On July 16 and 17, 2013, Phish will return to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park for their third twin bill at the summer home of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO). The amphitheatre, owned by the ASO parent organization Woodruff Arts Center, features a 7,000 seat fan-shaped roofed pavillion and low-angle lush green lawn that will accommodate an additional 5,000 fans that are in turn encircled by some of the heritage trees that are characteristic of the larger 45-acre park in which the amphitheatre is set. The amphitheatre will be enjoying its sixth summer concert season since opening in May 2008. The Woodruff Arts Center in turn, is completing its 45th year since being established in October 1968 as the Memorial Arts Center in memory of over 100 of Atlanta’s arts and civic leaders lost in a June 1962 crash on takeoff of Air France Flight 007 (a Boeing 707 named The Chateau de Sully) as it departed Orly, France. This crash, represented the first civilian jet disaster with greater than 100 deaths (130 total); making it the worst single plane disaster at that time, the third worst air disaster overall through 1962, and the catalyst that changed Atlanta’s modern cultural history forever.

Occurring in the midst of the civil rights movement in the United States, “the day Atlanta stood still” is likened to Atlanta’s equivalent of 9/11 by Ann Uhry Abrams in her 2002 biography of the victims entitled Explosion at Orly. The crash was commemorated in Andy Warhol’s first disaster painting 129 Die in Jet (which is technically accurate...since the 130th victim later died in a hospital), led Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Belafonte to cancel a planned sit-in against racial segregation to allow the city to grieve, and vaulted Malcolm X into his place of nationwide notoriety during a speech in Los Angeles after he gave thanks for the plane full of over 120 white people falling from the sky and indicated that he would continue to pray that another one falls out of the sky every day. These incendiary words, later repudiated by MLK, are the stark negative counterpoint to everything the Atlanta Arts Association has endeavored to provide to enrich the culture of the city since that tragic day. The vitriol the words espouse are also evocative of the first of the two most explosive moments that have transpired during Phish performances at the amphitheatre that was born from the ashes of an air disaster in a time of racial division.

The first instance of Alpharetta fireworks, appropriately enough, occurred on Independence Day 2010 during the second set of the second night of the first Phish doubleheader. After a “Harpua” narration in which Trey excoriated both the conventional and alternate history books of our great nation as a collection of lies; he explained that Phish was actually weaving the true alternate history of our country into their song lyrics and they were one of only two bands that wouldn’t bullshit us. He identified the other as being Rage Against the Machine and then launched into an electrifying version of the Rage classic “Killing in the Name” with Fishman on vocals and a full-blown mosh pit writhing throughout the amphitheatre. As discussed in some detail elsewhere and in keeping with the undertones of racial strife that unfortunately still pervade in certain parts of the south, this song choice represents one of the more blatant political statements Phish has ever made as a band.

The second electrifying yet culturally insensitive instance of fireworks in Encore Park occurred at what ultimately became the end of the first set of the second of two shows Phish played at the amphitheatre shortly before Juneteenth 2011. These fireworks were of the atmospheric variety as a late spring thunderstorm with unconfirmed tornado reports rumbled through the region. The inclement weather lead Phish to bring an early end to their set and resulted in the only divided “Mound” to date. A “Mound” divided will not stand...the irony here being that because of the storm, and the delay in restarting the second set, the show likely didn’t end until after midnight...making it a perfect way to honor the 153rd anniversary of the great emancipator’s legendary “A House Divided” speech before the Hall of Representatives on June 16, 1858. Somehow, as always, everything seems to be connected to everything. The second set once resumed certainly absorbed some of the electricity in the atmosphere and was well played and well received despite the delay; but by all means it did not compare with the legendary lightning show at Walnut Creek on 7/22/97.

So where does that leave us for the return engagement? As Darius Rucker recently found out following a performance of Bob Dylan’s “Wagon Wheel” at the amphitheatre and his induction into the Grand Ole Opry, racism is still alive and well in 2013. Clearly as a nation there is more work to be done. By attending these Phish shows in Encore Park you are effectively taking part in that process through your support of the Woodruff Arts Center and their continuing efforts toward the cultural enlightenment of the city of Atlanta. The greater Atlanta area has been the site of some legendary Phish performances. Considering this year marks the 20th anniversary of the visit to the Roxy, these upcoming shows are likely to be hot and sweaty. Based on the fireworks that have erupted during recent trips to the amphitheatre, they may get served up with a side of thunder and lightning. All we can hope is that it is not the musical equivalent of the disaster in Orly. That will of course likely be dependent on whether or not the shows are webcast.

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