Pshh, Phuck That

I will admit, first and foremost, that I'm not an old school Phishhead...as Phishheads go.  I started listening to their tunes around the mid-ish 90s (*cough*1999*cough) and went to my first show in 2000 (Hershey).  It was amazing.  From the First Tube opener to the Possum encore, I was captivated by the lights, sounds, and (ok, gonna get a little hippie on ya for a sec) the feeling that surrounded the whole experience like a warm blanket of patchouli-scented happiness.  So, I consider myself to be in the second of three categories of Phishheads--based upon the time in which one started appreciating the band; 1) the originals, 2) the latecomers, 3) the fratboy posers/the druggie grungetrashers/the neohippies.  No judging, of course...just my take on the fanbase's demographic breakdown over the past almost 30 years.

So, admittedly, I wasn't around in the very beginning.  But I have been a huge phan for over 10 years now and know a thing or two about how things used to be.  Tickets, for instance, used to be sold routinely for $20.  Every show--$20.  Yes, my little economists, you take inflation into account and $20 in the mid-80s amounted to a little more than $20 now.  But, still, it was very reasonable for a live show and went along perfectly with Phish's ideology of wanting everyone to be able to enjoy their music.  Practically anyone could afford tickets and, unlike today, anyone could actually GET tickets (i.e. the supply didn't really outweigh the demand).  "Touring" with Phish was a realistic endeavor, both practically and financially.  Not the case anymore.  Nowadays, to get Phish tickets in advance of the show, one has to jump through a variety of lottery-based hoops for the opportunity to pay exorbitantly for even general admission entrance (and, yes, "exorbitantly" is anything from twice as much as "the good ol' days" upward).  I'm not completely opposed to the lottery system, per se--I think it's a good thing that people have a chance to get tickets over and above the oft-futile practice of riding the Ticketmaster bottleneck.  Where my problem lies is in the cost.

Noticing, this morning, that Phish posted their 2011 Summer Tour schedule online (could have been weeks ago...I've been a little out-of-the-loop, shall we say), I followed the links to the site through which I could enter my name into the lottery.  But, when given the option to select the type/quantity of tickets, I noticed they were all $60.  $60?????  Per ticket????  WTPh?  What happened to the whole 'anyone should be able to come see Phish play' concept?  What happened to "music for the masses?"  Yeah, I understand that Phish has outgrown it's 1983 britches but COME ON!

Don't get me wrong, the shows are sick. Absolutely worth attending.  Technically (musically) amazing, visually stunning, and just plain FUN.  But for $60 a pop?  Does that include one of Fishman's sweaty polka-dotted dresses??  Or at least a personal high-pitched serenade by The Chairman of the Boards?  It's almost a good thing that one's chances of getting tickets to multiple shows aren't very high--at least that way you won't be tempted into poverty!

I would love to think that the band doesn't know what's going on and would put the kibosh on the whole operation if they did...but I'm not that naive.  Which just makes it all the worse to think they have strayed that far from their roots (ok, perhaps that comment is a bit naive, as well :)).  Regardless, I'm pretty damn bitter over the whole thing and will not be throwing my name into the lottery for any summer tour tickets at present.  I feel like I'm being taken...and yet I can't put my finger on exactly who is doing the taking.  So, if I can score some cheaper tix on CraigsList or maybe even by showing up at the venue the day of, great.  But I, for one, can't in good conscience drop $60 on tickets for a band that used to pride themselves on catering to the little guy.  Well, maybe won't--not can't--is the more appropriate word.

Sorry Trey, Mike, Fish, and Page...love your music, but the happiness is a little too expensive.