Another reminiscence that starts with reading the Schvice in my buddy's kitchen in Albany NY and realizing that John Paluska put the phone number to Dionysian Productions on the back page. Logically the next thing to do was say, 'fuck it, I'll call them!' As a member of SUNY Potsdam's Students for Environmental Awareness (SEA) I told John we were putting on a huge Earth Day event incorporating all four colleges in the North Country area. We were organizing a big event and were looking for a closing act. He said it fit perfectly into their tour schedule. A week or so later he sent me a contract. All I needed to do was find someone to sign it, get some money to pay them, and Phish would play at my school. By this time, I had several shows under my belt. I think I was among the first people that started following them around who didn't directly know them. Regardless, I knew how awesome it would be if I could pull it off. So, I set out trying to get the $3,500 needed to book them by approaching the school's Student Government Association (SGA). After my compelling testimony, that did not mention weed, shrooms or copious amounts of alcohol, that outlined how appropriate the band would be for an Earth Day celebration, SEA received a check from the SGA for $2,500. Fuck, we were short a grand. So, off to Clarkson University's Student Government Council I went. After more compelling testimony, another check was issued to the SEA in the amount of $1,000. We had the money but the question of who should sign the contract remained. Once again, the prevailing logic of ‘fuck it’ took course. I signed the contract, stuck it and the payment in the mail and waited for them to show up.
That really was about it. The College Events staff set up the stage like usual and handed me the keys to the Student Union where the band was to play and went home as the show was on a Sunday evening. The guys showed up in their Chevy van pulling their gear. Marley smelled better than they did. They were road haggard and looked ridden hard. We fed them good food with an icy barrel full of nice beers.
Birds of a feather. Those of us who knew, knew what was coming. It was epic. And then the cops showed up. Oops! No one with any real authority from that tiny little school in that tiny little town knew that the biggest jam band of the 90s was going to launch full throttle that evening. Hippie kids were everywhere. The show was free, I wasn’t going to stand around collecting money. We had no plans for security, that wasn’t even a thought. The cops took one look and knew they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. It didn’t take them long to decide they wanted nothing to do with this freak show. Then, the Building Manager showed up with a little minion dude. It started to get tense when all through set-break the Building Manager ranted and raved about laws and policies being broken and that he was going to shut down the show. The band’s road manager, I forget the guy’s name and I don’t think he’s with them anymore, did his best to quell the Building Manager by saying “It’s rock and roll, man! What do you expect?” Despite the road manager’s best effort, he didn’t help. But then, Paul Langeudoc came to the rescue. Paul distracted the Building Manager with an actual safety concern that fell under the Building Manager’s responsibility. Paul drew his attention to one of the main electrical subpanels. It was the panel the band plugged all their equipment into. The subpanel was wired incorrectly. As the safety issue was discussed, the guys blasted off starting the second set with the best Possum I’ve ever heard. The place erupted. And with that, the Building Manager shook his head and walked out looking a bit dejected. The rest is Phish history, I guess. The SEA was suspended for a year from participation in the SGA and the following Monday the electrical subpanel was repaired. So, if you have any electrical problems call Phish!