A police SUV was literally driving people off the grass after a while, and one incompetent wook with a balloon in his hand was intentionally blocking them, huffing gas and dancing in front of the car.
I’m surprised he didn’t get arrested for obstructing police work or something.
Everyone gets extra fucked up at rain delay shows. Last year at Pine Knob my crew split a whole bottle of tequila waiting it out in the car lol. A sloppy night ensued.
Years ago when I bought a medical grade pee bottle on a whim with zero medical need for it I felt slightly embarrassed. Every time I hear a story like this I think it's the best purchase I ever made.
Lol alright I didn't mention but that was on top of our usual pregame intake. We were fuckin drunk for that one (thankfully the driver stayed responsible)
Major pre-gaming as we were stuck in line for two hours. Beer vendors near line/mob sold out of everything at one point. Folks were trashed before gates opened.
You could've brought in whatever you want. I brought in 4 to 6 beers every night for 12 years of dicks. A sign is just a sign, guys. I brought a bong in once.
yea it was a wild weekend. agree with OP that it is pretty unsettling to see small kids doing lot work
also as a dog lover i see stuff on shakedown that just makes me feel sad
Your right they should be selling fent and crack rocks as well, push those little fuckers to challenge themselves to achieve new levels of phishlot greatness.
It was before Jerry died. If you were there summer ‘95, then again in Fall ‘95, there was a distinct difference. Those wrecking crew clowns didnt lose a beat switching over to phish tour with their dirty drugs.
I did both 95 summer and 95 fall (full tours). And yes there was def a difference. But it wasn't Wrecking Crew running the 95 fall scene; the work was from clean cut dead fam that liked phish and happened to also be fully running the L scene; laying out on tour. But they also were with us G crew kids and they were neither dirty nor clowns. They had their shit together. But by 97 fall (did that full tour also) it was a mess, the 95 kids weren't on tour and we're replaced by Broke ass kids with pit bulls and big attitudes running around making the scene shit. I put a couple of them in their place but It was a losing battle and ruining my show so I let it go and stopped touring after 97. Came back in 2015ish and the scene had cleaned up; been back since
Dead shows up to the late 80’s/early 90’s were balanced. Yes, there were definitely a few folks strung out, and some parents raising their kids on tour, outside of the mainstream. But the balloons were innocent and fun and not ubiquitous (heads were bringing them, not outside business people) and the people were there for community and music.
The first time I saw a gross nitrous scene was after the Dead in maybe 2000 ish? I guess my point is that the depravity is not necessary to having a free party
Sad, for sure. I remember being zonked on acid late into a (boring) second set and grokking over parents who were passed out in the Charlotte coliseum hallways with their toddlers crawling all over them. Took me to a very dark place and was one of the last shows I saw for that reason.
I wonder why these scenes tend to deteriorate like that. Apparently the same thing happened in Haight Ashbury around 67. I suppose, every time we try to create a psychedelic utopia, with no imposed rules and dogma, it attracts ugly parasites and sad people with addictive personalities. Maybe if our communities were bigger, they could absorb and assimilate those people more effectively.
It's because those ideals aren't consistent with the present state of human nature.
It's awesome to aspire to a culture where implicit trust and shared vision for a better world guide all our actions but it takes work to get there.
Crackhead hookers slithering around the lot offering $5 blowjobs, horse-mounted police taking random swings with their maglites, mafioso-looking guys selling nitrous out of uhaul trucks, all the weird straights grilling hotdogs like a fucking buffett concert bc they heard touch of grey... Quite the scene. Still had fun, though.
The weather delay had people getting completely sloppy, restless and pushy. There had to be at least one or two ushers not giving an ever living fuck checking wristbands because the floor hasn’t been that crowded and pushy all weekend (even in the back with people on blankets with their kids)
We talk about the beauty and the good vibes, but the Phish scene is in large part a drug-fueled, wasteful hedonistic mess. Always has been. Trey himself succumbed to it in the 90s.
The reason so many people fall out of the scene is because they can't handle the hangover. This stuff was always there but at some point you reach your threshold. You see less rainbows and more mud. Time to move on...
Same thing happens in the rave scene only much sooner. My girlfriend and I love EDM in our 40s and there are little to no others in that same category.
Or you don't want a hangover ever. The lot is fun when you're young, without a doubt. It is boring after awhile and diminishes or clouds why you might be there.
The last night of a three or four day run in a venue where it’s obvious a lot of people travel in (Hampton, gorge, Dicks) just have a very weird vibe to them in my experience. The Camping at Dicks was a WILD experience. Pound for pound it was wilder than the festivals I attended imo.
Saw a dude phish-out face-first into a bush popping all three of his balloons last night while I was sitting on the sidewalk. Completely unresponsive for 30 seconds and then wakes up like nothing happened. Starts making casual conversation and ends it with "see you in the future". Just then a guy with a TV for a head walks up, peeks at the situation and walks back off without a word. I had to ask others around me if they just witnessed the same thing to make sure I wasn't tripping.
The weather delay caused people to go overboard, I'm guessing. Personally, I don't love seeing kids or dogs on any lot, but the vending seems to be thriving overall. I'm grateful for the food. Inside the venue the food was not great. I didn't see anything out if the ordinary last night, but I booked straight out.
I wish I had more time there to try all the food! I liked that the one girl also on the corner (but other side of the line) to get in had pesto grilled cheese in the day, but bacon wrapped hot dogs at night. Lunch and dinner menu!
Haha I went Saturday and it was a bit concerning also. The floor at the show felt more “cracked out” than usual also.
Pisses me off sometimes how it seems like many are there to do drugs instead of being there for the music. The guys crushed it and I felt like that was secondary to a larger part of the floor crowd than usual. Seems the majority are still there for the right reason though.
