by Cactus Jack, new contributor to The Phunion
After the hurricane Irene disaster left parts of Vermont in shambles causing many residents and business owners to be left with nothing, the home state heroes Phish are putting on a benefit concert to aid the Vermont relief fund. The concert also serves as relief for fans of the Vermont jamband who are still recovering from the Coventry, VT festival back in August of 2004. One anonymous phish fan said “It’s great that Phish has stepped up to help their fans recover from the Coventry festival while at the same time help the state of Vermont in such tragic times.”
The Coventry disaster is known by many Phish fans as “The worst concert ever.” This not only includes the 1,000 plus shows phish has played over their career but includes every concert by all artists throughout music history. These are harsh words when you include the likes of the Rolling Stones Altamont concert, Woodstock 99 and the ensuing riots, as well as every String Cheese Incident concert ever.
artist rendering of Coventry
Yet Phish now has their opportunity to right the ship that was Coventry. While that boat is still stuck in the mud from that fateful weekend trip back in 2004, Phish fans believe in their hearts they can. “They’ve been killing it this last tour and Trey is playing like he did in 98’: a lot of great bustouts and jams. While they will never be as good a pre 1998 it shouldn’t be hard to put on a better show than 2004.” said a local resident and fan.
Many Phish fans may even return to the spot known as the worst concert ever, to reminisce about the tragedy of Coventry. One heartbroken fan said “I may go to Coventry while I come up to Vermont for the benefit concert but I have mixed emotions about it. While I’m happy to have this concert to make up for the concert in Coventry I also lost many good sandals to the mud that weekend. You can’t bring those sandals back ever. Even with a benefit concert in Vermont.” Some may try to look for the famous memorial rhombus left behind at the Coventry site to mark the date of the festival that was claimed to be Phish’s last concert but Town officials warn fans to not seek it out. Unfortunately, reports from 2004 show that the memorial was buried in mud before the concert ended and it has yet to be recovered.
While this concert might never make up for the mess left in Coventry, many fans are hoping to find solace in the upcoming benefit concert. The trek may be long and arduous physically and emotionally to come back to Vermont for a concert put on by the band Phish but the reward for some fans could be a great concert. It may also ease the mind of many fans still troubled by the Coventry festival.
Of course not all fans are happy about the benefit concert as Jon Horningston from California states “Why no west coast love? We always get left out."
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