PHISH IN TELLURIDE - TOWN COUNCIL SAYS "YES," WHAT WILL PHISH SAY? COMPLETE STORY HERE

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MARCH 8TH, 2010: "Telluride Says Yes- What Will Phish Say?" From Telluride Photography.Net-

“I've got to call the band before they hear about [this] on the internet,” said Don Strasburg, Vice President of AEG Live, upon the conclusion of today's Town Council meeting in which the town of Telluride said "Yes" to Phish's proposed August 9th and 10th dates in Town Park.

The overall mood was one of expectancy in Rebekah Hall this morning, considering what was riding on the decision at hand. On the agenda today was the question of Phish, and whether the jamband and promoters Craig Ferguson of Planet Bluegrass and Don Strasburg of AEG Live would get the go-ahead to proceed with the proposed August 9th and 10th Town Park concert dates. The Council said “Yes,” after roughly ninety minutes of discussion, and have effectively passed the ball back to Phish, in whose hands now rests the final decision to play in Telluride.

The crowded meeting room was full of interested parties, ranging from both town and county law enforcement officials and other public officials to business owners and assorted Telluride locals. Many concerns were raised and addressed during the discussion that started just shortly ahead of its scheduled 11:05 time, the first of which being the absence of the parties on whose behalf this particular portion of the Council meeting was actually being held. As Telluride Mayor Stu Fraser opened the topic for discussion, more than one member of the council expressed concern for the fact that neither promoters Ferguson and Strasburg or any of the Telluride Jazz Celebration staff were in attendance. All concerns evaporated only moments later as the group of Ferguson, Strasburg, Telluride Jazz Executive Director Paul Machado, Jazz Board of Directors President Terry Tice, and KOTO events coordinator Janice Zink arrived to the meeting together, hurriedly taking their seats to join in. Ferguson apologized for their tardiness as he explained that they had all only moments previously adjourned from a last-minute meeting of their own to coordinate their efforts in order to make the Phish concerts a reality. All were relieved and an easy mood filled the air.
Ferguson and Strasburg addressed the Council first and put to rest one of the main concerns of locals surrounding the concerts, that of ticket availability. According to Strasburg, a minimum of 1500 tickets per concert will be made available to locals for purchase from local retail outlets only (not online), and locals will have the option to purchase tickets to individual nights, whereas the general public will be required to purchase a ticket for both nights. Ferguson, with a smile on his face, asked Strasburg at one point, “Can we put these tickets on sale locally before they go on sale at Ticketmaster?” Laughter filled the room as all could guess the answer- and the result of such a move.

If ticket access was the chief concern of locals, then funding for the additional security needed to handle the event must have been the chief concern of the Council itself. Roughly an additional $16,000 will be needed on top of the $45,000 already being collected by the Town of Telluride’s $2.50 per ticket per night tax in order to cover security costs. A provision in the movement guarantees at least $15,000 be contributed by Phish or the promoters to cover these costs, which generated concern from Strasburg on Phish’s side of things, as all taxes/fees collected by the town to cover security costs will ultimately come out of Phish’s capped-off ticket price of $49.95 , thereby eating into their profits. The tickets are capped at just under fifty buck for a reason, Strasburg said. “The band is very particular about making the [concert] experience a reasonable price [for its fans].

San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters expressed concerns that our local jails may be overtaxed due to possible drug-related arrests. Chief among these concerns was that of LSD trafficking. At the Grateful Dead shows in Telluride in 1987 there were twenty arrests for LSD trafficking, and just one of these arrests can tie up the local jails for as long as a year. Masters did not necessarily anticipate a high number of drug arrests at the Phish shows, but was expressing concern just the same.

Other primary concerns were the implication of a barricade into town as for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. All parties agreed that if deemed necessary for security reasons, a barricade may be implemented on Sunday afternoon prior to the concerts, no earlier than 5pm [so as not to deter Jazz attendees]. An information booth will also be provided at the entrance to town to help visitors for both Jazz and the Phish concerts get oriented. The council approved an 11 o’clock curfew for the event, and concerns about the band running over the 11pm curfew in Town Park were met confidently by Strasburg, who said, “They’ll be on time. These guys are professionals and they’ll start on time, and they’ll finish on time.”

Overall the mood of the meeting could be described as very positive and optimistic about the possibility of the upcoming concerts. Town Council member Brian Werner thanked promoters Ferguson, Strasburg, the Telluride Jazz Staff , along with the Parks and Rec Commission, and the CCAASE Board for their tremendous efforts to make this work for the community, saying, “I have no doubt that the economic and cultural benefits [of this event] will be huge for Telluride,” and also that he was confident that all of the issues that were of concern would be dealt with professionally and in a timely manner. KOTO’s Janice Zink happily expressed KOTO’s endorsements of the concerts.

Strasburg, who promoted Phish’s four night stand at Red Rocks last summer, described those shows as “the pinnacle shows of the entire summer,” and said that he feels that a lot of people feel already that the Telluride shows [will be] the same thing for this year. “Let em’ run with it,” said Town Manager Frank Bell at one point. This attitude, with the express awareness that all concerns will in fact be met and dealt with in a professional manner, was the prevailing one. All Council members expressed enthusiasm for the economic boon that the concerts will inevitably bring to the region, and expressed confidence in the promoters’ ability to pull the whole thing off successfully.
The Council passed the motion for the concerts to go ahead granted the following four provisions: 1. The setting aside of a minimum of 1500 tickets per night for locals, 2. the provision of an additional $15,000 to cover added security costs, 3. the ability to institute a barricade should it be deemed necessary, and 4. the assurance that Ferguson’s Planet Bluegrass and AEG along with the Telluride Jazz Celebration will have in place an agreement on how the transition is to take place between the two events in the park.

The meeting adjourned to smiles and the sound of lots of chatter. Strasburg immediately jumped up, phone in hand, and looked around for a quiet place from which to notify the band of the decision.

The ball is entirely in Phish’s court now. After leaving a message for the powers-that-be in Phish’s world, Strasburg said that he hoped that they would get through the process quickly and that while clearly the band has expressed significant interest in playing Telluride, that there are no guarantees. The public announcement about the dates will come when Phish releases their summer tour date schedule, which many hope is soon, but which Strasburg had no knowledge of. Asked if the band had expressed any particular sentimentality about visiting one of their old stomping grounds from their early days as a touring band, Strasburg didn’t have a comment, but, smiling, did say this, “I sure had a great time when I promoted their show here at the Elks Lodge [in 1991].

Your move, Phish.

Story by Merrick Chase

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