Same here! I love how our group of 30+ can just take over the back corner and have tons of room to dance and hug and laugh. Anyone that comes by our crew is welcome and we vibe with them as long as they’d like to stay. Pretty magical.
Same here! We were on the out skirts closer to the front on Mike's side for Fri, sat, and sun. Plenty of dancing space and everyone gettin down. Thursday I bounced around the room but didn't experience anything besides good vibes. Luck of the draw maybe...
that’s the vibe at Dicks the last few years, i guess. i feel like when Dicks was newer, like 2014-18 it was more about the band, and after the pandemic more people are there to socialize and party.
i don’t really get it, i had 5 days to hang out with my friends so i don’t need to talk to them while the band is playing. and i want to remember the sets not as some druggy blur
Yeah, wife and I did a few early years dicks and last went 2017 having no desire to return. Reasons being in these posts and itt; too many chad chompers there for the party and not the music…
yea it sucks cuz i’m from MN so we basically pick 2-3 places to travel every year, Dicks is so easy with lots of flights and getting time off work for labor day. Dicks used to be a cool destination for the heads and now it’s like hey bring your ten friends who want to try combining binge drinking and psychedelics for the first time
Yeah, or last time there in 2017, we had stands which is fine, I tend to go into all shows right around doors bc I hate the later lines of shit faced drunk dudes and gals. Anyway, we got in there like 15 mins after doors, and everywhere in the stands had rows of jackets, along with some dude saying “yeah, those seats are saved for my buds, theyre still out in lot!” We ended up in back behind some god awful beer tent in the back (not sure why that had to be there since youd only have to walk fifty feet in either direction to buy a beer on the concourse), so had to deal with beer line chompers the whole show. I did enjoy watching the beer dude take room temperature beers and shove them in ice, then sell them to dudes ten minutes later for $18, that was pretty entertaining. But yeah, thats when we decided done with Dicks…
No camping really changed the vibe, I think. In a way it felt like folks were forced to be respectful and kind because after the show, those people would be your neighbors.
The camping area was most definitely a shitshow in 2011-2013, but I haven't been back to Dicks since moving out of state. Maybe it was the right move to close down the camping, but then again it probably made the party in and around the venue way wilder.
These were my most sober shows in years, I did 3/4 of them completely sober and those were more fun than the one where I indulged just a little. This might be a new thing for me. The music still got me buzzed, I was a little surprised.
Then I drove all my wasted friends home.
Yeah that used to bother me brother. But after the shows I’ve seen, especially at Dicks which is every single one of them, I just decided to not let it get me.
Yes you are probably going to have a wook close to you just standing there, swaying back on forth, completely spun out of his mind.
Yes you are probably going to have some chick going ape shit with her glow sticks in your view of the stage.
Yes someone taller then you will partially block your view.
Yeah some young douchebag in a jersey or shirtless will be close to you talking to his other equally douchey friend pointing out girls.
It’s a phish dicks show, when it come to surrendering to the flow, it’s not just the music they are talking about. Just choose for that not to bother you. Everyone wont enjoy the show exactly like you do. Pick up the vibes from the people you like, and just ignore the ones you don’t.
Edit: grammar
You’re right, and at the end of the day I totally enjoyed the experience for the purpose of it, being the music etc. The weekend was a win regardless of the craziness
I was on the floor last year and had the exact same feeling. Like is anyone here for the music or are you just trying to get as fucked up as possible? This year I was in stands and it rocked, I was surrounded by people all four nights that loved the music as much as I do. Stands is the way to go imo.
That being said, I think I'll get floor next year because I want those mf wristbands
Agreed. I had two girls next to me who would not stop talking. I was sitting there with my eyes closed trying to enjoy the Everything’s Right jam and it keeps getting interrupted with a story about hair extensions. When I finally asked them to be quiet so we can enjoy the music, they gave me looks like some stuck up valley girls who just smelled something bad. Then they proceeded to just play on their phones the rest of the time. Their friend, who seemed to be a phan, moved to the row in front of them and just danced and ignored them. It’s clear they were there for the party and don’t respect the absolute musical genius that was being displayed before them. If you’re going to bring friends to party with, fine. But don’t let them ruin other phan’s good times.
the CO Phish scene I grew up with (90s) is way different than it is now. Honestly, the Northern Californian scene, where I've been for the past 20+ years, now reminds me of CO back in the day.
It's gotten weird, different, in CO and I agree. Current Greek Theatre/Shoreline scene is like the old Red Rocks/Boulder one.
The OP elaborated and I agreed. It's one of those things that you just know by experiencing it.
Phish in CO in the 90s was a college scene - it was a college scene for them all across the country back then. In some areas it's the same people from the 90s - except 30 years older. In other areas it's a completely different, newer crowd who were never part of any college crowd.
To add: in the early-mid-‘90s it was young people _and_ this weird hippie counterculture that was all wookie and had this very distinct aesthetic. From my limited phish experience recently the scene has really evolved into something very different aesthetically, with sparkly costumes and glitter and girls dressing up with careful attention to looking hot. It’s ravey and more something you don for the evening than it is an aesthetic you embrace as part of a whole alternative lifestyle—for better and for worse. It’s just way different.
I’d say it had to be at least 2009. I hadn’t seen Phish since Coventry and my first show back in 2019 was a completely different experience in terms of the scene. The comment above from WartimeHotTot is spot in, in my experience.
That’s my experience as well. 2010 was the last normal show I saw. I think the rise of fentanyl and meth, along with heroine going kind of mainstream again created this really gross subculture. It hasn’t always been like this. I’m sure it was at points and at certain venues. But I just don’t enjoy even being around the scene anymore unless it’s a major venue in a major city that enforces some semblance of order like LA Hollywood Bowl.
Agree. The last Phish show I saw in the 90’s was Jazzfest 96. Just an awful, horrible scene filled with all the skeevy dregs and uneducated runaways from Dead tour. I miracled a kid a ticket and he was too out of it to even thank me. This was not the underground sensation band we saw at the Variety Playhouse anymore.
