Phish Turn Indio Into 'Little Vermont' for Festival 8

Posted on Oct 19th 2009 10:00AM by Benjy Eisen
Comments

Phish is going to be the only band performing at Festival 8 in Indio, Calif. from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, when the band's hardcore following descends upon the Empire Polo Club to devour eight sets of Phish in just three days. The shows will include a high-noon acoustic set on Sunday -- during which, coffee and donuts will be served (seriously) -- and a "Halloween" set on Saturday, during which Phish will cover a classic album in its entirety. While the actual album remains under wraps, after a process of elimination that started with 99 albums, the remaining candidates include selections from David Bowie, Prince, Radiohead, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, King Crimson and -- most surprisingly -- MGMT.

While they will be the only ones performing, Phish will not be the only attraction at Festival 8. By the time gates open on Oct. 30, Phish will have built a veritable adult-sized playground and fantasy-driven alternate reality. To get an idea of what we're talking about, many of the features and certainly the infrastructure of Bonnaroo was inspired directly from Phish's past festivals. Crews have already begun to converge on the grounds and convert them into Phish territory. In fact, Phish's organization currently refers to Indio as "Little Vermont."

Some of the things fans can look forward to: a limited-release Sierra Nevada beer crafted just for Festival 8 (a pilsner called "Foam"), specially commissioned figure 8 glazed donuts, an onsite and all-local farmer's market and a "House of Live Phish" which will be an air-conditioned tent that offers fans a chance to remix live tracks from Phish's recent summer tour under the guidance of skilled on-site technicians. Even more intriguing, Phish will build two major attractions entitled "the Overlook" and "the Coil," respectively. The former will feature "particularly bloody" Bloody Mary cocktails (in the spirit of Halloween) and a cinema area that will screen Halloween classics as well as current NFL and World Series games. Take note, Phish kids: the Overlook area will actually open a night before the festival's official start, giving fans a chance to preview the weekend's festivities. As for "the Coil," Phish says that it will be an interactive, living, breathing feature with art installations and multiple opportunities for hands-on involvement.

According to Phish's website, in addition to calling the venue and surrounding areas "Little Vermont," the temporary transplants in Indio "also call raisins 'sun grapes,' which is just weird." As if everything about else about Festival 8 was, you know, completely normal.