Back in early June, a Phish.net forum thread appeared with a few YouTube videos that had been uploaded from the exterior of Worcester’s DCU Center where Phish would kick off their 2012 Summer Tour the following evening. A prescient user noted:

Come Labor Day Monday, when the tour has ended, we’ll look back on this night, when we were so eager and anxious that watching a video of a rusty door with muffled sound resonating through it was exciting, and it will feel like it was so much longer ago than it was.

And all those summer memories that haven’t happened yet will flash through our minds.

This is a special night.

Summer is about to begin.

Have fun!!

Indeed, it seems like ages ago that Phish took that stage and opened the tour with Buried Alive and closed the second set with a Buried Alive Reprise after ripping through an incredible second set with outstanding versions of Carini, Ghost, Boogie On Reggae Woman and If I Could, among others. Using the first Worcester show as a stepping stone for the entire summer, the band was seemingly on a mission and many fans were thrilled to be part of it. Fun was had indeed!

We’ve done a handful of surveys in the past to gauge fan sentiment on a variety of topics after a tour and it is always insightful to look at the results. Thanks very much for everyone that responded – we were able to get over 1,500 participants.

[Tour Opener in Worcester by Parker Harrington]

 

Thinking about Summer 2012, Leg II, was this the single best tour since the Hampton reunion in 2009?

A whopping 82% of fans felt that Leg 2′s tour set the high water mark for Phish tours in the so-called 3.0 era. For the fans that answered “NO” (that is wasn’t the single best tour since return), the following tours got votes as being as good or better than Leg 2. It is worth noting that just over 10% of respondents felt that the First Leg was just as good as the Second.

2009 Reunion 8

2009 Early Summer 6

2009 Late Summer 9

2009 Fall 18

2009 NYE Run 12

2010 Early Summer 20

2010 Late Summer 25

2010 Fall 81

2010 NYE Run 32

2011 Early Summer 28

2011 Late Summer 45

2011 NYE Run 2

2012 Early Summer Run 159

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Should Late Summer 2012 Tour be in consideration as one of the best tours ever?

YES: 62%

NO:  38%

This question was definitely not asking if this past tour was the best ever. Simply, how good was it? Was it good enough to be considered among the best tours of all time?  Clearly, a good amount of fans hold this tour in pretty high regards considering all the historic shows that the band has had.

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What was the best show of this past tour?

Dick’s 1	648	43%
Dick’s 2	262	17%
Bill Graham 3	228	15%
Dick’s 3	172	11%
Chaifetz, St. Louis	64	4%
Verizon, Charlotte	42	3%
Long Beach	28	2%
Oak Mountain, AL	21	1%
Bill Graham 2	14	1%
Bill Graham 1	8	1%
Starlight, Kansas City	8	1%
Zoo, OKC	5	0%
Aaron’s, Atlanta	1	0%

 

The three nights of the Dick’s Run and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium finale constitute nearly 90% of all the votes with Dick’s 1 clearly leading the pack at 650 votes and 43%. Lowest vote getter was Aaron’s in Atlanta that could only muster up 1 solitary vote. Others that only garnered a few votes were Bill Graham 1 (8), Starlight (8), Bill Graham 2 (14) and the Zoo in OKC (5).

 

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Which “Bust Out” over 100 Shows were you the happiest to hear again?

Emotional Rescue – Dick’s	300	20%
Skin it Back – Jones Beach	220	15%
Sweet Jane – Deer Creek	151	10%
Psycho Killer – SPAC	147	10%
La Grange – SPAC	127	8%
Shafty – Bonnaroo	108	7%
Shaggy Dog – Riverbend	61	4%
Avenu Malkenu – Jones Beach	66	4%
Purple Rain – Jones Beach	53	4%
Happiness  Warm Gun – JB	51	3%
Bittersweet Motel – Jones Beach	40	3%
Dog Log – nTelos	48	3%
Old Home Place – Deer Creek	35	2%
Cracklin’ Rosie – SPAC	36	2%
Blister in the Sun – SPAC	32	2%
Head Held High – Jones Beach	13	1%

Most of the bust-outs got a modest amount of votes at a minimum.  Hopefully you heard a couple of your old favorites that hadn’t been played in the last 100 shows. Emotional Rescue made the biggest impact followed by classics Skin it Back, Sweet Jane and Psycho Killer.

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Which of the previous bust-outs do you think might return to at least semi-regular rotation?

Skin it Back	512	35%
NONE	236	16%
Old Home Place	196	13%
Sweet Jane	163	11%
La Grange	147	10%
Bittersweet Motel	140	9%
Emotional Rescue	140	9%
Psycho Killer	127	9%
Shafty	118	8%
Avenu Malkenu	73	5%
Head Held High	47	3%
Purple Rain	46	3%
Happiness Is a Warm Gun	40	3%
Cracklin’ Rosie	40	3%
Dog Log	37	2%
Shaggy Dog	16	1%
Blister in the Sun	13	1%

 

Who knows if any of these bust-outs might appear with more regularity? Time will tell. But considering Skin It Back was the only bust out to appear a second time this summer, it’s no surprise it garnered the most votes.