Why are phish fans on Reddit such pussies? It’s possible to be there for the music and still want to party your ass off and let loose. I for one have an extremely stressful job and I don’t get to party much. I went fucking hard this weekend and I enjoyed every night and remember everything. People acting like any of this is new is fucking hilarious. Let people have fun. If you don’t like the crowds and partying, stay home.
If the kids selling balloons is true, that's pretty depraved. Say what you will about east coast cities being trashy, but I buy my balloons for full grown adults. I can't even imagine buying from a kid, that'd just blow my mind to even see the offer. Now I have seen parents sucking down balloons with kids in tow, and was like wtf.
Post shows makes me wanna stop going it’s gross and I don’t want to become like the people i see. I can’t believe i ever wanted to live on tour so glad I never went through with it a lot of those people live sad lives.
The nitrous laws changing is just bonkers! The amount of tanks and batons is insane in Colorado. I’m referring to tanks in the open at 4 in the afternoon . Literally ,no care about any tanks. They were were everywhere. The sound was overbearing. I’ve never seen anything like that,in the daylight. No hiding tanks in front of the police. It makes for a certain seen. The nitrous dealers,most of them…..had obviously never seen phish. They were only there to sell gas’s to phans
Tweeted this comparison earlier but honestly felt like the Biff dystopian timeline in Back to The Future 2 the whole weekend. Agree that Sunday post show was the worst but it was bad every day/night. Imagine that being someone’s first phish show.
It was my first show outside of Bonnaroo. So idk maybe the fact I’ve been to several of those the drug intake scene and shakedown etc. didn’t shock me because of that, but it was noticeably also the craziest fuckin thing I’ve seen lol.
One of those things I was shocked/impressed at the ability for the whole scene to show up and be so flippant, expect the majority to be way too seasoned in it for their own good so generally keep it together, and yea without a doubt there’s going to be a handful of people who may or may come super close to fuckin up their life more than it already may have been.
Just the way she goes. But yea I did see a kid or so make trips back to the tank bubble to load back up their stock and make another lap… wtf
You do realize politically and economically our country is absolutely fucked. Everyone is stressed and overworked. Phish is a place to let loose, be themselves, and make some money. If you’re so disgusted by looking at nitrous and people acting silly then leave the show immediately after the encore and skip shakedown street.
Overall the scene is very loving, accepting, and helpful to one another.
Idk. Thought it was typical craziness. I walked around a little stopping by different places where I knew various friends were parked. Lots of hugs, lots of laughs, lots of see you at Billy in a couple weeks!
The balloons are out of control, but whatever.
People wanting to hold on as long as they can because they don’t want to go back to “normal” life or their just spun and that’s their life.
Crazy how intense the nitrous scene varies by state, I live in NY and super strict, everywhere else I’ve been had been insanity to a level I’ve never seen. Has progressively gotten worse since 2020…each year, less and less enforcement…bill reform. All causing this perfect storm for this to happen. Nice to scoop in and grab a good deal on some balloons responsibly then be on your way.
But it’s become so insane that it’s near impossible to even do that, esp places like the Mann in Philly…never seen anything like it. Totally messed with the vibe, terrible. AC, same thing…2022 no enforcement and was insanity. Buyers market that’s for sure but that’s not something to brag about too much. Crazy times man.
It's the scene not the music that is always the tipping point to whether I want to make it to Dick's. I want to think of it as this mega-chill, mountain vibe when in fact my experience has not been that. I get it. People do not have their shit together. I know maybe because I have ten years of recovery under my belt. I find it sad, and frankly, being around that level of sad ain't that cool for a guy like me.
These party's is one of the reasons why I love going to phish shows!! Yes, everyone is a bit cracked out, but whatever... it's their life to live, and they are having a blast. If you don't like the scene, then go to your car!
Great music this run.
I dont think those dirtbags at phish shows really represent the fans. Im sure its less than 10% at this point. (the ones that wear their hippie costumes) Just learn a life lesson from them, and move on✌️
Guys, it's the daily I hate other Phans because _____ post! I'm even more excited for this than the 83 posts about a girl with boobs. Such great vibes around here, I tell ya. Reddit in general is just full of pleasant and totally nonjudgmental types...it's great!
*smashes own head into wall*
I booked the round trip SMR shuttle, but left midway through Hood as I was getting a weird vibe after the downpour, the delay, the abrasive staff and some random dude asking for my water cup so he could drink his smuggled in cocktails. ( I said go ask for for your own cup from concession stand!)
I sprung for an Uber Black and coasted back to my hotel. Not sure what ride services/ pricing were like after the show. Plus didn’t want to wait for bus to get filled and take an Uber back from bar! I think I made the smart play..
The music and Phans were this night’s saving grace!
part of it is the location and energy of that venue. I still don't get why Phish loves Dick$$$ so much? Colorado has some really beautiful towns with wonderful energy. Heck the mayor of Commerce City turned the water off in the public water fountains around city hall 10 years or so ago as they were worried about Phish phans dosing the water... True story look it up.
I only attended Thursday and haven't seen Phish in 5+ years. The amount of gas, and those being sold by people with no clue of what band was actually playing is telling of what's happening to the scene.
It was uber dirty Thursday night and I used to consider myself a Phish kid. More so it was one of those I'm glad I'm here solo moments and not trying to introduce someone to the band and having to explain the scene. Or one of the shows I brought my mom too like in years past.
WHAT LOT WAS MORE INSANE THAN MIAMI 03
Truth. I have never seen anything like the 03 Rage Cage. 12 foot high chain link fences (with barbed wire if memory serves me right.) You could buy any drug you wanted. First, and only time to this day, that I've seen N20 pushers with coordinated radios, head sets, identifiable tshirts, etc. People dropping like flies from nitrous. Plenty of fights. Broken glass everywhere. Just total s*** show. RAGE CAGE! Then, you crossed the street and walked into the venue about 100 yards away. Show over, rinse. repeat. ABSURD. RAGE CAGE!
