There's a lot of stupidity on "the scene" which needs to be addressed. Nearly all of the stories on this site have to do with someone being intoxicated. While it's fine and fun to do, when it becomes part of a lifestyle, not only is it potentially dangerous, but it's also a bad reflection upon us as a community, as well as an increased burden when trips go bad, drunken tempers flare, etc, etc, etc. If you need drugs to enjoy Phish, then you don't truly enjoy them in the first place, and you'd be doing the rest of us a favor by staying home.

As for the poverty thing, I've been getting more and more agitated with the whole thing since I started going to Phish shows in 1992. It's one thing for a homeless guy to ask me for a buck or two for a sandwich. He's out on the street, has no cash and no job, and I can only hope that his (or her) situation improves. However, when some unwashed "hippie" decides to hop on tour with no cash, no tickets and no hope, that's another story. If you have to stroll the lots looking for half of a sandwich or begging someone for a ticket, then STAY THE FUCK HOME!!! Again, it ends up being a burden on the entire scene when these "phans" can't take on the responsibilities of real life.

This kinda segues me into the other jokers that I take issue with. Happily, they seemed to have drifted away from Phish tour, but they were awfully annoying in 96. I'm speaking of the people who couldn't go back to real life after Jerry died in 95. These people all hopped onto Phish tour and made the scene a bit of a strain. One guy in particular really pissed me off at Deer Creek (ahh, for the days when the summer sheds had names instead of sponsorships...) when he saw me and a friend wrestling and blowing off some steam (all to ourselves, I might add...I would never do anything to hurt anyone else's enjoyment of the experience).  He came up to me and told me, "man, Jerry wouldn't appreciate that man!" It killed me to have to look him in the eye and say, "DUDE! JERRRY'S DEAD!!!" If you want to hop on someone else's scene, that's cool, but don't force your thing on me.

On a rather silly note, coming out of that show, there was one of those notorious Indiana road blocks. The ones where they divert all of the traffic onto 65, and then all of the traffic onto one exit, where they have the TV crews for "Cops" waiting to get something interesting. At least a 1/2 mile before the actual road block (once you realized you were indeed part of the roadblock action), there was a sign up: "Have your license, proof of insurance and registration ready." So, I had them all ready when a cop finally came to my window. To which he promptly says, "you know what? You're the first person all night to actually have these ready for me...you're free to go."

While this was cool for me (I had about $2K worth of beer in the trunk), what does that say about us as a scene? That Phish fans are too stupid to read? I hope not. That Phish fans have no respect for the authority figures that can easily throw them in jail? More than likely. Again, when you leave that kind of taste in their mouths when you leave an area, it's not fair to bash them when they clamp down the next time Phish is in town. You did it to yourselves. And to me. And you have, trust me. Remember the gate crashing at Red Rocks and the mayhem at Jazz Fest the next time you get harrassed by a cop. They're might be a little harsh, but you gave them reason to be.

Of course, I'm probably not a real fan either, regardless of the number of shows I've been to or the hours of tape that I have, because I refuse to go to a show without a ticket, and I refuse to go on tour unless I have hotel rooms ready for every night I'm on the road. That's my thing, and if you want to camp, more power to you, but don't tell me that I'm not doing things right because I'm doing them the way I want to. This coming from certain members of a community that claims to be all about "doing your own thing..." sure it is.

Even with all of that said, I'll always go to shows, because I love the music, and I love the lights, I love about 98% of the people I meet on tour, I love the conversations, the statistical analysis of what tune should start off a show, the ability to hop into a drum circle and jam out for 45 minutes, the veggie burritos, the weird looks I get when I'm trying to find someone selling soda before a show and the fact that you won't find better non-jazz (considering the jams on this tour, maybe they are becoming a jazz band...I'd love it...) band ANYWHERE.

There's more to love about the scene than this little rant lets on. But seeing people begging for half my sandwich because they haven't eaten in two days says something to me. Yes, part of it is pity, but a lot more of it wants me to scream "If you're that broke, what the hell are you doing here?!?!" Hearing people complain that someone doesn't look heady enough speaks volumes to me. Let's hope that the "scene" has yet to hit its glory days, where people think before they act, and always act out of kindness, and not out of expectation. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I'll be listening to this killer Timber that I've got playing in the background.

- jazzypaul