Brahs and Sisbrahs! 4 out of 5 Naked Guys agree, This Week on Lot Phall Tour wrap up is just about as exciting as hugging Trey.
It’s over, kids. Phish Fall Tour came and went and in it’s wake, it left a few balloons and a half eaten container of ganja icing. To recap the three amazing nights at the legendary Madison Square Garden, we’re joined by our contest winner Chris! He celebrated his 20th Phish show in style by walking into MSG with his buddy and their free tickets…right past Steve and Laura who has their fingers in the air. We all discuss the scene outside of MSG this year, making comparisons to NYE 2002 and pointing out that non-heads really have no idea what to make of it when Phans invade their sidewalks. Maybe all the business men are just thankful the nitrous tanks came back!
We ponder the question of whether MSG really has a lot. Does a “lot” need to have cars? Or can it just be a bunch of heads standing around waiting for a show to start? The hosts are divided on our opinions, so what do you think?
After the break, we follow the lines going South to Charlottesville. The snow let up just in time for everyone to arrive at JPJ and rage the lot proper. There was a healthy shakedown with some of our favorite vendors, including our good friend Jiggs. He was selling his “A Laser Pointer Doesn’t Make You Chris Kuroda” stickers…right across the way from a guy with a laser pointer. You can support Jiggs and his insanely truthy sticker by buying one and slapping it directly on Green Laser Pointer Guy’s forehead next time you see him.
After a quick ticket price check on Miami Phish NYE, we actually talk about another band! Wow! Steve and Laura are heading down to check out Further this weekend and are thrilled to see another lot. We’re looking for lot reports from those shows and are hoping to make some ticket money with the mobile wine bar. If you’ve been to a Further show this tour, let us know what you think!
Thanks to Chris for joining us on this episode of This Week on Lot! We’re glad to hear that he had a great time at MSG and we hope to hear from him again as he rages more lots in the future.
Be Good!
P.S. Make sure you listen to the very end.
Another great podcast! Keep up the great work. I loved the story of hearing Glide from under the venue–classic Bzooty moment.
Also, for the record, I would rather you set up interviews with “famous” fans from rec.music.phish than discuss String Cheese Incident during your podcast. If there is nothing shaking on Lot then skip a week. I would much rather have focused discussion related to Phish, over some n00b telling me how great the Disco Biscuits are…of course, that is just my humble opinion.
In any event, this week I heard you ask “Where is the Lot?”
The eternal question that has plagued fans from the very first show. I would argue that the Lot came before the show–it is only natural, before every single show there is the Lot. There must have been a Lot before the first show. Likely it was Trey and Fish in the back of a VW Bus, but it was the Lot and it was, like most lots, all in their heads.
See, I am not sure that the Lot is a physical place at all, but rather the Lot may simply be the mental space that one enters before, and to a lesser extent, after a show.
The Lot is generally seen as the Shakedown, which I think is different. The Lot does not require vending. The lot does not require Kind Veggie Burritos or Indian Fry Bread. In fact, the Lot can be hearing the perfect song at the perfect time coming from someones car as you walk to the venue. The Lot can be hugs from people you have not seen in years. The Lot can be meeting new friends. The Lot can be slapping the bag. The lot can be giving someone a ticket. The Lot can be all of this or none of this. The Lot can be a drugstore or a coffee shop. The Lot can be a loud drum circle or a quiet moment peeing in the bushes.
I guess it comes down to something I learned a long long time ago. A very simple truth.
The Lot is always within all of us and we find it when we look for it.
Hey, interesting little tidbit I picked up while watching Grateful Dawg (BTW a phenomenal movie) the other night. “The Lot” really became a show staple first at bluegrass shows where, before the show, during setbreak, and afterward, the audience would go out to the parking lot for pickin’ parties. Bluegrass fans would come for the band, but stay to party and make music of their own!