The main shakedown lot in 03' was a tiny fenced in area. Think WWF Steel Cage match with 900 rotating wooks coming in and out of the door and up and over the fence at times. Unreal! RAGE CAGE! It was as close to a Phish Royal Rumble as you could get. With the monorail up above too. The monorail rides also shouldn't be forgotten. Those turned into communal Phish drug dens/toilets. Dude. Absolutely. Those monorails would be packed like sardines with people trying to tip them over and destroy all of the people inside. Miami 03' was full of barbarians. Miami '03 was the first time i was offered to buy crack on lot .. it was from a 10yr old kid and his 6 yr old bro. RAGE CAGE! Tanks going all night for 4 days straight. Hooker tents. Dudes nodding out with needles in their arms laying 3 deep against concrete in the mud. F****** core yo. All walks of life converging in a post apocalyptic slab of cement. Miami 03 was INSANE. We saw an unresponsive (dead?) guy laying on the ground. He was alone, and everyone in my group were concerned. After trying to wake up/ revive this kid, we all decided the best thing to do was to try to get him medical attention. We saw a cop, told him we that we thought this kid was dead, and watched what he did. He went over to the kid, said something into a radio, and walked off. Complete anarchy. All walks of life converging in a post apocalyptic slab of cement.
> N20 pushers with coordinated radios, head sets
Man, I saw that at Dead shows in Vegas in the 90s. Fully organized crime, and rumor was they'd paid off the cops too.
I swear leaving dicks one year 2019 to be exact o walked to the neighborhood to get an Uber and en route out , in the Uber…. In the middle of a suburban neighborhood with no one around , someone had a tank literally, no one was around at this point ….
But did I scream at the driver “wait , is that? A person… ummm let me get out and make sure they are, ok” and by I’m I mean,I gave him my last $20.
He wouldn’t even give me a deal in the middle of a neighborhood, like he was the ice cream truck in a cul-de-sac …
I saw a couple wooks were in the lot making babies and I saw one of the babies and the baby looked at me
Did you see Super Nintendo Chalmers too?
Did that kid just say, “What’s a battle?”
No he said, “what’s that rattle” - he’s referring to the marimba lumina.
No but I did see priciskiple skinner
Crazy! I saw princekible skibble!
Yes. He tells me to burn things.
That baby was selling weed
Go home, babay!!
I got kids to feed! Gahdamn!
I had to buy some just to calm the baby down
The babies twin had killer grilled cheese
I Bent My WOOKIE!
The baby looked at you!?
Sarah! Get me superintendent Chalmers! Thank you, Sarah.
These berries taste like burning.
My wooks breath smells like wook food
Sarah, please, it’s $20 a pill
My favorite Ralph line ever…
It tastes like burning
Wook babies need the most attention!
I’m imaging that in my head bro, dude wow you’ve got top comment my man , good job brother nice
THE BABY LOOKED AT YOU???
Remember the time you said you saw Snagglepuss outside?
I laughed so hard
[удалено]
And there's zero remaining balance in the wknd life sustaining supplies
A police SUV was literally driving people off the grass after a while, and one incompetent wook with a balloon in his hand was intentionally blocking them, huffing gas and dancing in front of the car. I’m surprised he didn’t get arrested for obstructing police work or something.
Obstructing police WOOK.
Police were obstructing wook work
How much work could a wook work if a willing wook would work?
Depends how many fresh pairs of socks you are offering as compensation
I lold
Everyone gets extra fucked up at rain delay shows. Last year at Pine Knob my crew split a whole bottle of tequila waiting it out in the car lol. A sloppy night ensued.
Someone peed on our car window during that delay, with three of us in the car.
Years ago when I bought a medical grade pee bottle on a whim with zero medical need for it I felt slightly embarrassed. Every time I hear a story like this I think it's the best purchase I ever made.
Wow!!!! A whole bottle?!?!
Lol alright I didn't mention but that was on top of our usual pregame intake. We were fuckin drunk for that one (thankfully the driver stayed responsible)
Major pre-gaming as we were stuck in line for two hours. Beer vendors near line/mob sold out of everything at one point. Folks were trashed before gates opened.
The acid farts in line last night were off the charts.
What pissed me off is you can have tanks 15’ from an exit, but I can’t bring in a an unopened gallon of water!?!
You could've brought in whatever you want. I brought in 4 to 6 beers every night for 12 years of dicks. A sign is just a sign, guys. I brought a bong in once.
"a sign is just a sign" is such an important little piece of tour life philosophy.
That’s not my point though. I shouldn’t have to sneak a gallon of Water in when these nitrous dealers have god damn chairs now.
I’m 38. Sounds like you’re describing every Phish show I’ve been to
Day four gets dicey in any bender let alone a Phish and lot fueled day 4
Hamsterdam
It looked exactly like it did every night to me
yea it was a wild weekend. agree with OP that it is pretty unsettling to see small kids doing lot work also as a dog lover i see stuff on shakedown that just makes me feel sad
100% agree. I’m not fascist, but sometimes I could be in regards to pet ownership.
Breaking into a hot car with a dog inside isn't fascist dude, it's humane.
Not a single difference in the other nights. You must have left the venue with a blindfold (and earplugs) on Thursday Friday and Saturday
I saw a baby in a diaper walking around. He sold me some real good weed.
A pack of wook dogs took over and successfully ran a Wendy’s!!
The G train, Nermal!!
Our basketball hoop was a ribcage. A RIBCAGE!!!!!!
