Phish - Superball IX Recap

Tops, Magic Hat Brewing, and 98.7 The Vine came together to send one lucky Phish Phan to Watkins Glen for the biggest concert event at the Glen since the Summer Jam of 1973 - Superball IX.  Here's how it went down...

 

I was fortunate enough to attend all three days of Superball IX (9), Phish's ninth weekend-long music festival.  Ticket sales were capped at 60,000, however by everyone's best estimate, there were just over 30,000 people in attendance.  The concert field was constructed on the infield of the race track, and all of the campsites were just on the other side of the track.

  

Different areas were given names of states Phish hasn't played in.  For example, we set up camp in North Dakota.  I can't tell you how many times I heard someone say, "Where's Alaska?  Wait, I'm in Montana?"  To an outsider without a map of the grounds (and many of the security staff) it sounded pretty ridiculous.  One of the many rumors heard over the weekend was that Phish would play a late night set in each of the campgrounds, to say they've played in all 50 states.  Didn't happen.  We did, however catch a late night secret set on Saturday night.  It has been dubbed, "Storage Jam," after an experience the band had being accidentally locked in a storage unit.  Trey told the story on stage earlier that afternoon.



On the infield, it was as though they built a tiny, temporary city just for the weekend.  There were art installations, kinetic sculptures, and had a brass band playing around the infield.
 

   

Opposite the stage, a ferris wheel seemed to never stop giving rides.  In the pinball lounge, a tent built to look like a life-size pinball machine, they had dozens of classic pinball machines on free play.  It was in the lounge that we had to taste Sierra Nevada's "Foam" Pilsner.  It was brewed special for the Superball.
 

  

When Phish wasn't playing, the House of Live Phish was open for Phans to connect their iPods or USB sticks and download exclusive free live Phish recordings.  There were hammocks placed around the concert area for general maxing-and-relaxing, and I made good use of one of them for quite a while.  There was also an on-site record store, selling an exclusive limited-release white Phish vinyl.

For me, highlights from the 7 sets were "Golgi Apparatus," "Tweezer" & "Tweezer Reprise," and "Birds of a Feather."  I particularly loved the covers.  They broke out David Bowie's "Life on Mars," absolutely nailed The Beatles' "A Day in the Life," and jammed for 12 minutes on the Talking Heads' "Crosseyed and Painless."  On the jumbo tron screen after Friday's set, they screened the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense."  That and alligator nuggets (tastes like chicken) made a great late night, post-set treat.

Sunday, after almost 100 songs and 14 hours of Phish, I felt I had filled my quota.  Sunburnt, happy and exhausted, I returned to my tent, knowing I had been a part of history.

-Terk