The last several tours since the band’s return have definitely taken a few shows to ramp up with the first couple shows generally considered not much more than a warm-up. How about Bethel? Did Phish jump right into some extraordinary shows in their Bethel shows? Nearly 75% of fans were shocked at the level Phish played coming out of the gates.
So Bethel was great as a whole. But what about the rest of the tour? Which shows were considered the best? In a clear nod to how great the tour was, even with Bethel Night 1’s great show, it did not even make the Top Five. DTE, Bethel Night 2, Charlotte, Blossom and Portsmouth were clearly the Top Five. Frankly, the remainder we are all ‘also-rans’ with not many more votes than Ralph Nader in 2008.
Next, we were curious to compare the thoughts of the people that were in Alpharetta compared with those that were not and impressions of the shows and the Official Streams. We had 1,000 respondents who were not in Alpharetta and a little more than 100 who were at the actual shows.
Here’s a look at how many respondents bought the stream…
What did people think of the stream? Would they buy it again? In a clear indication that this is a great idea for Phish, the most lopsided of all the survey questions was this one – fans clearly want more webcasts.
So 97% of all fans buying the streams would do it again! Knock-knock, hello Phish…MORE STREAMS! Obviously people were pleased with the quality. I hope the few that weren’t impressed figure out that the issue is with their DL speed from their ISP and not any issue with Nugs.net.
What about those that didn’t buy stream – was price the issue? Clearly for some people it was, but not the majority. Perhaps dropping the price a couple bucks would capture more of the market.
And those that were there? Wicked storm huh? Worst you’ve ever seen? For many, it was.
The most interesting stats about these Alpharetta shows were how those in attendance viewed the performances as compared with those who watched the webcast versus those who simply listened. Clearly, each one of those environments affected overall perception of the run.
Here’s what people who were there thought…
And from those who watched the live stream…
And finally, from those who simply listened:
What do you want to hear that was played often in 2010 but has not yet appeared in 2011?
Despite reports (rumors) of low ticket sales, a pretty healthy percentage of respondents are trekking to Watkins Glen.
How about UIC? There seemed to be quite a bit of chatter about a run of three shows inside in the middle of summer. What do people think of this? Clearly not as big of a deal as some blogs made it out to be.
MVP so far? In past Trey and Mike have both ruled the roost. What about this tour? Page! A clear majority of fans felt like the Chairman of the Boards had a stellar tour so far.
One of the notable distinctions of this tour was the lack of debuts. Despite a dearth of new material there were a small handful of debuts. Which struck a chord with fans? Steam was the clear winner followed by PNC’s debut of No Quarter. Surprisingly, Thunder Road barely registered and Rhymes from Mansfield resonated about as well as the Dr. Gabel debut did there previously.
Which encore hit home and put a great punctuation mark on the show? Clearly, one encore stood out from the rest.
One of the criticisms of the tour was the tendency of jams to end relatively quickly. Some were actually jarring. Which “ripcord” bummed the fanbase out the most?
Another knock of the tour was repeats. It’s an unfounded complaint looking back at the history of Phish and the frequency of song selections. Nevertheless, some felt like they needed more of a break between shows. Which songs do fans feel need a rest?
How about those signs? There were some hilarious moments (Jennifer Dances) with signs, as well as touching (Harpua) and everything in between. Your thoughts on the prevalence of song request signs?
How many shows did you catch?
Phish will not be playing this Fall. What side project do you want to see? And thanks to all the clowns answering Pork Tornado!
Yeah, totally random question here. But last week an interesting Twitter exchange happened dissecting, discussing and remembering the Finger Lakes Tweezer or ‘Fleezer,’ so we figured we’d ask your take on the jam.
Leg One is over. What are you looking forward to in Leg Two?
Thoughts on Phish Tickets By Mail?
Pricing Tiers?
How about pricing as a whole? Expensive? Cheap?
Like debuts, bustouts were relatively few and far between. Yet there were some bustouts that were exciting. Which ones were most well received? Not sure what the ‘other’ were. Which did we miss?
Although there was not a show without highlights in the entire tour and each multi-night run had its own flavor and highlights, which set of shows was the best?
Where do fans get their info about Phish? More people turn towards Phish.net with 83% of respondents than any other source. Other high profile and well respected sites include YEMBlog, HiddenTrack, Phish.com, Miner’s Phish Thoughts, and Twitter.
There’s a ton of great feedback we got in these questions offering a glimpse into the collective mindset of Phish fans this summer.
Later this week, we’ll follow up with an assessment of the venues Phish played in Leg One as well as all the open ended questions:
Favorite Jams from Leg 1, Favorite Moments from Leg 1, Three Words to Describe the Tour, and General Thoughts about the state of Phish and Leg 1 as a whole.
You don’t want to miss these responses, so stay tuned for some more compelling reading!
Thanks again for taking the survey and leave comments on which responses surprised you, which you agreed with, and your thoughts on the responses.
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