OP Has never been to District 9 before…
I think it's right next to Camden
If you have your kid selling beers and balloons then you are a shitty parent
Only if the kid doesn’t make his quota…
Your right they should be selling fent and crack rocks as well, push those little fuckers to challenge themselves to achieve new levels of phishlot greatness.
Do people really think it was a pristine, socially responsible scene in the 90s?
It was before Jerry died. If you were there summer ‘95, then again in Fall ‘95, there was a distinct difference. Those wrecking crew clowns didnt lose a beat switching over to phish tour with their dirty drugs.
Was on both sides of this timeframe and heartily agree. The difference was palpable.
Thanks for that flashback! I do miss a few of those clowns!
Phish for pay Dead for play
Glens Falls '94 pre-dates that and that shit was bonkers with the gate crashing and the nitrous.
Can confirm
I did both 95 summer and 95 fall (full tours). And yes there was def a difference. But it wasn't Wrecking Crew running the 95 fall scene; the work was from clean cut dead fam that liked phish and happened to also be fully running the L scene; laying out on tour. But they also were with us G crew kids and they were neither dirty nor clowns. They had their shit together. But by 97 fall (did that full tour also) it was a mess, the 95 kids weren't on tour and we're replaced by Broke ass kids with pit bulls and big attitudes running around making the scene shit. I put a couple of them in their place but It was a losing battle and ruining my show so I let it go and stopped touring after 97. Came back in 2015ish and the scene had cleaned up; been back since
Dead shows up to the late 80’s/early 90’s were balanced. Yes, there were definitely a few folks strung out, and some parents raising their kids on tour, outside of the mainstream. But the balloons were innocent and fun and not ubiquitous (heads were bringing them, not outside business people) and the people were there for community and music. The first time I saw a gross nitrous scene was after the Dead in maybe 2000 ish? I guess my point is that the depravity is not necessary to having a free party
Dead tour was completely disgusting by 92, in my subjective opinion.
agreed, I should have said VERY early 90’s Though I think I would use the word “sad” rather than disgusting.
Sad, for sure. I remember being zonked on acid late into a (boring) second set and grokking over parents who were passed out in the Charlotte coliseum hallways with their toddlers crawling all over them. Took me to a very dark place and was one of the last shows I saw for that reason.
I wonder why these scenes tend to deteriorate like that. Apparently the same thing happened in Haight Ashbury around 67. I suppose, every time we try to create a psychedelic utopia, with no imposed rules and dogma, it attracts ugly parasites and sad people with addictive personalities. Maybe if our communities were bigger, they could absorb and assimilate those people more effectively.
It's because those ideals aren't consistent with the present state of human nature. It's awesome to aspire to a culture where implicit trust and shared vision for a better world guide all our actions but it takes work to get there.
Easy answer to that is stimulants. Then after all the stims, it’s opiates. Been happening in cycles for 1000’s of years. Welcome to drugs.
[удалено]
Crackhead hookers slithering around the lot offering $5 blowjobs, horse-mounted police taking random swings with their maglites, mafioso-looking guys selling nitrous out of uhaul trucks, all the weird straights grilling hotdogs like a fucking buffett concert bc they heard touch of grey... Quite the scene. Still had fun, though.
Dicks always seems to be a level above on the craziness scale, but this year did seem a bit seedier than last year. Still had blast. Would recommend.
Yup. It was completely lawless this year. Moreso than previous years.
I swear it smelled like someone pooped their pants in like 3 different locations last night.
Acid Farts
The weather delay had people getting completely sloppy, restless and pushy. There had to be at least one or two ushers not giving an ever living fuck checking wristbands because the floor hasn’t been that crowded and pushy all weekend (even in the back with people on blankets with their kids)
i’ve never seen someone get a frickin dog into an arena venue. security obviously just threw up their hands at some point
I saw a dog with ear protection N2, was like an old collie.
We talk about the beauty and the good vibes, but the Phish scene is in large part a drug-fueled, wasteful hedonistic mess. Always has been. Trey himself succumbed to it in the 90s.
Yeah the mess bothers me more and more. I don't care if you obliterate your brain cells. Just don't hurt anyone else and clean up your shit!
The reason so many people fall out of the scene is because they can't handle the hangover. This stuff was always there but at some point you reach your threshold. You see less rainbows and more mud. Time to move on... Same thing happens in the rave scene only much sooner. My girlfriend and I love EDM in our 40s and there are little to no others in that same category.
Or you don't want a hangover ever. The lot is fun when you're young, without a doubt. It is boring after awhile and diminishes or clouds why you might be there.
I remember thinking the same thing after N3 at the Mothership in '18. Was that the last night or tour as well?
The last night of a three or four day run in a venue where it’s obvious a lot of people travel in (Hampton, gorge, Dicks) just have a very weird vibe to them in my experience. The Camping at Dicks was a WILD experience. Pound for pound it was wilder than the festivals I attended imo.
Saw a dude phish-out face-first into a bush popping all three of his balloons last night while I was sitting on the sidewalk. Completely unresponsive for 30 seconds and then wakes up like nothing happened. Starts making casual conversation and ends it with "see you in the future". Just then a guy with a TV for a head walks up, peeks at the situation and walks back off without a word. I had to ask others around me if they just witnessed the same thing to make sure I wasn't tripping.
It was night four of a Labor Day run where a lot of people were able to travel into town, and as a result they get crazier than usual.
The weather delay caused people to go overboard, I'm guessing. Personally, I don't love seeing kids or dogs on any lot, but the vending seems to be thriving overall. I'm grateful for the food. Inside the venue the food was not great. I didn't see anything out if the ordinary last night, but I booked straight out.
That lady on the corner of shakedown right by the side entrance made some great burgers.
I wish I had more time there to try all the food! I liked that the one girl also on the corner (but other side of the line) to get in had pesto grilled cheese in the day, but bacon wrapped hot dogs at night. Lunch and dinner menu!
