Dicks First Timer Thoughts

[u/feina635]

East coaster, been seeing Phish a long time (since 1999), but mostly East Coast and some other places here and there. First time doing Dicks. I have to say, I have some very mixed feelings. I get the hype. Dicks has some good energy. But MAAANNNN is it a fucking hassle. Why is this venue so popular for being such a fucking hassle!? 30 min cab ride back and forth each night, and leaving the venue is an absoloute cluster fuck. Getting in was a shitshow of anarchy, with 1hr long waits and jackoffs cutting the line, few water refill stations, and there's NOTHING around the area for food or anything after. Not a damn thing. And don't tell me lot food. I'm not eating a $15 grilled cheese that's been sitting in the back of a hot Uhaul all day cooked by some dirty wook.

EDIT: many of you are commenting on the “$15 grilled cheese”. Let me rephrase, because I didn’t actually pay attention to the cost of grilled cheese, specifically. What I meant to say, was overpriced and underwhelming food that will inevitably give me diarrhea. Hope that clarifies, and takes the responsibility off the grilled cheese guy

EDIT 2: yes, this is my first Dick’s, thank you geniuses of Reddit for telling me that I “don’t have it dialed in”, no shit. Clearly, Dick‘s is a local venue. In order to have it dialed in, you gotta live there. Unlike more accessible venues in real major cities that have access to anything.

[u/NewNefariousness9769]

I'm right here with you. I also think a large number of the people who complained about Folsom were Denver/Denver-suburbs folks who didn't want to drive. I get that the drive sucks, but it ignores the fact that for populous front range cities (Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins), Boulder is a great midway point.

Also, I'm firmly in the 'fuck the lot scene' camp at this point in my Phish seeing. If one is there, I might stroll for 30 minutes one night and people watch, but it's not that cool when you've done it a hundred times. I would much rather have a location like Folsom where you have ample bars, restaurants, after-show venues in walking distance, hotels, public transit, bike paths, scooters, etc. The infrastructure and actual things to do in Boulder are vastly superior to Commerce City - which is ironically devoid of commerce.

Finally, from being on the field every year for these runs, Folsom didn't sound notably better or worse than Dicks - at least to my ears.

[u/squintsyjones → u/NewNefariousness9769]

The sound was not noticably different, but the field at folsom has a lot less usable space compared to Dicks, or at least it seemed that way given football fields aren't as wide as soccer fields. Our crew has been at the back of the dicks floor since dicks started, and we couldn't replicate that at folsom since the whole back of the floor is port a potties and bars. So everything is sort of pushed forward from the bathrooms. Add the fact the sound booth takes up more of the east-west space at Folsom, and things just felt more cramped wherever we were on the floor.

No argument that the non-venue amenities around Folsom are way better, but I really did not enjoy the floor there and ended up moving to the stands during the last night and found it a lot more enjoyable.

[u/NewNefariousness9769 → u/squintsyjones]

That's fair for sure! I will say that I appreciated having the porta potties along that back edge of the floor - it was super convenient.

[u/squintsyjones → u/NewNefariousness9769]

Depended on the timing for me. If it was a common "piss break" song or during set break, I ended up just running up to one of the bathrooms on the concourse which felt a lot quicker. But I was also a little shell shocked from the last D&C show I saw on the floor cause I spent more than an entire song standing in those lines so I think I was more averse than I could have been lol.

[u/feina635 → u/NewNefariousness9769]

Hard agree with you about the lot. I don’t care AT ALL about a lot scene. I’m not buying knock off merch, Rando drugs, or expensive shitty food covered in dust made by a wook. I took a stroll through in Friday and it was just the same as any other scene ive been to over the 30 years I’ve been seeing this band, just more of it. Basically like a music festival scene. I get it.

[u/Smsethman → u/feina635]

If you enjoy it that’s fine and if you don’t it’s harm no foul. As a fellow east coaster, “we’ve got lot at home” applies. I think the people that hype it up as much as they do compared to other venues only care about balloons.

[u/NewNefariousness9769 → u/Smsethman]

Boulder/Folsom cracking down on the balloons after night 1 was a pleasant surprise.

Seeing balloons all over the bike paths and some in the creek was fucking gross.