Congress Pays Tribute to Phish

desdemona · July 11, 2004

Congress Pays Tribute to Phish 2004-07-09 12:47:46

Vermont Senator Patrick J. Leahy entered Phish into the congressional record yesterday, paying tribute to the Vermont-bred quartet a month before their final performance.

Addressing President pro tempore Ted Stevens, Leahy said, "We in Vermont are well known for our superb maple syrup, our wonderful ice cream, our award-winning cheese and our beautiful scenery, but after 21 remarkable years, the jam band Phish has certainly become one of our most famous exports.?

After giving his fellow congressmen a brief synopsis of Phish?s lifespan, Mr. Leahy offered his thanks to Phish for 21 years of music making. ?Their admirable generosity has fostered a sense of community among those who follow the group,? Leahy said. ?The band's break-up is a source of sadness to all of us who know and love them.?

Follow his speech, Mr. Leahy offered a congressional thanks to the Vermont quartet: ?I am grateful for all they have done for Vermont, for American music, and for their fans. Most importantly, we sincerely appreciate their authenticity, their enthusiasm and their generosity?

In an odd twist, Mr. Leahy concluded his speech by reciting a few lines from ?Down with Disease,? a track which appears on Phish?s Hoist .

Waiting for the time when I can finally say

That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way.

But when I think it's time to leave it all behind,

I try to find a way, but there's nothing I can say to make it stop.

Senator Leahy was elected to the United States Senate in 1974 and remains the only Democrat elected to this office from Vermont. He was also the youngest Senator elected from the state and is now serving his fifth term. Currently located in Burlington, VT, Leahy first entered Phish into the Congressional Record on December 1, 1994, congratulating them for their success and saying that they "have a live performance that is hard to forget." A complete transcript of Leahy?s speech is available at the Congressional Record.

http://www.relix.com/cgi-bin/content_list.cgi?type=news

desdemona · July 11, 2004

Posted 7/7/2004 4:07 PM Updated 7/7/2004 4:40 PM

Tickets sell out for final Phish show

COVENTRY, Vt. (AP) — Tickets to what jam band Phish says will be their last show are sold out, and scalpers are getting as much as $915 for admission to next month's two-day festival, which were originally priced at $150.

From left: Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Page McConnell and Mike Gordon are Phish.

Elektra Entertainment

Some 70,000 people have tickets to the show, which will be held at the Newport State Airport and surrounding fields in Coventry Aug. 14-15.

Veronica Lusk, sales representative for Internet broker eSeats.com, said she has only about 40 seats left to sell.

Because eSeats.com resells tickets for clients who name their own prices, the Web site lists tickets from $515 to $915. Lusk said the demand for even the $915 seats is there.

"At this price, they are going really fast," she said recently. "We can sell them for this much. People are buying them. I've never really seen general admission tickets for this much."

Brad Feldman, a 23-year-old Chicago business analyst, has been a Phish fan for 10 years. He's hoping to get a ticket, but refuses to pay much more than the price on the stub.

"Phish is different," he said. "When people need a ticket and you have some, you sell it at face. Hopefully good karma comes back."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/20...-sold-out_x.htm