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Considering the amount of shows that were webcast this summer, how do you feel about the quantity?

Way Too Few- They All Should be Webcast	350	23%
Too Few	151	10%
Perfect	811	54%
Too Many	152	10%
Phish shows should not be webcast at all	26	2%

Even though 40% of shows were webcast [Bonnaroo, nTelos 1 & 2, Jones Beach 1 & 2, Oak Mountain, Bill Graham 1, 2, 3, and Dick's 1, 2, 3] only 12% of respondents felt that it was too many. That also includes 2% that felt that Phish shows shouldn’t be webcast at all.

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Does the fact that a show is being webcast change your experience at the show if you are attending?

Only 77 people (5%)  have their experience changed, for the better or worse, if the show they are attending is webcast. I am assuming that the bulk of the 77 votes were cast as a “negative” effect, but who knows, maybe some enjoy the fact that the cameras are rolling.

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How Many Webcasts Did You Watch?

5+	361	24%
0	342	23%
3	240	16%
2	228	15%
1	185	12%
4	139	9%

 

Looks like the good folks at LivePhish & nugs.net had quite a massive haul this summer with the amount of  webcasts purchased.  Over half the respondents saw three or more and 25% watched five or more.

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Does a webcast effect the band’s performance?

YES. Definitely	2%
Probably	17%
Probably Not	52%
NO. Definitely not	28%

Seemed to be quite a bit of conversation and controversy about this earlier in the summer. It turned out to be much-a-do about nothing as it is nearly impossible to predict much of anything with Phish or to assign reasons as to why things happen.

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Was one of the shows you saw this summer your first Phish show?

There’s no question that the number of “YES” responses is skewed lower than what was the actual number of first time attendees this summer as new fans likely wouldn’t come across this survey as easily as existing fans. Yet it is worthwhile wondering if Phish is still resonating on college campuses and bringing in new fans at the rate that they’ve been able to since 2009.

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How many shows did you see this summer?

1	160	11%
2	210	14%
3	222	15%
4	185	12%
5	166	11%
6	116	8%
7	96	6%
8	69	5%
9	48	3%
10	44	3%
11+	158	11%

Wow! Nearly 50% of fans saw five or more shows and over 10% attended more than 11! I have to think there is no other band that can draw so many people from coast to coast and North to South.

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Phish ticket pricing?

Good Value	361	24%
About Right	774	51%
Too Expensive	305	20%
No Opinion	55	4%

Three-quarters of fans think the price of ducats are either a “good value” or “about right”.  Only one in five thinks that ticket prices are too expensive. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that 2013 doesn’t usher in any increases.

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Were you shut-out of any shows?

92% of you got tickets to every show that you wished to go to while the other 8% were unable to get tickets.

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How did you enjoy the variety of venues played this summer in comparison to previous summers? (Smaller venues, indoors, new locations, non-traditional, etc?)

Loved the venues this summer	758	50%
Liked the venues this summer	694	46%
Disliked the venues this summer	30	2%

With nearly 100% of respondents either “liking” or “loving” the venues that were played this summer, Phish and their booking agent get high marks on their venue booking.

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Would you prefer Phish play some more smaller, more intimate venues even if it meant harder to get tickets and potentially being shut out?

Yes- Most definitely! It’s worth the extra effort.	798	53%
No- They should play venues that can accommodate everybody	437	29%
No opinion	248	16%

Interesting result here with such a high percentage reporting that the thrill of a smaller venue outweighs the hassle of ticketing and even potentially watching or listening from home.

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Favorite moments from Dick’s?

Light	873	61%
Sand	754	53%
Chalkdust -> Emotional Rescue	480	33%
Undermind	449	31%
Mike’s -> No Quarter	369	26%
Runaway Jim	231	16%
Carini	196	14%
Caspian Jam	174	12%
Golden Age	129	9%
Harry Hood	121	8%
Piper	106	7%
Tweezer	87	6%
Other	87	6%
Farmhouse	77	5%
Bathtub Gin	72	5%
Down with Disease	40	3%

So many highlights from this run of three standout shows. Not much more to say about them other than they are all must-listens.

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Favorite Show Opener?

