Attendance Bias

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to the last episode of this Attendance Bias mini-series, in which we previewed each venue Phish will play during their upcoming summer 2025 tour: We just took a look at a new venue to the Phish world: Forest Hills Stadium. Today, we turn our attention to an old favorite; a venue that has been a part of the Phish conversation longer than some fans have been alive, literally.Today, I am joined by family: My sister in law, Liz Ratto, who coincidentally is not only a Phish fan who has been to SPAC several times, but is also a resident of Saratoga Springs! When planning out this series, I was a little nervous about this episode, because Phish has been playing this venue for so long, who knows what new information we could provide? But the answer is: a lot! Liz gives some great pro tips for not only attending the show, but things to do around Saratoga while you’re in town for these three nights that close the tour: July 25, 26, and 27.Phish has a long history at SPAC, but an even longer history in Saratoga. But lets hear it from the locals. Join me and Liz to hear how to make the best of Phish’s final run of tour in Saratoga

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. Get ready for some venue whiplash; after three nights at the largest indoor venue on the tour in Chicago, Phish leaves the second city to arrive in New York. More specifically, July 22 and 23 at Forest Hills Stadium in Forest Hills, Queens; home to The Ramones, Simon and Garfunkel, and Peter Parker. If you’ve listened to Attendance Bias for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me mention that I live in Forest Hills, so today’s episode is a homecoming; I don’t think I’ve ever lived closer to any music venue. Before these shows, I’ve never been able to walk to a Phish concert from my front door. And who would be the best guest in the world to give a preview of this venue and this neighborhood? None other than my wife, Michela Ratto. Michela has been on Attendance Bias once before, and while I mostly give background information and context about this venue that is new to the Phish world, she gives plenty of tips and tricks to help any listeners coming to these two shows, filling everyone in on what to expect.We cover a lot in today’s episode; the history of the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, what the neighborhood is like, the best ways to get there, and of course we give our takes on the controversial headlines about the stadium that crop up ahead of every summer concert season. Ironically, this is the longest episode of this venue preview series, but there are no music clips, since Phish has not only never played the stadium before but they’ve never played the entire borough of Queens!So join Michela and I to get the inside scoop on the Forest Hills Stadium, our theories as to why Phish chose to play the smallest New York City venue they’ve played in years, and where to get the best food once you get inside on July 22 and 23rd. 

