Phish Rockin’ Dick’s: Need we say more? Photo: Dan Shinneman
It was solidified with a roaring chant from the crowd of 25,000 die-hard fans. “We love Dick’s! We love Dick’s!” The members of Phish and their rabid faithful had found a new favorite venue in the most unlikeliest of places—the industrial confines of Commerce City.
Last summer Dick’s Sporting Goods Park—the sprawling home of the Colorado Rapids pro soccer squad—hosted a second annual multi-night run by the jam kings. It was also the second straight year the band used the venue to surprise its audience.
Back in 2010 at the band’s Dick’s debut, the group played a full two-set show of songs that started with the letter “S” and included covers of Bob Marley’s “Soul Shakedown Party” and the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” Then during the first of three nights last year, the first letters of the songs played spelled out the old-school rarity “Fuck Your Face,” which closed the show.
Phish is known for musical antics (vacuum solos, improvising notes to balls bouncing in the crowd, trampolines), and Colorado has a special place in the band’s lore. In 1988 the Vermont-bread band ventured outside of New England for the first time and drove straight to Colorado for a run of shows that included a well-shared tale of shuffling their own equipment across the street between gigs at Telluride’s The Roma and Fly Me to the Moon Saloon. Recordings of the shows were released in 2006 on a live album set, Colorado ’88.
Since their reunion from a five-year break-up in 2009, Phish has gone on some big runs in Colorado, including four nights at Red Rocks and two at Telluride’s Town Park. But limited capacity at both venues left many fans ticketless and angry. While Dick’s may not be the most idyllic venue, it appears to be the solution that will keep the jams coming, and a place where fans can expect the unexpected.
