Ticketmaster

Today was a stressful day for many a Phish fan.  Why?  We are all at last able to pay good money (and an extra $10 dollars from now on) to see a favorite band.  Seeing the band isn't even the whole point.  We will be re-united with friends from far away, drink Newcastles (143245) in the lot, amazed at CK5's light show, shake our silly bones for a few good hours, all to some great music, some of which has never been heard before.  It's waiting out there in the ether, waiting for this gifted band to translate it into something we maybe can understand.  It's an amazing experience.

Unfortunately, besides spending several stressful hours worrying about tickets, many fans have already ponied-up triple face value on secondary ticket websites to make sure that they'll be able to experience the multi-sensory event that is a phish show.  After scouring PT for many hours, getting the latest info, many fans may still be left ticketless.  Some other have more than they need and are already making trades or ebaying them.  Interestingly, from all that time spent on the forums, the only sense I got about the fanbase's stance on scalping is that there is no consensus.  Every thread about it has seemingly equal backers of both the will of the free-market and the sense of community (or lack thereof).  Throw in arguments about reverse-scalping, getting tickets just to trade, the sharing of inside ticketmaster tips, and whether or not there are scalpers trolling the boards, there is no way to understand exactly how fans feel about the situation.  In the end, the one common thread in it all is that everyone wants to get tickets for their friends and themselves for their choice of shows of that tour, be it the local amphitheater or a special event/festival across the country.

After a day like today, you just need to remember that only a few percentage of Phish fans are on PT.  You can't take away anything about the fans as a whole.  Keep it simple.  If you enjoy the music, try to get a ticket, show up, and shake your bones a little bit.