A couple weeks ago, I saw Phish in Camden, NJ. I have really enjoyed Phish as musicians since the early 1990's. I've never been to a Phish concert. And while I heard rumors and though I had a pretty good idea of what happened at a Phish show. I had no clue.
It truly is a unique experience. The fans are really more diverse than I thought they would be. Young hippies, old hippies, angry hippies, happy hippies, preppy and me and my Hubs that I kinda made go with me. I gave a major side eye to the parents there that brought young children ....under 10 young children. This is PHISH it's just bad parenting at this point to bring them to concert where drug use is open and shared and just breathing the air at the open air venue gets you a serious contact high.
That is something I expected. What I wasn't expecting is the dancing.
Eclectic spastic dancing. I have found my people. I have found the place where I belong dancing. Everyone can envision the episode from Seinfeld where Elaine dances at her corporate party. Well, when I'm dancing, she looks like a graceful ballerina. But, here among the Phish Phans I belong. They do marchy dances. Slow dancing, fast dancing. Shakey shakey dancing. I could fit in here. I can dance freely without judgement. Only acceptance.
And then we met Pete. Pete somehow found himself in our reserved seats. But he quickly became our Show BFF. He was a lot of fun and while he told us he worked for Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley ( it's fuzzy to me now) he best investment advice was to keep all of our cash under our mattress it would be safer there than the market right now.
This was what I wasn't expecting and realized why people follow Phish and while they were touring the Grateful Dead. The people you met who accepted you unconditionally and you were instant besties because you enjoy the music.
Because it's really about the music.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
I love Concerts and I love FREE
Yesterday, I went to the Radio 104.5 Summer Block Party at the Piazza at Schmidt's in Philadelphia. This has to be one of my very favorite venues in the Philadelphia area! The whole pedestrian mall is closed off and there are street vendors in tents selling their jewelery, crafts, art, etc. The Vitacoco crew was handing out coconut water juices to the crowds for FREE to try their amazing drink. This is one of my favorite drinks and I prefer this to sports drinks especially for the kids because their little bodies shouldn't have so much sodium as a sports drink or soda has in it. The coconut water perfectly and quickly hydrates.
The show is all ages, and it is perfectly fine for the children. I saw lots of kids from tots to teens dancing to the tunes of Find Vienna, She Wants Revenge, and Company of Thieves. These bands were awesome! Find Vienna a local crew had a great fun sound and opened up the crowd and got the party going. She Wants Revenge have a darker jazzy hip sound. Hailing from LA they seem really laid back guys but the sounds were punchy and had a hook that if you had never heard them before you were a fan at the end of the show. Personally, My hubs and I hadn't heard of them but were really glad we made the opening bands in stead of blowing them off. We are now fans and it's still early enough to say we knew them before they hit it mainstream. Which won't be long if the sounds of bands like Arcade Fire, Foster for the People and MGMT are the way tides of popularity are going.
The the headliners Company of Thieves. This girl can SING! She is amazing. Lots of energy on stage. Personable and chatty with the crowd but not so chatty that they don't play. The guys on guitar, base, drums and keyboards...they are all so tight and when there were problems with some of the equipment they went on and didn't miss and beat by getting flustered they kept going and laughed it off. They all still look happy to be rock stars and they are getting paid to play!
If any of these bands come by your town you should check them out! And there will be more Summer Block Parties at the Piazza at Schmidt's. First Saturday in July, August and September at 4pm. Come down check them out. Parking is plentiful and close only $10. And paying $10 for parking in Philadelphia isn't that bad, I've seen and paid more before and you won't have to deal with PPA and be on this show!
Till the next event! And maybe I'll see you at the show!
The show is all ages, and it is perfectly fine for the children. I saw lots of kids from tots to teens dancing to the tunes of Find Vienna, She Wants Revenge, and Company of Thieves. These bands were awesome! Find Vienna a local crew had a great fun sound and opened up the crowd and got the party going. She Wants Revenge have a darker jazzy hip sound. Hailing from LA they seem really laid back guys but the sounds were punchy and had a hook that if you had never heard them before you were a fan at the end of the show. Personally, My hubs and I hadn't heard of them but were really glad we made the opening bands in stead of blowing them off. We are now fans and it's still early enough to say we knew them before they hit it mainstream. Which won't be long if the sounds of bands like Arcade Fire, Foster for the People and MGMT are the way tides of popularity are going.
The the headliners Company of Thieves. This girl can SING! She is amazing. Lots of energy on stage. Personable and chatty with the crowd but not so chatty that they don't play. The guys on guitar, base, drums and keyboards...they are all so tight and when there were problems with some of the equipment they went on and didn't miss and beat by getting flustered they kept going and laughed it off. They all still look happy to be rock stars and they are getting paid to play!
If any of these bands come by your town you should check them out! And there will be more Summer Block Parties at the Piazza at Schmidt's. First Saturday in July, August and September at 4pm. Come down check them out. Parking is plentiful and close only $10. And paying $10 for parking in Philadelphia isn't that bad, I've seen and paid more before and you won't have to deal with PPA and be on this show!
Till the next event! And maybe I'll see you at the show!
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