This morning Phish announced 12 more summer tour dates which unlike the early Summer tour offers some welcome news for fans in the Mountain states and West coast.
Phish Tour Dates: Late Summer Tour 2009
Once again the band used a custom announcement video to break the news, this time featuring a Google Earth zoom into some farmland culminating in a large “09” painted on a field. Birds rages in the background of the video with tour dates superimposed on top.
Upon initial viewing, I thought this video was about 1/3 as cool as the other two announcement videos. But a post on The Butter Room changed my opinion drastically. Per The Butter Room, the video is a clue as to the whereabouts of an (as yet) unannounced end-of-summer Phish festival.
According to Rand & McNally over there — “doing a little research and utilizing Google’s Earth and Maps” — the festival will be on a small family-owned farm in Georgetown, Texas. Take a look at the embedded google map below to see the exact spot of the “09” in the video.
The Butter Room contacted Georgetown’s Public Information Office who did not confirm a Phish festival, but did indicate that “a touring band with a substantial following has indicated interest in using the location for a festival in late September.” Looks like our friends in the Lone Star State may be in for a little musical treat in September!
NOTE: The Phish festival in Texas is apparently not happening. See below for updates.
And of course speculation continues that Phish will kick off their Summer tour not at Jones Beach on June 4th but at Fenway Park on May 31st, following a two-night stand by (another Red Light act) Dave Matthews Band.
Update: March 18, 2009, 11:00 pm
Oh man where do I start. I guess most importantly, it's been brought to my attention that the blog post on The Butter Room was actually reposted from PT, immediately making it suspect. Shame on me for not checking my sources better, and shame on them for not citing their source in the first place. At the end of the day it seems more like a simple case of unusual location scouting than some sort of clue to a summer festival, which seems to be the prevailing thinking from pretty much everyone whose opinion I respect.
That said, many of these same respectable folk are telling me that Phish at Fenway is a lock, or as one terse but effective email put it, “Fenway is absolutely happening.”
Fenway or not, I'll still hold out hope for a festival. Not just because it'd be a blast, but because I'd much rather collect $10 from Scotty B than have to give him $10 :)
And in other news, for some inexplicable reason Ticketmaster was selling Red Rocks Phish tickets for a short period around 8 pm today. Apparently dozens of people were able to order 4 day passes to Red Rocks, and in some cases multiple. There seems to be a bit of confusion at Ticketmaster, where some reps are saying it was a mistake (in which case the orders could be canceled) and other reps are saying it was a planned “pre-sale.” If it wasn't a goof, or they otherwise decide to honor the orders, all I can say is well done early-birds.
Update: March 19, 2009, 9:00 am
One word says it all… canceled. That's right, Ticketmaster has canceled the premature Red Rocks ticket orders. Oh well. As the update on HT says, “it was fun while it lasted.”
Update: March 19, 2009, 2:00 pm
Phish released a statement about the Red Rocks ticket SNAFU on their site. Here's a summary: “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… they have cancelled all of these orders. We are in active dialogue with Ticketmaster to push them to address the inconvenience their error has caused.” And then my favorite part, “the high demand for the tickets on Phish's return has overwhelmed the prevailing ticketing systems and revealed their flaws.” Read the full statement.
For the people who had their orders canceled, there's a bit of a double-whammy. Frist, they go from elation to devastation in a matter hours. Then to top it off, Ticketmaster says they may take 4 to 6 days to refund the money which means some people won't be able to float a lottery order on their credit cards before the window closes on Sunday. Ouch.
Update: March 19, 2009, 5:00 pm
A just-posted Denver Post article contains a bit of authoritative info about the Phish Red Rocks Ticket guffaw. Apparently there 1,900 orders canceled following the accidental onsale. To make ammends, Ticketmaster will spend nearly $100,000 to offer a $50 Ticketmaster gift card to those who had their order canceled. Sounds like a nice peace offering to me.
Update: March 24, 2009, 4:00 pm
Luke Sacks over at Hidden Track has just posted an interview with David Butler, President of Ticketmaster North America about the Red Rocks Phish tickets. Butler described the incident as 100% human error, saying Ticketmaster is to blame exclusively. He also takes full credit for the idea of the $50 gift cards, fwiw.
Update: March 30, 2009, 4:30 pm
Ah man, leave it to FOX News to spoil all the fun. According to a recent news report from myFOXaustin (yes, that's really how they spell it out) there will be no Phish festival in Texas this summer. Apparently the promo video was created by the daughter of the farm's owner, John Fagot. Though the segment seems authoritative, Fagot did erroneously claim that the band posted a denial on their website. Maybe you can find it, but I sure couldn't. Either way, looks like I owe Scotty B $10.
