FREE Phish Hampton mp3's
Friday night Phish started their come back tour in Hampton, VA. I of course didn’t get tickets after a lot of trying so I said “fuck it” and I went to Hawaii with Nancy instead! When I get some time I will be doing a big write up on that trip, lots to write about.
When I started to go through my emails for the week I was gone I noticed one from Phish. They are giving away free downloads of all three nights at Hampton Coliseum. I for one think this is a great idea on the part of the band. I have a feeling the biggest reason for this give away is to keep people away from the small city of Hampton that don’t have tickets, or that have only one or two of the three nights. The little city just can’t handle tens of thousands of extra people that don’t have tickets. Another big reason for this is to keep the fans happy. Many people, like myself, got screwed for tickets and this is a small way of saying they are sorry for the fiasco. I know it was not the bands fault, but for me they were the recipient of a large portion of my anger. And lastly there is the whole money thing, after all they are in business to make money (and play music :P). Many of Phish’s fans could be described as audiophiles, so offering a free version on mp3 is not enough, they will upgrade to the paid version in FLAC/CD format. The extra traffic to their download site might get some people to purchase other concerts while they are there getting Hampton.
I for one will be downloading all three shows in crystal clear mp3 format, they end up on my iPod any way.
Update:
I downloaded Fridays show and listened to it. Not bad, but nothing really spectacular either. The band has at least practiced for the reunion run and upcoming summer tour. The setlists are decent, but again, nothing to shout at the top of your lungs about. Second set was better than the frist, jams are good but could use some more exploring. I don’t expect the world from these guys at their first three shows. The show I bet was killer to attend, the vibe must have been incredible all night long. Especially the moment when the house lights went out and the band walked on stage. No longer was this a “maybe” thing, it was actually happening, Phish was playing again!

