Guest Blogger on PHISH

First off, this summer Phish is going to be touring again. They have announced, sadly, that after this summer tour they do not have anything planned. That could mean that they are not going to tour, or that it will not be a big planned tour, but instead could be a couple of small runs in the fall and hopefully something for New Years. Getting back to the summer though, Phish just announced what is expected to be the first leg of the summer tour. They are kicking it off at Bethel Woods, a beautiful natural amphitheater that is a part of the site where Woodstock was held. I’m really looking forward to going here as it’s a new theater, and because it has so much history behind it, being the site of Woodstock and all. Another cool thing that Phish is doing for this tour is they are doing two-tiered pricing, that is that lawn seats will only be $45 and pavilion seats are $60, whereas in the past all tickets were the same price. Phish is doing a 3-night run at Bethel Woods, May 27-29, I hope to be lucky enough to attend 1-2 of these shows, maybe if I’m lucky I can go to all three. I’m looking forward to see this new venue and its natural amphitheater; all around the venue is green grass and trees so it should be a great place to be at that time as the weather will be great and all the plants will be blooming and it should just be a great overall time. Following these 3 nights Phish is coming even closer to home, they are going to be playing at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ for 2 nights, May 31 and June 1. I have been to this venue many times, my parents used to take my to see concerts when I was young. Specifically I remember sitting front row with my entire family here for a Steve Miller Band show, I vividly remember being able to see all the intricacies that go into a live show. This show I’m looking forward to from the standpoint of my familiarity with the venue, and it being a familiar area, but the venue itself is very strict. There is a state police barracks that is located very close to the venue, and they have many incidents with underage drinking there so this show will have a very strict lot policy. Although, we are lucky that this is one of the shows where tailgating will be allowed, they are opening the lots at 3:30 for this show; for some shows at PNC they do allow tailgating and others they don’t, it goes along with the particular bands policies that is playing that night. Following this 5 night run that I will hopefully be able to see most of, Phish is travelling to Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, back to NY (further upstate though), and then back to NJ. They will be back in NJ June 10 at the Susquehanna Bank Arts Center in Camden, NJ. I hope to go to this show as well.