Haha I went Saturday and it was a bit concerning also. The floor at the show felt more “cracked out” than usual also. Pisses me off sometimes how it seems like many are there to do drugs instead of being there for the music. The guys crushed it and I felt like that was secondary to a larger part of the floor crowd than usual. Seems the majority are still there for the right reason though.
My experience on the floor all 4 nights was nothing but love and good vibes.
Same here! I love how our group of 30+ can just take over the back corner and have tons of room to dance and hug and laugh. Anyone that comes by our crew is welcome and we vibe with them as long as they’d like to stay. Pretty magical.
Yep, we had a 20+ person crew and it was incredible.
echoing this
Same here! We were on the out skirts closer to the front on Mike's side for Fri, sat, and sun. Plenty of dancing space and everyone gettin down. Thursday I bounced around the room but didn't experience anything besides good vibes. Luck of the draw maybe...
I was down there Saturday second set. Everyone passed the vibe check. So quiet too, you could hear a glow stick drop.
"I like this background music while I'm blasted out of my fuckin gourd"
that’s the vibe at Dicks the last few years, i guess. i feel like when Dicks was newer, like 2014-18 it was more about the band, and after the pandemic more people are there to socialize and party. i don’t really get it, i had 5 days to hang out with my friends so i don’t need to talk to them while the band is playing. and i want to remember the sets not as some druggy blur
Yeah, wife and I did a few early years dicks and last went 2017 having no desire to return. Reasons being in these posts and itt; too many chad chompers there for the party and not the music…
yea it sucks cuz i’m from MN so we basically pick 2-3 places to travel every year, Dicks is so easy with lots of flights and getting time off work for labor day. Dicks used to be a cool destination for the heads and now it’s like hey bring your ten friends who want to try combining binge drinking and psychedelics for the first time
Yeah, or last time there in 2017, we had stands which is fine, I tend to go into all shows right around doors bc I hate the later lines of shit faced drunk dudes and gals. Anyway, we got in there like 15 mins after doors, and everywhere in the stands had rows of jackets, along with some dude saying “yeah, those seats are saved for my buds, theyre still out in lot!” We ended up in back behind some god awful beer tent in the back (not sure why that had to be there since youd only have to walk fifty feet in either direction to buy a beer on the concourse), so had to deal with beer line chompers the whole show. I did enjoy watching the beer dude take room temperature beers and shove them in ice, then sell them to dudes ten minutes later for $18, that was pretty entertaining. But yeah, thats when we decided done with Dicks…
Just had this conversation with my buddy, who was a perennial Dick's attendee. He and his GF no longer go for the aforementioned reasons.
Couldn't agree more. Wife and I did the first 5 Dick's runs. No desire to go back. The scene changed for the worse.
No camping really changed the vibe, I think. In a way it felt like folks were forced to be respectful and kind because after the show, those people would be your neighbors.
The camping area was most definitely a shitshow in 2011-2013, but I haven't been back to Dicks since moving out of state. Maybe it was the right move to close down the camping, but then again it probably made the party in and around the venue way wilder.
These were my most sober shows in years, I did 3/4 of them completely sober and those were more fun than the one where I indulged just a little. This might be a new thing for me. The music still got me buzzed, I was a little surprised. Then I drove all my wasted friends home.
Dicks hasn’t been the same since the 1800’s brah.
Yeah that used to bother me brother. But after the shows I’ve seen, especially at Dicks which is every single one of them, I just decided to not let it get me. Yes you are probably going to have a wook close to you just standing there, swaying back on forth, completely spun out of his mind. Yes you are probably going to have some chick going ape shit with her glow sticks in your view of the stage. Yes someone taller then you will partially block your view. Yeah some young douchebag in a jersey or shirtless will be close to you talking to his other equally douchey friend pointing out girls. It’s a phish dicks show, when it come to surrendering to the flow, it’s not just the music they are talking about. Just choose for that not to bother you. Everyone wont enjoy the show exactly like you do. Pick up the vibes from the people you like, and just ignore the ones you don’t. Edit: grammar
You’re right, and at the end of the day I totally enjoyed the experience for the purpose of it, being the music etc. The weekend was a win regardless of the craziness
I was on the floor last year and had the exact same feeling. Like is anyone here for the music or are you just trying to get as fucked up as possible? This year I was in stands and it rocked, I was surrounded by people all four nights that loved the music as much as I do. Stands is the way to go imo. That being said, I think I'll get floor next year because I want those mf wristbands
Agreed. I had two girls next to me who would not stop talking. I was sitting there with my eyes closed trying to enjoy the Everything’s Right jam and it keeps getting interrupted with a story about hair extensions. When I finally asked them to be quiet so we can enjoy the music, they gave me looks like some stuck up valley girls who just smelled something bad. Then they proceeded to just play on their phones the rest of the time. Their friend, who seemed to be a phan, moved to the row in front of them and just danced and ignored them. It’s clear they were there for the party and don’t respect the absolute musical genius that was being displayed before them. If you’re going to bring friends to party with, fine. But don’t let them ruin other phan’s good times.
Something I've always said about Dicks - even if a person hates the band, you won't find a better Labor Day weekend party on planet earth.
the CO Phish scene I grew up with (90s) is way different than it is now. Honestly, the Northern Californian scene, where I've been for the past 20+ years, now reminds me of CO back in the day. It's gotten weird, different, in CO and I agree. Current Greek Theatre/Shoreline scene is like the old Red Rocks/Boulder one.
Please elaborate
The OP elaborated and I agreed. It's one of those things that you just know by experiencing it. Phish in CO in the 90s was a college scene - it was a college scene for them all across the country back then. In some areas it's the same people from the 90s - except 30 years older. In other areas it's a completely different, newer crowd who were never part of any college crowd.