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome back to the Attendance Bias mini series of previewing each venue of the Phish 2025 summer tour. By now, we’ve gotten the scoop on the SNHU Arena in Manchester, The Pete in Pittsburgh, the Moody Center in Austin, Folsom Field in Boulder, the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, the North Charleston Coliseum, and the Mann in Philadelphia. We are nearing the end of this series as our episode today focuses on Phish’s three-night run at the United Center in Chicago on July 18, 19, and 20. Today, I am joined by Brendan, longtime resident of the Chicagoland area, and he has seen his share of Phish shows in and around the Windy City. More to the point, he has seen tons of sporting events at the United Center, and attended two out of Phish’s three inaugural shows at the massive arena in the fall of 2023. Since Phish has only played one previous run at the United Center, there isn’t a lot to dig into there, but there is a ton to talk about when it comes to Phish’s Chicago history, the background of the venue itself, and obviously, recommendations for things to do around Chicago during this three-day run. Let’s join Brendan to talk about it all.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. We are just past the mid-point of this Attendance Bias mini-series, in which we preview each venue Phish will play during their upcoming summer 2025 tour. We are coming off our visit to the Palmetto State for the North Charleston Coliseum, and today’s episode is all about a venue that feels like it’s been around forever in the Phish world: the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA. I always group Philadelphia in with Merriweather Post, SPAC, and Jones Beach as part of the I-95 Corridor tour circuit, and while there is truth to that, there is a richer Phish history at The Mann than most venues. Today, I am joined by my friends Tom and Stephanie who have long-standing roots to Philadelphia and Tom especially has a long history with the Mann. While there may not be too much for northeast Phish fans to learn about Philadelphia, we do our best to offer recommendations, tips and tricks, and wallow in some good old nostalgia about past Phish shows in Philadelphia, as is our want here on Attendance Bias. So get pumped for July 15 and 16, as Tom, Stephanie, and I take a long look at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. We are at the halfway point of the tour by now, having just visited the Schottenstein Center in Columbus for the first time, it is now time to visit an old favorite: The North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina for a THREE NIGHT weekend run! A city brimming with both American history and Phish history, we are lucky enough today to be joined by Charleston native Dave Scozarro who tells us about both: places to see, things to do, and highlights from Phish’s 35 years playing The Holy City. In a sense, you can track Phish’s entire career arc by keeping track of the venues they’ve played in Charleston since 1990. From small clubs, to larger clubs, to small theaters, and finally, the N. Charleston Coliseum. They moved in in 1995 and never left. Sure, they played two shows at the local tennis stadium a few years ago, and Dave explains why it may not be such a great idea for the Phish crowd for them to continue there.But there’s so much to love about both Charleston and the coliseum. World-class food in the city, general admission seating in the venue, and almost four decades of music to dig into. Let’s join Dave as he prepares us for July 11, 12, and 13 in Charleston.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. We are almost at the halfway point of the tour by now, arriving from Phish’s 3-night holiday weekend stand at Folsom Field to one of the larger indoor venues on tour: the Schottenstein Center in Columbus on the campus of THE Ohio State University. This is Phish’s first time playing at the Schot, and luckily, today’s guests have a deep well of knowledge about both Columbus and the venue itself. My friends Ryan and Shannon are here to tell about different neighborhoods of Ohio’s capital city, great restaurant recommendations, and stories galore from Phish’s history in Columbus.For the most part, the modern Phish touring machine has always stopped at the now-defunct Polaris Amphitheater when it was time for the tour to visit Columbus. However, a legendary storm–some remember it as a tornado–made its way over the city during a show in 2000, and Phish hasn’t been back since. The summer of 2025 is the return of the king.In addition to huge venues and college campuses, that reinforces another trend of this upcoming tour; the band’s return to cities and towns that have been long-dormant on the Phish tour itinerary. Manchester, Boulder, Austin, and now Columbus fans are thrilled to welcome Phish back to their respective cities. Certainly, you can hear the excitement in Shannon and Ryan’s voices.So let’s dive into pro digs for college kids with Ryan and Shannon to get ready for July 9 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. After an odd summertime Texas stop in Austin, Phish is keeping us disoriented this year: it’s now time for a holiday weekend run in Colorado…but not the one we expect. Instead of the end-of-summer blowout at Dick’s over Labor Day Weekend this summer, we are instead celebrating our country’s independence with a July 4th weekend party at a college football stadium almost double the size of Dick’s: July 3, 4, and 5 at Folsom Field, in Boulder, CO.Today’s guest, Bryan from Boulder., has lived in the college town for over 20 years and has a lot to offer Attendance Bias listeners today. While thousands of Phish fans have made Dick’s their summer family reunion this year is a change of scenery, not to mention an adjustment to the calendar. When these shows were rumored, and then announced, there were mixed feelings among the fanbase (at least those who made their opinions known online). Bryan explains why there’s so much to look forward to in Boulder, and how, in many ways, Folsom Field has a lot to offer, compared to Dick’s. But it’s not all just a comparison of two Colorado stadiums. There’s also the band’s history in Boulder, the activities within and around the city, restaurant and brewery recommendations, and more. I think a lot of us are curious about what this run is going to look like, and today’s episode might be able to give us some answers to frequently asked Folsom questions.So let’s join Bryan from Boulder, longtime resident, to give us the lowdown on what to expect for July 4th weekend at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. After two days off and a very very long drive, we are at the third stop of our tour: The Moody Center in Austin, Texas for June 27 and 28. It’s rare that Phish stops in Texas, rare that they stop in Texas for the summer, and even more rare that they’ll play in Austin–it’s been about 15 years since the capitol city entertained the band and its fans. Today’s guest, Dianna Hank (known in social media circles as Dianna 2Ns) lives in Austin and is thrilled for Phish to come back to the offbeat city and help keep it weird. If Austin is a city you haven’t gotten around to visiting, Dianna makes a strong case for why you should make your way to the City of the Violet Crown, for Phish or otherwise.While Phish has a respectable history in Austin, including an appearance on the long-running PBS show Austin City Limits, and an appearance at the related festival, this 2025 weekend run is primed to be the best. This is the band’s first time playing the new, air-conditioned, indoor venue for a two-night run with guaranteed pre-show and post-show live music to be found, great vibes and delicious food in abundance, and more. So whether you’re on tour, a Texas native, or flying into town just for the weekend, Dianna is here to give us the lowdown on June 27 and 28 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to Attendance Bias. I am your host Brian Weinstein. We are fully on tour by now, having visited Manchester, New Hampshire and now on the 9-and-a-half-hour drive to the Pete–that is the Petersen Events Center, on the University of Pittsburgh campus–in Pittsburgh, PA. For whatever reason, the band decided to skip Star Lake in Burgettstown in favor of this modest-size collegiate arena that has played host to Phish twice in recent memory. But if you’re on tour and decide to skip Pittsburgh because it’s out of the way, you’re missing out on a whole lot. Today’s guest, Emily Bush, bleeds black and gold. With deep family roots in Pittsburgh, and an understanding of the city’s amenities and history, she offers an insider’s guide to what Phish fans should see, do, eat, drink, and expect for the first single-night stop of the tour.Although I don’t think a visit to Pittsburgh is in the cards for me this summer, there were points during today’s conversation, when I wanted to suggest to my wife that we move to the Steel City. After I got off the call with Emily I started to Google some of the apartment complexes and neighborhoods she mentions, and although I’m staying in New York for the foreseeable future, moving to Pittsburgh is not a 0% option, regardless of how Phish plays this summer.So let’s get excited for the second stop of the tour: June 24, as Emily gives us the low down on The Petersen Events Center, and Pittsburgh as a whole in today’s episode.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to the first episode of this new series of Attendance Bias: over the next few weeks, we are going to take a look at venue Phish is going to play on their upcoming 2025 summer tour; from old favorites like SPAC and The Mann, to first-time visits for Phish, like Folsom Field and Forest Hills Stadium.Today, I am joined by returning guest Chris Casey and his partner Jenn, both New Hampshire natives, to give us a local view of the SNHU Arena, or the “SNU,” at which Phish will open their summer tour with a 3-night run on June 20, 21, and 22.Phish doesn’t have a big history at the venue, but Chris and Jenn have a long history in Manchester, and New Hampshire as a whole. So, what follows is a mix of a venue preview and a travelogue. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to our previews of other venues on the summer tour.