Update: April 6, 2009
Game on. Phish Fenway is confirmed!
Update: July 24, 2009, 12:30 am
Well it's not in Texas and it's not during the summer, but today Phish officially announced details for their 2009 Halloween Festival, Phish Festival 8. Click the link for details including Festival 8 tickets and camping info.
Phish Tickets: Late Summer Tour 2009
Mailorder Phish Tickets / Phish Ticket Lottery
A limited number of Phish Late Summer Tour 2009 tickets are available directly through Phish Tickets' online ticketing system. The ticketing request period is currently underway and will end on Sunday, March 22 at 11:59 PM, EDT.
Update (March 22, 2009): The deadline to enter the Phish ticket lottery is now closed. Good luck to every who requested Phish tickets by mail!
Update (March 24, 2009): Music Today has started sending out confirmation and rejection emails for the late summer tour Phish ticket lottery. As with the early Summer your, there's an open thread on Hidden Track where you can brag, or complain, about your Phish lottery results. Congrats to everyone who had their orders filled.
Phish Tickets from LiveNation, Ticketmaster, Box Offices, etc.
Phish Late Summer Tour 2009 tickets go on sale to the public beginning Thursday, March 26th. See below for details on each show. Links for show details page will be added as they become available.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (7/30-8/2)
Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 26th at Noon Mountain time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com (Thursday 7/30 | Friday 7/31 | Saturday 8/01 | Sunday 8/02 | 4 Day Pass) or charge by phone 800.745.3000 or at TicketMaster outlets including select Macy’s stores, select FYE Stores, Cherry Creek Shopping Center Guest Services Desk, The official Visitors Center 1600 California St, Angelo’s CDs & More, and Twist & Shout.
Phish tickets for Red Rocks are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish Red Rocks tickets on Jamtopia.
Shoreline Amphitheatre (8/5)
Tickets go on sale to the public on Sunday, March 29th at Noon Pacific Time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.livenation.com or charge by phone 877.598.6659. Tickets can also be purchased at the venue box office from noon – 2pm on the on sale date.
Phish tickets for Shoreline are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish Shoreline tickets on Jamtopia.
Gorge Amphitheatre (8/7-8/8)
Tickets go on sale to the public on Sunday, March 29th at Noon Pacific Time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.livenation.com (Friday 8/7 | Saturday 8/8) or charge by phone 877.598.6659. Tickets can also be purchased at the venue box office from noon - 2pm on the on sale date.
Phish tickets for The Gorge are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish Gorge tickets on Jamtopia.
Chicago’s Toyota Park (8/11)
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, April 4th at Noon Central Time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 312.559.1212 or 800.745.3000 or 866.448.7849. Tickets can also be purchased at select TicketMaster outlets and at the venue box office.
Darien Lake Performing Arts Center (8/13)
Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, March 27th at 11:00am Eastern Time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.livenation.com or charge by phone 877.598.8694. Tickets can also be purchased at select Blockbuster outlets.
Phish tickets for Darien Lake are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish Darien Lake tickets on Jamtopia.
Hartford Meadows Music Theater (8/14)
Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, March 28th at Noon Eastern Time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.livenation.com or charge by phone 877.598.8689 or 877.598.8497. Tickets can also be purchased at select Blockbuster outlets. If any tickets are still available they can also be purchased at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford beginning March 30th.
Phish tickets for Hartford Meadows are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish Hartford Post tickets on Jamtopia.
Merriweather Post Pavilion (8/15)
Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, March 27th at 11:00am Eastern. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 800.551.7328. Tickets can also be purchased at select TicketMaster outlets and at the venue box office.
Phish tickets for Merriweather Post are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish Merriweather Post tickets on Jamtopia.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (8/16)
Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, March 27th at 1:00pm Eastern Time. Tickets can be purchased online at www.livenation.com or charge by phone 877.598.8694.
Phish tickets for SPAC are sold out. Search for secondary market Phish SPAC tickets on Jamtopia.
Phish Late Summer Tour Coverage Around the Web
- Summer 2009 Dates Added [Phish]
- Phish to Throw Summer Ending Festival in Georgetown, TX? [The Butter Room]
- Phish Fiasco: Ticketmaster Glitch Releases Red Rocks Passes Early, Then Cancels Orders [Rolling Stone]
- Phish phans taken for a hook [Denver Post]
looked at it again right now and only cali is yellow.. but im sure itll go back and forth for a while as they wanna f with our heads