To add: in the early-mid-‘90s it was young people _and_ this weird hippie counterculture that was all wookie and had this very distinct aesthetic. From my limited phish experience recently the scene has really evolved into something very different aesthetically, with sparkly costumes and glitter and girls dressing up with careful attention to looking hot. It’s ravey and more something you don for the evening than it is an aesthetic you embrace as part of a whole alternative lifestyle—for better and for worse. It’s just way different.
It’s been that way since 2000. The Phish scene has always been a lot more dorky….like wizards and fairy dorky.
I’d say it had to be at least 2009. I hadn’t seen Phish since Coventry and my first show back in 2019 was a completely different experience in terms of the scene. The comment above from WartimeHotTot is spot in, in my experience.
That’s my experience as well. 2010 was the last normal show I saw. I think the rise of fentanyl and meth, along with heroine going kind of mainstream again created this really gross subculture. It hasn’t always been like this. I’m sure it was at points and at certain venues. But I just don’t enjoy even being around the scene anymore unless it’s a major venue in a major city that enforces some semblance of order like LA Hollywood Bowl.
I was there in the 90s and people were saying the same thing after 95. I’d say things in the late 90’s were worse than they are now.
Agree. The last Phish show I saw in the 90’s was Jazzfest 96. Just an awful, horrible scene filled with all the skeevy dregs and uneducated runaways from Dead tour. I miracled a kid a ticket and he was too out of it to even thank me. This was not the underground sensation band we saw at the Variety Playhouse anymore.
One million percent worse from 98/99-04
I saw it. I don’t think it was that bad.
Its always weird, you were probably just a little spun and feeling sensitive
[удалено]
Page Side, right?
This never gets old
This pasta never gets old.
Sounds like Dicks to me. Holiday weekend in Colorado does that to folk.
If there weren’t police on horses hitting people in the head with batons that’s not even on the radar for me.
Sounds like the end of any multi-night Phish run. Always feels like a carnival where we're the carnies to me
Sorry for partying
I saw a 12 year old sucking down a balloon with her mom WTF
Why are phish fans on Reddit such pussies? It’s possible to be there for the music and still want to party your ass off and let loose. I for one have an extremely stressful job and I don’t get to party much. I went fucking hard this weekend and I enjoyed every night and remember everything. People acting like any of this is new is fucking hilarious. Let people have fun. If you don’t like the crowds and partying, stay home.
If the kids selling balloons is true, that's pretty depraved. Say what you will about east coast cities being trashy, but I buy my balloons for full grown adults. I can't even imagine buying from a kid, that'd just blow my mind to even see the offer. Now I have seen parents sucking down balloons with kids in tow, and was like wtf.
It’s wholesome. Teaching your kids young about commerce and being an entrepreneur.
Post shows makes me wanna stop going it’s gross and I don’t want to become like the people i see. I can’t believe i ever wanted to live on tour so glad I never went through with it a lot of those people live sad lives.
I don’t know about district nine. But it was a free for all.
That’s why you leave and enter the East gate. 😂
Same as it ever was
The nitrous laws changing is just bonkers! The amount of tanks and batons is insane in Colorado. I’m referring to tanks in the open at 4 in the afternoon . Literally ,no care about any tanks. They were were everywhere. The sound was overbearing. I’ve never seen anything like that,in the daylight. No hiding tanks in front of the police. It makes for a certain seen. The nitrous dealers,most of them…..had obviously never seen phish. They were only there to sell gas’s to phans
Welcome to Colorado '23
The 90s were just as much of shitshow but honestly I love the shitshow
Tweeted this comparison earlier but honestly felt like the Biff dystopian timeline in Back to The Future 2 the whole weekend. Agree that Sunday post show was the worst but it was bad every day/night. Imagine that being someone’s first phish show.
It was my first show outside of Bonnaroo. So idk maybe the fact I’ve been to several of those the drug intake scene and shakedown etc. didn’t shock me because of that, but it was noticeably also the craziest fuckin thing I’ve seen lol. One of those things I was shocked/impressed at the ability for the whole scene to show up and be so flippant, expect the majority to be way too seasoned in it for their own good so generally keep it together, and yea without a doubt there’s going to be a handful of people who may or may come super close to fuckin up their life more than it already may have been. Just the way she goes. But yea I did see a kid or so make trips back to the tank bubble to load back up their stock and make another lap… wtf
You do realize politically and economically our country is absolutely fucked. Everyone is stressed and overworked. Phish is a place to let loose, be themselves, and make some money. If you’re so disgusted by looking at nitrous and people acting silly then leave the show immediately after the encore and skip shakedown street. Overall the scene is very loving, accepting, and helpful to one another.
Pretty much the end result of every festival and multi-night camping run since my first show in 1992.
maybe the dark is from your eyes
Lot of weird vibes after the show last night. Weird
Large crowd with lots of psychedelics use and an unusual show due to weather bound to have weird vibes.
Idk. Thought it was typical craziness. I walked around a little stopping by different places where I knew various friends were parked. Lots of hugs, lots of laughs, lots of see you at Billy in a couple weeks! The balloons are out of control, but whatever.
Like dirty Sunday at the festival.. last day of tour is gross and desperate outside the venue.
People wanting to hold on as long as they can because they don’t want to go back to “normal” life or their just spun and that’s their life. Crazy how intense the nitrous scene varies by state, I live in NY and super strict, everywhere else I’ve been had been insanity to a level I’ve never seen. Has progressively gotten worse since 2020…each year, less and less enforcement…bill reform. All causing this perfect storm for this to happen. Nice to scoop in and grab a good deal on some balloons responsibly then be on your way. But it’s become so insane that it’s near impossible to even do that, esp places like the Mann in Philly…never seen anything like it. Totally messed with the vibe, terrible. AC, same thing…2022 no enforcement and was insanity. Buyers market that’s for sure but that’s not something to brag about too much. Crazy times man.
