets to attend. Many thousands more were expected to show up without tickets.
By Friday, Interstate 91 was backed up for 15 miles with fans in cars trying to get to the site. Other roads were also clogged. Heavy rains Thursday and Friday turned the campgrounds into quagmires, and local residents with tractors were busy pulling stuck cars from the mud.
Police said they decided to stop concertgoers from arriving because the ground was too waterlogged for driving or for camping.
On Saturday morning the weather had turned fair, with sun and patches of blue sky. But more rain was expected Sunday as Hurricane Charley passed by to the south.
link: http://www.thewmurchannel.com/news/3654355/detail.html
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Will Phish, in all their infinite kindness and good vibes, launch Sympathy Tour 2004? Perhaps a Coventry ticket can be traded for any 3 tickets on the tour? WHAT DO THEY DO? Discuss!
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Wow A Phish festival that is actually having problems. They had such a great record of pulling these off. I guess God is pissed their breaking up huh?
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August 14, 2004 - Coventry, VT - As a direct result of the severe
weather conditions and serious flooding encountered over the past few days, the Vermont State Police and concert organizers, in the interest of public safety, have been forced to limit entry in to the COVENTRY festival this weekend. After exploring all possible options, Police and organizers have concluded that there is no conceivable way to park the remaining vehicles on or in the near vicinity of the concert site, due to the conditions of the grounds as a direct result of the persistent and torrential rains over the
past several days.
Effective immediately, all vehicles bound for the concert site not already off Interstate 91 will be turned around and denied entrance to the festival. In addition, roadblocks at additional points of entry have been set up and State Police will be ensuring that people can turn around in a safe and efficient manner.
All ticket holders denied entry to the site will be granted a full
refund. Ticket refunds will be refunded directly to credit card holders who have purchased tickets from Ticketmaster and from Phish\'s online ticketing system. Further details on refunds will be announced in the coming days.
While Phish deeply regrets having to take this action, it is necessary
to protect fans as well as residentsof the greater Coventry area.
WOW, have to say I am now glad that I was lazy and didn\'t get a ticket. Feel pretty bad for everyone who has to be turned down, especially the people who bought their tickets on eBay, have fun trying to get a refund. Hope everyone from this site made it in time. Anyone else think a riot or protest of some sort may ensue? I\'m thinking if people were to do something silly they would just stay parked on I-91, there aren\'t enough VT State Troopers to arrest them all. . .