First Tube, Dick’s 1	314	21%
Skin It Back, Jones Beach 1	292	19%
Antelope, Dick’s 2	273	18%
Buried Alive, Worcester	194	13%
Alumni -> Letter -> Alumni, Jones Beach 2	71	5%
Soul Shakedown Party, Apline 2	69	5%
Punch You In The Eye, St Louis	60	4%
Mike’s Groove, AC2	36	2%
Crowd Control, BG3	33	2%
Sloth, AC1	32	2%
Other	26	2%
Free, Worcester	21	1%
Brother, AC3	18	1%
Wolfman’s, Riverbend	18	1%
Birdwatcher, Deer Creek	17	1%
Suzy, Long Beach	15	1%
Crowd Control, Deer Creek 2	11	1%
My Soul, Alpine 1	4	0%

This was one of the closest “races” in our survey as the First Tube from the Fuck Your Face show won with 21% while the Skin It Back bust out from Jones Beach and the rare Run Like An Antelope opener from the second night of Dick’s were right behind at 19% and 18% respectively. Also worth noting is how many Leg I openers made a strong showing including Worcester’s Buried Alive which opened the tour.

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If you could pick just one…which would it be? Full blown festival at end of summer or a New Year’s Eve run?

Twice as many fans would prefer to see a full-blown festival vs. the traditional New Year’s Run. If Phish blows it out at this year’s NYE Run, it will be interesting to see how the results change considering the lukewarm reaction to the last holiday run.

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Favorite “Birthday” song performance of the tour?

Lizards’s 300th at Dick’s	594	39%
Run Like an Antelope’s 400th at Dick’s	442	29%
Chalkdust’s 400th at Atlanta	306	20%
Moma Dance’s 100th at Charlotte	96	6%

A handful of fan favorites hit some pretty big milestones this summer and interestingly, each one seemed to have a “little extra mustard”.

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Favorite segue of the summer?

Dick’s Sand -> Ghost	774	53%
BGCA’s Light -> Sally -> Crosseyed and Painless Reprise	569	39%
SPAC’s Tube -> Psycho Killer -> Tube	294	20%
AC’s Light -> Manteca -> Light	238	16%
Worcester’s Sand -> Nellie Kane	192	13%
AC’s Birds of a Feather -> Back on the Train	164	11%
St. Louis’ Chalkdust -> Frankie Says -> Undermind	146	10%
Alpine’s Golden Age -> 2001	134	9%
Burgettstown’s Weekapaug -> Seven Below	110	8%
Jones Beach’s Sand -> Golden Age	101	7%
SPAC’s Disease -> Blister in the Sun	65	4%
Other	40	3%

This survey is almost like the 1998 Academy Awards when Titanic put a whooping on the other contenders as the Dick’s Run nearly swept every category including this one. An unbelievable 53%, more than half of respondents, picked the transition from Sand -> Ghost from the tour finale as the best segue of the summer.  The amazing Light -> Sally -> Crosseyed Reprise segment from the final night of the San Francisco Run wasn’t too far behind at 39%. Worcester’s interesting and well played Sand -> Nellie Kane rounded out the Top Five.

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Thoughts on the official tour posters?

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Who is your favorite artist that you would like to see get an official print?

AJ Masthay	462	31%
TRiPP	179	12%
Ryan Kerrigan	127	8%
John Warner	61	4%
Bruce Horan	59	4%
Ric Hersh	38	3%
Other	578	38%

While AJ Masthay led the pack with nearly 1/3 of all votes, clearly there’s plenty of great artists that fans would love to see get a chance at the coveted “official print”.

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Glowsticks?

I have to say, this one surprised me a bit. Nearly 90% of fans either “love them” or don’t care one way or the other. I would have figured the “Hate ‘Em” crowd would have been a little bigger but then again: if many more fans hated them, they probably would have disappeared long ago.

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Bieber Fever?

By and large, JB’s appearance at Long Beach was considered either “fun” or went unnoticed by a gross majority of fans. A small percentage (8%) felt that the resulting press coverage and chatter took away from the Phish experience.

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Plan on seeing Trey band in the fall?

57% (857 people) plan on seeing Trey this fall. An interesting follow up question for those answering “No” would have been, “Why Not?” Geography, expense, no interest, etc.?

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See you at the NYE run?

For those answering YES…see you there! For those answering NO, hope you can enjoy some of the webcasts. In either event, you can be certain Hidden Track will be covering it all for you.

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 Three Words to describe your thoughts on Phish right now. [click to enlarge]

 

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Final Thoughts?

Wow. We sure got a ton of great comments – about 1/3 of you were gracious enough to leave comments on the tour, Phish in general, ticketing, webcasts, Hidden Track coverage and future expectations and hopes for the band. Space constraints precludes them from being posted here but please follow THIS LINK to read ALL the comments that were left. (Note – in an effort to eliminate blank rows from the Google Doc, the comments were sorted alphabetically)

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Did any of the survey results surprise you? What did you find the most interesting? Any other thoughts you wished you had left?

• Previous Phish Surveys: Summer 201o Leg One, Summer 2010 Leg Two, Fall 2010 and Summer 2011 (Leg One)