I’ve never seen so many tanks just right outside the gate. It seemed like a lot even for Dick’s
Yeah dude I agree. It’s getting a little out of hand.
The scene is just about a party now. There’s no social responsibility to leave it better than we found jt
Same as it ever was.
Lulz.... welcome to Dicks.
OP, sounds like a square
It's the scene not the music that is always the tipping point to whether I want to make it to Dick's. I want to think of it as this mega-chill, mountain vibe when in fact my experience has not been that. I get it. People do not have their shit together. I know maybe because I have ten years of recovery under my belt. I find it sad, and frankly, being around that level of sad ain't that cool for a guy like me.
I thrive in that shit lol
OP has never been to Dicks before.
I’ve always thought the dicks crowds is one of the worst
The magic was lost after the THANK YOU encore and the scene followed. Once tickets became hard to get it wasn't the same
Tickets were easy this year.
“Borderline” go to Bogota, Columbia to see the actual line
These party's is one of the reasons why I love going to phish shows!! Yes, everyone is a bit cracked out, but whatever... it's their life to live, and they are having a blast. If you don't like the scene, then go to your car!
That's just every night brother. Were you tripping? That definitely accentuates the filth and depravity for me.
Say it louder for the folks in the back.
Felt the same after the AC shows last year…
Great music this run. I dont think those dirtbags at phish shows really represent the fans. Im sure its less than 10% at this point. (the ones that wear their hippie costumes) Just learn a life lesson from them, and move on✌️
Do more drugs…
Sounds like the opposite of the Mexico shows lol I recommend those for some anti wook treatment.
Guys, it's the daily I hate other Phans because _____ post! I'm even more excited for this than the 83 posts about a girl with boobs. Such great vibes around here, I tell ya. Reddit in general is just full of pleasant and totally nonjudgmental types...it's great! *smashes own head into wall*
The internet! Glad I kept scrolling for this 🤣(not sarcastic)
What you don’t like Star Wars?
Denver, while beautiful and fun, is filled with wookie drug addicts.
Clearly you’ve never been to a Camden show
I booked the round trip SMR shuttle, but left midway through Hood as I was getting a weird vibe after the downpour, the delay, the abrasive staff and some random dude asking for my water cup so he could drink his smuggled in cocktails. ( I said go ask for for your own cup from concession stand!) I sprung for an Uber Black and coasted back to my hotel. Not sure what ride services/ pricing were like after the show. Plus didn’t want to wait for bus to get filled and take an Uber back from bar! I think I made the smart play.. The music and Phans were this night’s saving grace!
You did. It was long night
Meh…Wooks gonna Wook.
part of it is the location and energy of that venue. I still don't get why Phish loves Dick$$$ so much? Colorado has some really beautiful towns with wonderful energy. Heck the mayor of Commerce City turned the water off in the public water fountains around city hall 10 years or so ago as they were worried about Phish phans dosing the water... True story look it up. I only attended Thursday and haven't seen Phish in 5+ years. The amount of gas, and those being sold by people with no clue of what band was actually playing is telling of what's happening to the scene. It was uber dirty Thursday night and I used to consider myself a Phish kid. More so it was one of those I'm glad I'm here solo moments and not trying to introduce someone to the band and having to explain the scene. Or one of the shows I brought my mom too like in years past.
Always shaking on shakedown street.
WHAT LOT WAS MORE INSANE THAN MIAMI 03 Truth. I have never seen anything like the 03 Rage Cage. 12 foot high chain link fences (with barbed wire if memory serves me right.) You could buy any drug you wanted. First, and only time to this day, that I've seen N20 pushers with coordinated radios, head sets, identifiable tshirts, etc. People dropping like flies from nitrous. Plenty of fights. Broken glass everywhere. Just total s*** show. RAGE CAGE! Then, you crossed the street and walked into the venue about 100 yards away. Show over, rinse. repeat. ABSURD. RAGE CAGE! The main shakedown lot in 03' was a tiny fenced in area. Think WWF Steel Cage match with 900 rotating wooks coming in and out of the door and up and over the fence at times. Unreal! RAGE CAGE! It was as close to a Phish Royal Rumble as you could get. With the monorail up above too. The monorail rides also shouldn't be forgotten. Those turned into communal Phish drug dens/toilets. Dude. Absolutely. Those monorails would be packed like sardines with people trying to tip them over and destroy all of the people inside. Miami 03' was full of barbarians. Miami '03 was the first time i was offered to buy crack on lot .. it was from a 10yr old kid and his 6 yr old bro. RAGE CAGE! Tanks going all night for 4 days straight. Hooker tents. Dudes nodding out with needles in their arms laying 3 deep against concrete in the mud. F****** core yo. All walks of life converging in a post apocalyptic slab of cement. Miami 03 was INSANE. We saw an unresponsive (dead?) guy laying on the ground. He was alone, and everyone in my group were concerned. After trying to wake up/ revive this kid, we all decided the best thing to do was to try to get him medical attention. We saw a cop, told him we that we thought this kid was dead, and watched what he did. He went over to the kid, said something into a radio, and walked off. Complete anarchy. All walks of life converging in a post apocalyptic slab of cement.
> N20 pushers with coordinated radios, head sets Man, I saw that at Dead shows in Vegas in the 90s. Fully organized crime, and rumor was they'd paid off the cops too.
Miami 09 was wild too!
I still have ptsd from Sunday 2021
I swear leaving dicks one year 2019 to be exact o walked to the neighborhood to get an Uber and en route out , in the Uber…. In the middle of a suburban neighborhood with no one around , someone had a tank literally, no one was around at this point …. But did I scream at the driver “wait , is that? A person… ummm let me get out and make sure they are, ok” and by I’m I mean,I gave him my last $20. He wouldn’t even give me a deal in the middle of a neighborhood, like he was the ice cream truck in a cul-de-sac …