04 November 2009

Phish Festival 8 - Part One

Greetings everyone!!!

This past Halloween weekend a very special kind of event took place in the little town of Indio, CA.  At the Empire Polo Club just a ways south from I-10, the Vermont jam band Phish held their eighth music festival, aptly dubbed "Festival 8."  The first one the band has organized since their farewell festival in Coventry, VT, in 2004, it was also the first to occur on the West Coast of the US and over Halloween weekend.  All of these factors added up to much anticipation on behalf of the fans and the band itself. 

For weeks before the event, hundreds of people worked day after day at the Polo Club transforming it into a musical Halloween wonderland for the some 40,000 festival goers.  We arrived late on Thursday night with thousands of other fans -- the traffic and entry into the grounds went extremely smoothly.  MUCH different from my other festival experiences which were usually rife with horrible traffic lines and poor logistical planning.  The dry, mild desert weather played a very positive role as well in that we didn't have to contend with muddy roads and stuck vehicles, a problem which plagued the Coventry event to no end.

Once inside, we all made our way to the various campsites around the grounds, all named for a possible album that Phish might cover as part of its Halloween "costume" -- a tradition that goes back many years (i.e. they played Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" many moons ago on Halloween).  Under a setting moon and the gas-powered floodlights, we all set up our tents and put together our community for the run of the weekend.

The next day we all explored the festival grounds and the venue itself -- all of which was packed with vendors of all types, delicious and ample food and drink options, and various spectacles such as huge art installations, pyrotechnic sculptures, and even a ferris wheel.  Sierra Nevada brewing company even made a 150-keg batch of a special pilsner just for the festival -- Foam…it was DELICIOUS!!!  They should definitely consider adding it to their roster permanently.  Unfortunately it ran out sometime on Saturday…oh well…c'est la vie!!!

Friday night, the band played two pretty amazing sets.  From most of the folks I had spoken with, everyone seemed pretty pleased with Phish's performances as well as the various interesting and fun moments of the evening, especially the "Burble Bubble" -- an inflated LED balloon sculpture that glided over the crowd changing colors to the music during the second set.

Friday ended with fun and shenanigans back in everyone's respective campsites and set a great tone for what would be an unforgettable weekend.

My wife and I enjoyed ourselves immensely, camping with a group of around 10 close friends and immersing ourselves in the festival atmosphere.  There was such a sense of community, camaraderie, and good energy flowing throughout -- the positivity was palpable and rather rewarding.  Far from a giant horde of "dirty hippies", Phish fans are some of the nicest, caring, and good-natured people I've ever come to know and it was an honor to be counted among them…

I hope you enjoy this first part of a three part series about Festival 8.  And, if you were there, I hope you had as much fun as I did!!!

Enjoy,

PHAmanNYC (now in CO)

Image Captions:

1 - Official Festival 8 Tickets and Camping Pass

2 - Finally in Indio, CA

3 - Campground by night

4 - Festival 8 campground decorations with the ferris wheel in the background

5 - Halloween decorations in the campsite

6 - An opportunity for expression

7 - The band takes the stage for Set One on Friday night

8 - The Bubble Burble

9 - Halloween Eve costumed "festafarians"