^honestly as long as I can drink 1 or 2 beers from a solo cup w/out being hassled I really don’t care.
Yeah, the venue is a logistical nightmare once inside. Beer Garden is nothing but a time consuming overpriced waste, and the only way to be relatively comfortable on the lawn is to sacrifice your show by hanging all the way in the back. Me and my crew had some good lawn on Sat. but there were 12 of us, and we went in pretty early to stake our claim. And it took alot of effort to hold onto it.
That being said I never had a problem with security or police there and this year was no exception. If you encountered overzealous cops I’m sorry, but, I can kind of understand a strong police presence at Phish shows nowadays. Now I know this ISNT ALWAYS the case, but ALOT of the time the people complaining about a Nazi mentality are the same people rolling through the lot with a 40 bottle in their hand smoking a J and screaming across the lot to their crew. They then wonder why they’re getting hassled.
Or the genius’ that set up a beerpong table in the middle of the lot. Hey I love a good beer olympics as much as the next guy, but how can you be surprised when your cooler is getting dumped by troopers 15min after you set that thing up?
It also kills me to see the amount of waste and filth left behind by a show, and I think this grates on the locals and especially the cops working the shows. Especially in a place like Saratoga, a community that already has a built in stream of Summer revenue in the form of its Racetrack.There are enough attrations there that they are not going to drool over a two day stint of Phish to help stimulate their commerce. The behavior of some fans and hanger ons is starting to get really old. I try not to let it bother me but it does. Garbage left behind, Nitrous Mafia all over the place, selfish fans who think its their birthright to make a mess, get fucked up and act like complete Jerkoffs in the name of a Good time.
I understand that I’m not giving credit to a large number of people who do things the right way, and are in it for the right reasons. I know there are plenty of em out there. I met quite a few. Unfortunately when something gets so big, you’re bound to have a seedy underbelly. And after seeing the tour closer last Summer and hitting the past weekend, I can honestly say the fan vibe has been more…overly agressive as a whole at SPAC than anywhere else I’ve seen Phish since their return.
If east coast shows are as abundant next summer as they are this summer, I’ll skip over SPAC and supplement them for a couple shows somewhere else.
^Yes to the whole post
We seem to be on the same page in some regards. I hate seeing all the filth that hangs around Phish tour (nitrous fucks, etc) and the wake of destruction that’s left behind. I applaud the police force trying to curb that kind of nonsense. However after both nights at SPAC it was rampant and there was not a cop to be seen. The biggest thing that upset was the lack of respect that we were treated with in that encounter. I had no problem with the cops at the checkpoint on the way in…no problems at all. I treat law enforcement with respect and expect the same in return. If the officer would have been more cordial and asked nicely there would have been no complaint from me. As it was, he was a complete ass. Just because I’m attending a Phish show doesn’t mean I surrender my rights, especially the right to be treated with respect. If SPAC was a few hours from home I’m sure I’d return. As it is a 12+ hour drive, I’d rather go somewhere else. It upset me and I felt violated, I don’t know what else to say.