Bob Lefsetz // Phish At Bonnaroo
Good read.
AUTHOR: BOB LEFSETZ OF THE LEFSETZ LETTER 11:10 PM 12/17/2008 (SUBSCRIBE)
“Would the Stones play Coachella?
Who gives a shit about the Stones. But Phish fans are diehards. Phishheads believe that Phish is God. They trekked to see the band at its own festivals, year after year. Is the band afraid they can’t sell a ticket anymore?
This is no way to come back, playing it safe. Phishheads don’t want to hang with Springsteen fans at some clusterfuck in Tennessee. Yes, Bruce is rumored for Bonnaroo too.
No one’s special anymore. No one means anything. A festival is bigger than any act. Which is why the best can go on sale without listing any participants.
A great band is sui generis. It should never open for anyone. It’s not part of the scene, it IS the scene.
Phish should do arenas. Then its own festival. It’s hard not to believe they’re doing Bonnaroo because of their manager’s involvement.
You might think this is bullshit. You’ll point to the gross. You’ll say everyone’s happy. I’ll say this is the kind of thinking that fucked up our business. It’s only about money, not about soul. Phish should only think about its fans. Not its manager’s need to sell out a festival that dropped significantly in attendance last year.
Festivals are the new radio show. Do a few and you can’t tour independently, i.e. on your own. You fatten the coffers of the promoter, but you fuck your own career.
Come on. A good song is not good enough. We’re in a business where greatness is important. If you’re not willing to split hairs, if you’re not willing to argue the details of a band’s career, then you’re not a rock and roll fan. Fans worry about the minutiae. It’s only Live Nation, beholden to Wall Street, that does not care about the man on the street.
You might say it’s about the hang. About going to the show and getting fucked up with your brethren. I’ll say it’s about the music.
Maybe a festival is too much about the hang. Which is why Phish should not be playing Bonnaroo. Because it’s the music that entranced its fans, the communal hang came after.
Do you want to mix your Sweet Sixteen with a Bar Mitzvah party? Do you want a vacation where you can bowl, surf and ski? Come on. Have a little self-respect.
Phish’s comeback might fail, but let’s see if they can stand on their own two feet.
Or maybe Phish is the new Jack Johnson. Maybe they’re gonna play EVERY festival this summer.
Utterfuckinghogwash”.
December 18th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I couldn’t agree more. Being a diehard Phishhead, I don’t want to see my favorite band play Bonnaroo. Its not like when the Dead played Woodstock, it was for a cause and meant something. Bonnaroo means nothing. Do I want to watch Phish do You Enjoy Myself next to some drunken frat guy and a 15 year old girl who loves Jason Mraz? No I don’t!! I would much rather have to travel some 15 or more hours(from PA) to Maine to see my beloved band on a desolate Air Force base with 75,000 other diehard phans!! I really hope this reunion isn’t just “for the money”
December 18th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I’m hopefully going to catch the Virginia shows. I think the guys from Phish have plenty of money, but times are tough. Another problem, there are way too many music festivals. I imagine that all festival promoters are worried about our economic issues. Selling expensive concert tickets is going to be difficult in 2009. They need major acts to bring in the masses. We will see how it plays out.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I really don’t buy this rumor. Phish is able to pull off fests all on their own, without any supporting acts. And I don’t think it is about the money (at least not for the band.) If any reason could have persuaded them to play Bonnaroo, it would be the lack of involvement required by the band and their management to play there instead of using all their own resources to plan and execute their own fest. Simply, it is easier to just show up and play Bonnaroo, get paid and call it a summer than it would be to secure all the things (subcontractors, electricity, permits, etc.) necessary to run their own fest. Remember, they pointed out that the Phish organization had gotten too big, that they HAD to tour just so they could pay the people who worked for them. Maybe this is an example of how they are trying to keep Phish, Inc. smaller and let promoters do the heavy lifting. Just my 2 cents. Not sure if I’d bother going to see ‘em at ‘Roo to be honest (for all the reasons mentioned above.)
December 18th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Hi Phiveo5:
I hope it is not true, but my guess is that Bob wouldn’t have written about it if didn’t have prior knowledge. The guy is definitely in the “know”.
You make some great points. I wasn’t aware of the payroll issues within the Phish organization. I can see both sides of the coin, but I agree with what Bob’s saying.
December 18th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I don’t think Phish will tour the way they have in the past and for that reason them playing Bonnaroo may seem likely to happen. I would rather spend the $200+ per ticket to catch other Phish shows. If they play Bonnaroo they most likely will do another midwest concert. Odds are if they play a venue like Deer Creek in Indiana or Alpine in Wisconsin they will do a 2 day show. Only real fans of the music will be in attendance.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:37 am
[...] is either blissfully happy about it or frothing at the mouth angry. Bob Lefsetz wrote about it here, Dean Budnick has written about it here, actually I could probably link 50 similar editorials that [...]
December 28th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
i’m older now, i can’t afford to go to deercreek or alpine, i live in atlanta though and have gone to ‘roo many times and have had a blast, didn’t go last year due to weak line-up, if phish we’re to play ‘roo i’d go, and i would love to see springsteen there as well. the only long distance traveling i would consider for phish at this stage in my life would be limestone or big cypress, that is if they prove themselves to be worth the effort come march, i went to coventry and was like “oh, this is why their breaking up”.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
this author is so stupid, phish is not worried about selling tickets, they are selling tickets at record speeds, they are playing roo cause they want to. this guy is a loser and ignorant and should not write about things he knows nothing about. “phish fans think phish is god” is another ignorant thing to say
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Hey Music Snob:
Thanks for checking the site out. You make some valid points about Phish selling tickets at records speeds. But Bob Lefsetz is one of the brightest people in the music business today.
April 25th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Bob Lefsetz thinks he knows everything..
here is a guy who’s never been to Bonnaroo and he seems to think what is best for Phish.
Would you take career advice from someone who likes NICKELBACK..??
yep.. Lefsetz loves Nickelback.. i am not joking check out his website..
April 25th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I’m not a fan of Nickelback either. But Bob is one of the smartest music analysts in the world. He’s written several positive stories on Phish since this piece. Check out his archives.