I was just recently thinking about how many people came to Phish shows.
Does anyone know of any stats, like of how many people on average were at Phish shows from 1987 til the late 90s, especially from 1989 to 1993?
Or maybe just personal experience from the real oldies. I’m sure the numbers went up in '95 and '96 after GD ended, but I’m more curious about the early crowds. How much of a cult fanbase was it?
I just broke out my dusty Pharmer’s Almanac. I’m not sure which edition. It has setlists through the Island Tour.
Anyway, along with setlists, on some shows it will list attendance/capactiy, as well as ticket prices.
For example, at the Wetlands show in NY on 9/13/90, the PA lists an attendance of 450 and a capacity of 500.
Some other examples:
Barrymore Theatre, Madison Wisconsin, 4/12/91: 437/750
The Sting, New Britain Connecticut, 11/19/91: 315/1,200
Broome County Forum, Binghamton New York, 3/20/92: 1,500/1,500
Capitol Theatre, Port Chester New York, 11/27/92: 1,800/1,800
Roseland Ballroom, New York, New York, 2/5/93: 3,203/3,203
Bangor Auditorium, Bangor Maine, 5/7/93: 2,703/3,200
Stowe Performing Arts Center, Stowe Vermont, 7/22/93: 5,306/16,000
World Music Theatre, Tinley Park Illinois, 8/14/93: 5,643/25,000
The Centrum, Worcester Massachusetts, 12/31/93: 14,232/14,232
But not all shows after '93 were sell outs at large venues. Far from it:
America West Arena, Phoenix Arizona, 12/2/96: 5,818/10,000
Starplex Amphitheatre, Dallas Texas, 7/25/97: 9,515/20111
Desert Sky Pavilion, Phoenix Arizona, 7/29/97: 10,147/20,246
Riverport Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights Maryland, 8/6/97: 15121/21000
Nice! thanks man
The Pharmers Almanac, moreso than the Phish Companion, has great stories about the early days. Particularly some goodies about the late 80s/early 90s. It really is some fascinating stuff.
Some more interesting tidbits from the Almanac (this was in the “Readers Survey” section):
FIRST PHISH SHOW
median: 10/2/95
earliest: 11/19/87
SONGS PHISH SHOULD EXPERIMENT WITH MORE
HOW MANY HOURS OF PHISH YOU HAVE ON TAPE
average: 177
most: 1,220
YOU FAVORITE VENUE TO SEE PHISH
THE BEST PHISH SHOWS YOU’VE SEEN
Keep in mind these results were probably polled sometime in 1998.
I’m curious how the numbers changed from '99/'00 - '03/'04. Did the audience shrink, grow or stay about constant?
If I had to guess, I would say they stayed more or less constant. At Deer Creek '04, I purchased a ticket for the first night in advance, because that’s all I could afford. I went to stay with a buddy in Indy and wanted to go for the second night, and he said “Don’t worry, they won’t be sold out.” So on 6/24 we went to Marsh and they were sold out. My heart literally sank. So I ended up shelling $100 about 2 hours before the show on the road that leads into Deer Creek.
^In '03 at Deer Creek, I saw people leaving tickets on the ground before entering the show, because there were so many extras. I had an extra for the first night, and was lucky to get rid of it for face value.