Keepin' it mellow

Phish is playing “Wilson” now, and the audience is filling the breaks in the song with shouts of “Wilson,” like Tom Hanks shouting for his volleyball companion in “Cast Away.”

It's 90 degrees, and everybody is sitting down. But Trey Anastasio can't sit down. He says he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, so he's standing up and singing again. He sat down and played acoustic guitar for over an hour, but it doesn't seem to matter to this crowd. They're into the music whether it's acoustic or electric, whether it's hot or cold, or whether Anastasio and Mike Gordon are sitting or standing.

As Anastasio predicted, this is a very mellow set.

Bruce Fessier

Hot stuff

Didn't detect a whole lot of energy from Phish fans as I entered the polo grounds this afternoon, the result of two days of partying and baking in the desert sun. All around you see pockets of sleeping or passed out festivalgoers taking refuge in whatever shade they can find. You can tell by their lobster tans that a lot of these people are from the Midwest or East Coast.

The lesson: Lots of beer consumed in the hot sun isn't always the best idea.

And it's still a couple of hours before sundown.

Michael Felci

Best, worst of NoLa

On a walk through the grounds to get lunch, I stopped at a tent with a sign that read “Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, Cajun Egg Rolls.” Being a NoLa native, I was torn. As much as I love dishes from my hometown, I'm reluctant to try those prepared in a California kitchen (or, in this case, food stand). Regardless, I knew that red beans and jambalaya are two of the easiest creations in cajun cooking.

Things were looking good until I found out that they were out of red beans and rice.

So, I order jambalaya and an egg roll. Nope. They're out of egg rolls, too. One for three, guys.

My only savior was the bowl of tasty rice-n-stuff awaiting me. Wrong — the jambalaya was weak, at best.

Then, my day started to take a turn for the better.

Over the festival P.A. system I started hearing the sounds of Professor Longhair. For those unfamiliar with the man, he is a New Orleans music legend, whose songs are the soundtrack to Mardi Gras — literally.

Things were finally looking better. Now, back in the press tent, I'm gearing up for the final stretch of Festival 8, with a smile on my face.

Matt Wolfe

Free stuff

So, it's to be expected that the food at a music festival is going to be overpriced. I paid $10 for chicken strips and a bottle of water for lunch this afternoon.

One low-cost option for those with a sweet tooth is to make a visit to the booth of the WaterWheel Foundation, where you can get a small cup of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream for a $1 donation. The WaterWheel Foundation is Phish's charitable organization that mostly works to protect the environment of Lake Champlain in the band's native Vermont.

In the press tent, we're lucky enough to have been visited by the Ice Cream Man, who gives away free ice cream. Not sure if he's accessible to the rest of the fest, but the overheated photographers, reporters and tech guys covering the fest love him. And there doesn't seem to be any ulterior motive, either. According to the Ice Cream Man's Web site, www.icecreamman.com, his mission is to inspire people to chase their dreams. After two days of wandering around the festival grounds, I'm pretty worn out and chasing my dreams is going have to wait for another day, but that free lime fruit bar was definitely appreciated.

Brian Dearth

Phish in 3D

AEG Network Live has filmed the eight Phish sets this weekend for a 3D movie that will be released theatrically in 2010.

The release will come after the company that is a division of the firm promoting Festival 8 releases another 3D concert film of the Dave Matthews Band Dec. 11-17 in major theater chains, including Regal Cinemas that are equipped to show 3D movies. That film will include additional performances by Ben Harper and Gogol Bordello.

Matthews, Harper and Bordello were filmed at the 2009 Austin City Limits, All Points West and Lalapalooza festivals, but John Rubey, executive producer and president of Network Live, said his crew is getting so much good footage at Festival 8, and Phish has such a large following, that Phish will be the lone artist in its concert film.

AEG marketing man Tim Cannon said it may be a challenge to get all of this weekend's footage into just one film.

Bruce Fessier

Listen up

Phish has songs that can draw an audience to their corner of the Empire Polo Club better than a street performer amid a crowd of shoppers.

The first song of this festival, “Party Time,” featured the band just singing “It's party time” over and over between instrumental improvisations. If there was anyone unfamiliar with a Phish concert at this place (like one or two of the vendors), that should have been a clue that there were going to be more instrumental interludes at the festival than lyrics.

On Sunday, they started their early evening set with “AC/DC Bag,” which drew people away from the shops and vendor booths and giant-screen TV on the other end of the field in a hurry. Pretty soon, they were dancing to another party song: “Let's get down to the nitty gritty,” Trey sang. “Let's get this show on the road.”

After the mellow acoustic set this afternoon, that song should have been an indicator that this was going to be a party set. But, you know, these guys have deceived us before. Not only did they lead us to believe they were going to play David Bowie's “Hunky Dory” for their Halloween set, they started Saturday night's late set with another of their “happy-happy” songs, “Backwards Down the Number Line.” Then they went down another road completely with their most complex improvisations I've heard all weekend.

Bruce Fessier